Power to the People. They’re Watching.

Where collaboration and craft meet the human touch

What do painting a mural and a New Yorker’s favorite pastime have in common? People watching.

I had no idea mural advertising was a thing before moving to New York. Now I see how well they can benefit a community.

Murals carry a different kind of energy. The work unfolds in real time — each brushstroke, each layer of paint, each hand contributing to the whole. People stop to watch, take photos, and talk with the crew. Long before the mural is finished, the street is already engaged.

For brands trying to earn real-world attention, that kind of organic curiosity is rare.

Maybe you’ve heard about this shift to “attention” as the new media currency. Brands want your eyes, ears, and all your senses to stay top of mind.

Our craft brings familiarity and nuance to people who pass by. Painting is a medium everyone knows about, but what we’re painting and why are what strike the curiosity chord each and every time we paint a mural.

After years of helping produce mural campaigns, one pattern has become clear: when brands collaborate with artists, the message carries more weight. Artists bring their voice, their audience, and their credibility, helping the brand become part of the community's conversation rather than interrupting it.

For the opening of Uniqlo’s new Williamsburg store, Japanese artist Hiroshi Masuda created this mural illustration announcing the launch.

When I approached Uniqlo about painting a wall in Williamsburg, I initially saw it as a great placement for a global brand. But being a Brooklyn resident, I realized it was something more intentional.

Uniqlo, known for its LifeWear philosophy—creating simple, accessible clothing for everyday life—was stepping into a neighborhood shaped by decades of independent artists and creative culture.

Williamsburg isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a place where art and identity have been built over time. Seeing that intersection up close shifted how I think about what these collaborations can actually do.

Williamsburg has long been a place where art, fashion, and street culture intersect, making it a natural setting for a collaboration like this.

While Hiroshi was on-site painting, we sat down with him to talk about his work and what it meant to bring his art to a wall in New York. Overall Films documented the process so the story could extend beyond the street and give people a closer look at the artist behind the work. Check out the full interview with Hiroshi here.

Where the wall lives matters just as much as what goes on it.

At Overall Murals, we intentionally curate our locations in neighborhoods where people already spend their time; where they walk, shop, work, and enjoy being. It allows brands to show up where attention happens naturally, in front of the right audiences.

For Uniqlo, that meant a massive wall just two blocks from the new Williamsburg store–placing the message directly in the path of the community they wanted to reach.

Through our hand painted process—translating artwork to scale, hand-mixing color, and painting live in public—we’ve helped brands tap into the neighborhood’s rhythm and culture.

Over my last 2+ years with Overall Murals, I’ve seen artist collaborations become increasingly important to brands looking to build deeper connections with their audiences.

That’s why being part of the Uniqlo artist collaboration stood out. I got to see the process up close and how it landed, not just with our team, who had followed Hiroshi’s work for years, but with people on the street engaging with it in real time.

If you’re curious how that can extend, see our work with Don Julio and Willy Chavarria through Overall Special FX, or Queen Andrea and Lexus through Overall Creative.

What makes these collaborations more than just advertising is that they shape culture and benefit everyone involved.

Artists expand their reach at a scale rarely available to them. Brands connect with people through voices that already carry trust. And the community experiences the work as it happens.

The most effective collaborations aren’t one-size-fits-all. Sometimes the right fit comes from an artist whose style naturally aligns with the brand. Other times, the biggest impact comes from unexpected pairings — when two very different worlds collide.

Both approaches work for the same reason: they connect brands to real communities.

Why does this happen?

Because artists bring something brands can’t manufacture–emotion, perspective, and an audience that already trusts their voice. When brands invest in the artist’s story alongside their own, the collaboration becomes part of the brand’s identity rather than a short-lived campaign.

The brands that stand out are the ones building long-term relationships with artists and communities — using those partnerships to shape their story and keep their audience invested.

At Overall Murals, we build collaborations between artists and brands every day. How could we not believe in this, when artists are the very foundation of our business?

If you're considering working with artists in the real world, let’s start the conversation. You can reach me at riley@overallmurals.com.