Turning a Shipping Container into an Interactive Campus Mural
Villanova University approached me to transform a 25-foot shipping container into an interactive mural experience for the 2023 Opus Prize. The project brought together concept development, hand lettering, environmental design, and live student participation—all rooted in the University’s values of service and community.
Client: Villanova University, Office of the President
Project: 2023 Opus Prize
Services: Creative Direction · Mural Design · Hand Lettering · Experiential Design · Live Painting · Community Engagement
The Challenge
When Villanova University was selected to host the 2023 Opus Prize, the campus was preparing for more than an awards ceremony. The University wanted to create opportunities for students to engage with the ideas at the heart of the prize: service, social justice, and Villanova's Augustinian values of Veritas, Unitas and Caritas.
The Office of the President approached Lola Love Letter to transform a 25-foot shipping container into a large-scale interactive installation in the center of campus. The container would function as both a mural and a temporary museum, with students and visitors able to walk through the interior to discover stories about the Opus Prize finalists, Villanova's service initiatives, and the impact of service around the world.
The exterior needed to do something equally important: stop students on their way across campus and invite them into the experience.
Developing the Concept
Villanova wanted the mural to feel distinctly hand-created, with illustration and hand lettering playing a central role.
I developed three initial creative directions around the event theme, “Awakening Restless Hearts.” The concepts explored different interpretations of awakening, service, and community while incorporating Villanova's visual identity and the warmth of the fall event.
Through conversations with the client, the direction evolved toward a stronger use of Villanova's signature colors and recognizable institutional language. Subtle references to Veritas, Unitas, Caritas, service, faith, social justice and the University's 1842 founding became part of the background, allowing the mural to reward a closer look without competing with the central message.
The selected concept paired branded colors, expressive hand lettering and an illustrated heart.
From Mural to Participatory Experience
Design is approved. Now time to paint. For this shipping container, we turned the painting process itself into a live community experience.
I planned the design so students could participate in portions of the installation and set up a painting station with brushes, paint and designated areas ready to be filled. Throughout the event, classes and individual students stopped to paint alongside us. We had 40–50 students join us, all ranging in their artistic abilities. A few students remarked that they had never painted before, which is the great thing about this type of painting, it’s easy for the students to jump in.
My role shifted between artist, creative director and teacher: providing enough instruction to keep the design cohesive while giving students room to take ownership of the experience.
Before long, students were confidently filling shapes and pulling surprisingly straight lines.
But some of the most memorable moments happened in the conversations around the paint table. Students stopped between classes, assignments, and exams and talked about how unexpectedly calming and satisfying it felt to paint. What began as audience participation became a small opportunity to slow down, make something with their hands, and contribute to something larger than themselves.
Art as Engagement
The live component also created opportunities for participation beyond the student body. Villanova President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD joined the painting, and footage of the activation was incorporated into University communications surrounding service on campus.
For the duration of the installation, thousands of students, faculty, staff, and visitors passed the shipping container in one of the busiest areas of campus. Visitors could encounter the mural from the plaza, watch it take shape, contribute to its creation and ultimately walk through the finished installation.
The result was more than a university mural. It became a physical expression of the values the Opus Prize and Villanova were asking students to consider: participation, service, community, and the idea that individual actions can contribute to something much larger.
The Impact
25-foot shipping container transformed into an interactive campus installation
45–50 students directly participated in painting the mural
3 original creative directions developed and presented
Thousands of potential impressions in a central campus location
1 participatory experience connecting art, service and community
The project reinforced my approach to murals and live brand activations: get your audience involved. Sometimes the most meaningful experience happens when you hand them the brush.