Apple Manhasset Mural
Client: Apple Retail; Manhasset, NY
Project: Public-facing mural. Community solidarity and brand expression.
Role: Lead Designer & Creative
The Story
The year was 2020. Protests regarding George Floyd were happening across the country. COVID was still at its peak. Apple stores were boarded up, and most of our workforce was either working from home or collectively meeting and working together.
Two of my frequent collaborators and I had a group chat going. We'd been talking about wanting to create something. A response that felt real, not corporate. Something from the people who actually work in the building.
I came up with the design. We used Gianna Floyd's words as the anchor. The visual statement reflected Apple's values with clarity, empathy, and integrity without feeling performative.
The concept was presented and approved by the Market Director and Market Leader. The team was assembled and put together, pulling equally talented Apple employees from nearby stores. I led the installation from there. Coordinated the build, the materials, the execution.
We created the mural in a six-hour window across two separate days. Front and back facing art. Painters tape, rollers, bold color. The Apple employees who worked in that building built it themselves.
What Happened
The mural became a visible symbol of solidarity for the local community. It received support and amplification from Apple's VP of Environment, Policy & Social Initiatives.
The project led directly to additional commissioned mural work, including a 35-by-20-foot installation at Chelsea Piers Fitness in Downtown Brooklyn.
Design Decisions
The first decision was the letterforms. In viewing the mural, people are moving. You have maybe three seconds as someone passes in a vehicle to make an impact. Script would use those three seconds formatting confusion, not impact.
The letters needed to be legible and immediate. I have a graffiti background, but I also know that not everyone on a production team has that foundation equally, and this wasn't the project to navigate around that. I went back to typography. Forms I could control and hand off with precision.
What most people won't notice: the gradient sequence in the mural matches the exact color order of the original Apple logo. It was a nod to the company that approved the work, built into the visual in a way that doesn't announce itself. The gradient isn't decorative. It represents the community of employees inside that building — not the divisions, not the lines that separate, but the blend.
Gianna Floyd's words were the anchor for the whole concept. Her father's face is on the mural because the moment asked for it. But her voice is what centered the design. That's the part that made it human rather than institutional.
The Lesson
This project didn't start with a brief. It started with a group chat and a gut feeling that something needed to be said. What made it work was the willingness to initiate, the judgment to keep the message honest, and the ability to lead a cross-store team through a build that had to be right the first time.
Impact
Public-facing mural at Apple Retail, Manhasset, NY (front and back facing)
Amplification from Apple's VP of Environment, Policy & Social Initiatives
Led directly to Chelsea Piers Fitness mural commission (35' × 20', Brooklyn, NY)
Cross-store team assembled and led across two build days
Completed in six-hour windows using hand-applied materials
Special Thank you to: Janelle Byer, Brandon & Christina Friend, Steven Manragh, Ashley Sadler, August Comeau, Brian Braun, Kamarah Rice, Court Stevenson, Ajon Crump, Adam Cipoletti and everyone who helped install the mural.
