Community

Spark of Delight

Bauer Alumnus Uses Marketing & Design Skills for Community Engagement

By Jessica Navarro & Amanda Sebesta

Gibson Hall has always seen possibility in the ordinary.

For instance, where others see utility boxes along the street, he sees a place for collaboration, joy, and art. Hall, who earned a certificate from Bauer College’s Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship in 2012, is an award-winning marketer and web designer who has co-created an interactive online space for Houston Mini Murals.

The public art project from UP Art Studios includes more than 250 murals from over 30 artists on electrical boxes throughout the city, and the website allows Houstonians to find the murals, create walking tours and learn more about each artist.

“Before the project started, there were only a handful of public art projects outside the Loop, and we wanted to bring art in areas where people weren’t used to seeing it,” Hall said.

He added: “We’re not making you go out of your path to see art. We want to spark your every day with some delight and color.”

Since launching in 2015, Mini Murals has received accolades from the Mayor of Houston, expanded to other cities and continues to bring community engagement to the city through art. As he’s worked on the project, Hall has built his portfolio with other gigs as well, including work with some of Houston’s leading creative agencies — in his most recent role, Hall served as creative director for Decode Digital, an award-winning digital agency.

Now, Hall works as senior manager of user experience (UX) for Home Depot, where he’s responsible for customer engagement and satisfaction through the brand’s digital platform.

“Some people call it customer experience or people experience, but it’s understanding what your customers go through from the moment they hear about your brand until they are satisfied,” Hall said. “At Home Depot, it starts with brand recognition and continues along the customer journey with what we can do to influence it to make it better.”

Last fall, Hall was recognized by the Greater Houston Partnership as an Emerging Leader for the organization’s HYPE Impact Awards Series. The awards recognize young professionals and entrepreneurs for their contributions to the city.

“Houston is one of the best places to live,” Hall said. “I grew up in Houston and found a lot of opportunity through the city and Bauer College.”

And he plans to continue to give back to the city that gave him so much through community engagement and the Mini Murals project.

“When UP Art approached me about Mini Murals, I saw they had a map of Houston with one green push pin and a lot of red push pins — the green was the one box they had budget to do, and the red ones were all the ones they wanted to do,” he said. “The green pin was a box less than a block from where I grew up, so I felt connected to the project and saw how big it could be.”