An Austin-Style Makeover

It was the classic inner vs. outer beauty contradiction. The modern industrial interior of the vintage warehouse that serves as ActiveProspect headquarters has a lot to brag about. The 6,000-square-foot building’s previous tenant, well-known Austin marketing agency Milkshake Media, left behind an interior distinguished by a vaulted central atrium flanked by generously proportioned sheet metal-clad offices and meeting rooms on either side – plus a sunken area near the back of the building that we now use as a ping pong “stadium.”

But our anonymous, drab exterior had seen better days. The faded patina of vintage lettering on the building façade had long since faded, bleached out by the unforgiving Texas sun. Lacking charm, distinction and ActiveProspect branding, it gave no hint of the appealing interior design or of the innovative marketing automation middleware being developed inside.

As a proud Austin company, we wanted our headquarters facade to reflect the mix of high and low tech, modern and retro design, and support for small local businesses that makes this city such a special place.

With a white and gray nod to Tetris as our canvas, we sought a local artisan to craft our company logo and name. Gary Martin of Gary Martin Signs was the natural choice. With more than 30 years of experience in the art of large-scale hand-painted signs, we wanted to work with someone whose unique style was undeniably Austin. Gary’s work is found throughout Austin’s cityscape, promoting beloved home-grown brands. Torchy’s, P. Terry’s, and Threadgills are some of the bigger names he’s worked with, but don’t be surprised to see his distinctive work on a neighborhood tattoo parlor or juice joint.

Painters Gary (Green) and Duncan worked their magic over a May weekend and before we knew it, ActiveProspect was the new name on the street.

Check out the work-in-progress photos below.