Memphis Tourism Gets Creative with Pretty Useful Co and LSI Graphics

It was around this time last year we wrote our last blog update. Thanks to the emergence of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdowns that ensued, it's certainly been challenging to find topics worth writing about which would genuinely enrich our readers' lives. However, while we were looking for inspiration to bring to our readers, Pretty Useful Co was launching their creative studio!

Since launching, the agency has been shaping and interweaving with Memphis culture through its connections with Memphis Tourism. The Pretty Useful Co. team is exceptionally familiar with the challenges of illustrating and rendering Memphis' most well-known landmarks. Allie Mounce and Clare Freeman, co-founders and illustrators at PUC, have been assisting Memphis Tourism for some time through collaborations with the long-running local blog I Love Memphis. Their illustrations for DCA Memphis and the Discover Memphis Naturally Campaign also brought home a Gold Addy at the AAF Memphis Award Ceremony earlier this year.

"When we're illustrating Memphis, we know the Pyramid and the Memphis Bridge will make an appearance," said Mounce. "I love when we get the opportunity to expand past the more well-known landmarks and highlight parts of Memphis culture that are more underrepresented. For the Renasant Center, we were encouraged to dig deep and reference some things that don't usually make an appearance, like Shelby Farms, Clayborn Temple, BBQ Fest, and juker dancers."

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Allie faced several creative challenges when creating this mural. It's difficult to directly portray many Memphis artists because of various copyright laws, so instead, she paid homage in other ways. "When people think of Memphis, they think of B.B. King and Elvis. We included them by incorporating elements like Lucille, B.B. King's guitar, and the gates of Graceland.

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"The next biggest challenge was figuring out a cohesive way to tie all of the design elements together over dozens of split panels of art. The Pyramid's triangular shape inspired a triangular, zig-zag background that flows the length of the mural. The most technically challenging part of the illustration was rendering the street scene next to Clayborn Temple."

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As the production company that had the honor of producing and installing such an art piece, we took special pride in knowing that it would help drive economic growth and increase the ever-growing amount of cool #MemphisMurals that can be found all over the city. We look forward to being a part of more inspirational and unique work with Pretty Useful Co and Memphis Tourism in the future.

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Window Graphics, RetailChris ColesMemphis, Window Graphics, Memphis Tourism, Wall MuralsComment