You have decided to utilize school murals in your school. It’s a great strategy. There are many benefits of school murals, including:

• To drive inspiration to learn
• Reinforce the curriculum
• Reduce teacher workload
• Stimulate interest in subjects and learning
• Create a fun and vibrant atmosphere that encourages learning
• Make your school easier to navigate

Wall displays can unlock all these benefits, but they can also fall flat and fail to achieve your objectives.
To make certain your school murals ideas deliver your aspirations for them, here are six key considerations to make in the design of bespoke wall art.

1. Identify what is most important to your school

First, identify what is most important. What are your main objectives?
School walls are often the most underused area of a school building. Yet they are constantly on display and in the line of sight. Before you use this resource, you must define its role by answering questions such as:
Do you want your wall displays to stimulate thought and discussion?
Should they carry a meaning?
How will they support current learning?
Will your teachers use the wall art interactively?
Do you want the murals to function as reminders of important points covered in the curriculum?
There are many questions you need to answer to identify the content your school murals need to be included.

2. Your school murals ideas must reinforce the curriculum

School murals provide an excellent opportunity to remind pupils of what they have learned during lessons. To do so, they must be structured to reinforce the curriculum. Consider what it is that subject teachers will cover in their lessons, and then use your wall displays to support their lesson plans.

3. Create walls of inspiration

When it comes to creating a fun, lively, engaging, and inspirational wall display, there is far more to it than adding a splash of colour. You must consider your pupils and the world in which we live. What inspires them today? What designs will create the wow factor, and make students want to look at a mural?
Modern design involves many aspects of visual attraction. Think more like a retailer that is trying to attract the attention of passers-by:

• Colour, but not too much
• Colour, to create association (for example, green is associated with sustainability and environmental friendliness)
• ‘Landscaping’ – the art of elevating the most valuable information
• Lighting is also important – what designs will work best in poorly-lit areas, for example?
• Focal points can be used to deliver key messages

To create the biggest impact, include all the above points to design inspirational murals – and then ensure that they are modern and up to date.

4. Make your school murals ideas come to life – create tangible lines to real life

Let’s face it, for most children, learning about people from the past, inventions that now seem obsolete, world events of hundreds of years ago, and changing maps of Europe can be boring. How do you make this come alive, and be relevant and meaningful?

Think of ways to create tangible lines to real life in your school wall displays. Without Edward Jenner, we would not now be able to fight Covid. The abacus was the first calculator.

Another trick here is to stimulate learning by linking to careers. You want to be a genius in online gaming creation – then maths is important. For careers in healthcare, sciences are key. Capability in languages will make your life as a travel blogger much easier. You get the picture – and so will your pupils.

5. Less is more

It’s also crucial not to overload your wall art. Of course, you want to expose your students to as much information as possible, but you must resist the temptation to overload your displays. The idea is to create something that is meaningful, attractive, supportive of the curriculum and your teaching plans, and inspirational to students.
Include too much, and you risk delivering a wall mural that is little more than a jumbled, cluttered, untidy mess. Less is more. If it looks great, it will grab attention.

6. Wall displays should be supportive of your brand

No two schools are quite the same. You have different values, beliefs, and a unique mission. When brainstorming school murals ideas, you should consider your school brand. How can wall display design help to support your branding, reminding pupils and visitors of the foundation educational success at your school?

Visualise educational outcomes with inspirational school murals ideas

Including all these elements in school wall murals is essential to unlock the potential of wall art to improve educational outcomes. We have designed wall displays for schools across the nation, and across all subject areas. To learn more about the design process, and how bespoke wall art can help elevate your school to another level of attainment, contact Design for Education.