EY Design Studio Philadelphia

Intuitive Art Space, an art gallery inside of our Studio, was an instant idea to be the vehicle for promoting HEART 17's message. With large, street-level windows the space provides a lot of visibility located right on a bustling Main Street in the neighborhood.

We came up with a plan through some photo renderings and mock-ups, deciding to utilize the two main windows for a large, bold interpretation of HEART 17's heart element, which is made up of 17 shapes, using our brand colors. We treated the windows as huge canvases and explored a new technique by painting directly on the inside of them. It was a big job and we wanted to make the creation of this artwork a team event, so we gave some consideration to the design of the shapes to help our Studio artisans stay aligned visually.

"We felt it appropriate to explore shapes, colors and concepts within the EY Design Studio visual language that communicated the 17 Sustainability Global Goals (SDGs) in an engaging way for the public. The symbols and figures within each shape of the heart represent each concept and are abstracted to compel the viewer to look deeper and decipher each one." — Kirk Bray

While the large mural would be large and impactful, we needed a way to better showcase the 17 individual SDGs. So we utilized a side window to show the individual 17 heart pieces labeled with the goals. Hand-written typography was done by Morgan.

"We first decided on a grid for the side window and then began to mock up how the shapes and typography would fall into place. It took a few test runs to decide on the best size of the type so that it could be readable from a few feet away, but still small enough that it caused onlookers to come closer and engage with the installation." — Morgan Knepper

While Intuitive Art Space would be the physical location of the installation, our EY Design Studio community extends across the Americas. We had a lot of Studio artisans help create these paintings in-person, but how might we virtually include participation from our colleagues in other EY Design Studio locations? More to come… 👀🎗✨✍️

HEART 17 is a global social enterprise uniting people and business to accelerate the 17 Sustainability Global Goals (SDGs) throughout the world, not by charity but by the business of innovation, creativity and partnership. Standing alongside the vision of HEART 17 is the United Nations Development Programme - UNDP—fighting to end poverty, inequality and climate change in 170 countries.

When HEART 17 asked digital agencies around the world to engage in “creative activism” on their behalf to help get their message out, we wanted to get involved! 

How might EY Design Studio come together to use our collective voices and encourage our community to think about a more sustainable future AND have some fun along the way? More to come… 👀🎨✨📐