Wells Fargo Community Murals are custom-made for each location. From conception to installation, each mural reflects the community’s diversity and unique history.
With input from Wells Fargo regional leadership, our research team works with local historical societies, libraries, and archives to discover the stories that represent that community’s legacy. We gather dozens of photographs, maps, and documents, and work closely with our team of internal graphic designers to create a visual narrative.
Research
Community outreach is an important part of our research. By working with local historical societies, museums, and libraries, we are able to include compelling images narrate the community’s identity.
Typically, we work with these organizations to provide images of their communities from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s. We look for images that convey a sense of history, diversity, optimism, and progress. Images of pioneer founders, local landmarks, downtown scenes, agriculture commerce, local events, all of these details combine to tell a story.
We also work with Wells Fargo Corporate Archives to include the company’s own unique place in American history.
Design
Our mural designers transform historical materials into new pieces of art. Black and white photographs are cleaned, colorized, then interwoven with maps, documents, and other elements to create a graphically designed image collage that celebrates each community’s history.
A mural key accompanies each mural. It is the educational component of our program, providing captions for each of the images featured in the design. Together with the mural, it highlights historical images, and ultimately connects the local community with its rich past.
Each mural tells a story
- Each mural contains a title frame to identify the community and establish a familiar focal point
- Images are chosen for historical significance and aesthetic quality
- Each mural has a natural progressing story that guides you through the design
- Scale and color are used to provide depth and perspective in the mural
- A mural key is installed near the mural to inform the audience about each image
Production and installation
Our murals are graphically designed photo collages, printed on a variety of materials, and incorporated into many different environments. No two murals are ever the same. Each mural is custom-made, and each location has a specific wall or window upon which the mural can be installed. With over eight different mural applications, we can accommodate the various environments we have in our facilities. We have both internal and external murals as well, so don’t be surprised if you drive by a Wells Fargo store and actually see a mural on the outside of one of our buildings.