Telling Sprout Social’s story through physical space
Sprout Social
Concept Development, Creative Direction, Environmental, Interactive Art, Wayfinding
Memories, mantras, and meaningful stories. That’s where we began.
As the once scrappy start-up transformed into a global public company, I led the environmental branding and wayfinding for Sprout’s global offices in Chicago, Seattle, and Dublin. Collaborating with the Workplace Experience team, as well as a handful of interior architects, artists, designers, and fabricators, we created over 20+ murals and art installations capturing Sprout’s spirit.
Each build out began with workshops engaging the local team to share meaningful memories, stories, mantras, and moments in the company’s history to inspire the environmental art pieces. Here’s a few highlights:
Tech Meets Nature
As a software company that values the humans behind the product, Sprout has always looked for intersections between the technical and the organic. We commissioned local abstract artist Chad Kouri to interpret the prompt of “tech meets nature” into a multi-wall mural spanning the main thoroughfare of our Chicago HQ. Chad drew inspiration from tessellations and patterns found in nature and created over 80 linear feet of artwork that flows through the open office space.
Build Together
When we built out the second floor of the HQ we were faced with a similar challenge of needing to bring life to a central area of the office—7 walls surrounding the elevator bank, the entrance to the floor. This time we went bolder and asked illustrator Kyle Letendre to create a sprawling mashup of nearly 100 memories, anecdotes and inside jokes from longtime employees, depicting Sprout’s vibrant culture. Kyle wove it all together using the smoke of a rocket ship that lands on the piece’s final wall—a chalk wall (painted with Shelby Rodeffer of Finer Signs) stating “Build Together” which invites newer team members to add additional stories to the mural.
Share Station
During our content research phase, the theme of sharing came up continuously. Thoughts, ideas, guidance, even lunch—Sprout’s teammates like to share. Yet, so much of that happens digitally (okay, not the lunch part). To bring people back to the analog world, we created the Share Station. The art was created by in-house designer Katie Powell and All Kinds (formerly Make Luft) fabricated the peg wall and card shelf. The cards are updated annually with new prompts and are a big hit when everyone gathers in Chicago for the yearly kickoff meeting.
Wayfinding
While the art beautified the offices, the new (and ever evolving) spaces also needed a clear navigation system. We leaned into Sprout’s value of simplicity with a minimalistic wayfinding and spatial identification system that brings both clarity and flexibility to the space’s functionality.
The room signage system was fabricated out of die-cut acrylic, while the wall maps and conference room names are in adhesive vinyl, allowing for easy updating as the use of space shifts to meet the team’s needs.
COLLABORATORS
Creative Direction: Gil Lara; Design: Katie Powell, Nick Lacke, George Mathew, Laura Weiss, Melissa Flowers, Stanton Valentino, Arlo Guthrie, Justin Siddons, Patrick Olson, Kerri Pang, Laura Weiss, Nicki Stearns, Kevin Bertram, Chase McCoy, Rachel Sinon, Alexis Ginsberg, Kyle Letendre, Shelby Rodeffer, Chad Kouri, Ade Hogue; Fabrication and Installation: Dr. Graphx, All Kinds, Shelby Rodeffer; Buildout Partners: Partners by Design, CBRE