It’s hard not to notice the brilliant blue and white mural at 357 Hayes St.
The artwork was created by Lab Partners, which might sound like a scientific research group, but is actually the name of design duo (and real life partners) Sarah Labieniec and Ryan Meis. The husband-and-wife illustration and design team originally started Lab Partners as a side project, but gained enough momentum five years ago to quit their day jobs and work on design together, full-time in Union Square.
Lab Partners’ clients include the California Academy of Science, Chronicle Books, Facebook and NPR, but Warby Parker was their first exterior mural, said Labieniec.
The mural brings to life iconic San Francisco streets and landscapes. Included in the scene are places like City Lights Books, newsstands on Market Street, and park-goers—all captured on the brick wall outside Hayes Street’s new eyeglass shop Warby Parker.
Lab Partners worked with agency Partners & Spade during the concept phase, presenting a variety of area vignettes and illustrations that were eventually edited down until they'd found “that certain Warby Parker-ness to them,” said Labieniec. “We liked the idea of representing the people in the artwork in a super simplified, almost abstract manner so that they blended into the scenery rather than dominated it.” Any piece of artwork that didn’t make it into the mural was printed onto postcards that people can take for free.
“We went through a number of iterations of color exploration, which is one of our favorite parts of the process, and arrived at the limited palette of the bright bold Warby blue and rich black.” To pull it all together, local sign company New Bohemia Signs hand-painted all the exterior and interior murals. “They’re the go-to for signs,” said Labieniec.
What’s next for Lab Partners? Stay tuned for a new San Francisco landscape expected to appear this March in downtown’s new Target Express. “They wanted to work with a local artist for a more permanent in-store art display,” said Labieniec. And, if you’re intrigued by their designs, take-home prints of their work with Hello!Lucky can be found at Lavish.
