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Hand-drawn, curbside
If you’ve walked through Lincoln Park in Chicago lately, there’s a decent chance you’ve tossed a coffee cup into one of my drawings. Four of my illustrations are now wrapped around citibins, the decorated trash and recycling bins along the neighborhood’s sidewalks, thanks to the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce.
Most of my work lives on fabric, wallpaper, and other printed products. This is the first time it’s been out on the street, getting rained on, leaned against, and walked past by an entire neighborhood. I couldn’t be happier about it.
Four bins, four wildflowers
Each bin features its own wildflower: buttercups, black-eyed Susans, poppies, and coneflowers. And because no flower blooms alone, each one comes with company: the birds, bees, and butterflies that depend on them.
I drew them in a layered, colorful style inspired by the Arts & Crafts movement, the same tradition William Morris helped build. Symmetrical, folk-inspired compositions, paisley leaves, and plenty of texture. It’s the look I keep coming back to in my surface pattern work, and it turns out it holds up beautifully at sidewalk scale.
There was something fitting about putting wildflowers on a city street, too. A little meadow, right there on the corner, for anyone who needs one on the way to work.
Buttercups
Black-Eyed Susans
Poppies
Coneflowers
Ten years in the making
The Lincoln Park Chamber and I go way back. I’ve been working with them for more than ten years, starting with a rebrand in 2015, so if you spend time in the neighborhood, you’ve probably already seen my work on street pole banners, bike racks, wayfinding pedestals, and event posters.
Illustration has always been part of that brand, but until recently it was mostly stock art, to keep budgets in line. These bins are the first time the Chamber has brought me in to draw something custom from scratch. Hand-drawn, by an actual human, no AI. For me, that’s a pretty big deal.
If you’re curious about the branding side of the story, and why I think illustration is the secret ingredient in a strong brand, I wrote about it on my design studio’s blog: The Missing Ingredient.
Coming soon to a wall near you
The bins are only the beginning. Next up is a mural, Our Fronds & Neighbors, which will be going up in the neighborhood soon. I’ll share photos (and the story behind that name) once it’s installed.
In the meantime, if you’re in Lincoln Park, keep an eye out for the bins. And if you snap a photo of one, I’d love to see it. Tag me on Instagram or Facebook at @rocarrstudio.