I generally limit myself to one or two commissions per year—usually murals that become permanent fixtures of a specific architecture. However, this project presented a unique challenge: Schulz Trade Law is preparing for a move in the coming months. They required a piece of significant scale that possessed the permanence of a mural but the portability to anchor their future workspace.
Schulz Trade Law operates at the complex intersection of global movement, focusing on international trade law, customs, and the intricate web of import and export compliance. Their portfolio is a microcosm of modern civilization, handling everything from the logistics of food distribution to the specialized transport of rocket parts.
In the process of collaborating, we discovered a shared psychological anchor: a lingering, “grown-up” affection for LEGO.
This realization shifted our design trajectory. We began to explore how the modular, imaginative logic of toys could translate into the high-stakes world of global trade. It allowed us to retain a sense of playfulness—a human element—that is often swallowed by the sheer power and industrial scale of shipping machinery.
The design process was an iterative marathon involving weeks of sketching on my iPad using Procreate. The composition eventually grounded itself in a 1-point perspective, featuring a crane hoisting the firm’s logo—a literal and figurative “build.” To create a sense of kinetic energy across the panel’s wide-screen format (44″x96″), I chose to offset the vanishing point to counterbalance the composition, then overlay the perspective with sweeping curves that guide the eye and suggest the constant motion of global commerce.
People often ask about the “cost” of such a piece in terms of time. To be honest, I stopped counting. I spent three months of nights and weekends lost in the panel. I wasn’t rigorous with the clock because the work required a certain level of immersion that hourly tracking turns depressing. It wasn’t about the dollars per hour; it was about rediscovering the frustrating complexity and joy of painting, about losing yourself in the tactility of paint and the balancing of color values.
And yet, despite all the time and effort, it is still a little clumsy, a little sweet, and a playful illustration. Let’s not get too serious, here.
