Creating the Real Freshness Spray Paint Stencil

In The Hague houses the largest rooftop urban farm of Europe overlooking the city. Fresh fish are swimming on the 6th floor; crisp, green lettuces and juicy, shiny tomatoes are thriving in the rooftop greenhouse grown with the use of aquaponics.

After I asked if they needed help to expand their brand building I met with the guy who started this all; Roman Gaus. We discussed how to UrbanFarmers farm has to look and feel. After this conversation and a lot of notes I started to develop the ideas and made a mockup for the space where the employees lunch daily. I tried to start with a small idea and proposed to spray paint one of their main taglines on the wall. They liked it.

Step 1: Materials and Equipment

To start this project it's you first have to buy the following materials and equipment. You can all get these at your local art store. To get to know your equipment ask the art store employee and do a few tests with it before you start using it for real.

• White spraycan 400ml

• Polyester montagefol 1.22 x 3.00 x 0.10

• Precision knife

• Tape

• Printer

Step 2: Design the Stencil

To create the wall painting I used the styleguide made by Lucas Vetsch After all the set dimensions by Lucas in the styleguide I created the pdf to print. The font I used is Neue Haas Grotesk.

Step 3: Cut the Stencil

By using the poster print function I could easily print the pdf in real size. After the printing was done I sticked all the A4 papers together with transparant tape. When all the papers lined up correctly I started to trace all the letters. After I traced the letters. I used the precision knife to cut the letters out of the transparant plastic foil.

Step 4: Paint the Stencil

Before you can start with the spraypainting I secured the stencil with the white tape to the brick wall. Make sure you line it up correctly with the bricks and the foil doesn't wobble. For all the letters with a hole in the middle you can use the tape double-sided.


It's time to spraypaint.

1. Shake your can for a few minutes.
2. Hold it minimum 30 centimeters distance right from the stencil.
3. Press the cap and move with big arm movements the spray an from left to right.
4.When you sprayed everything look for the spots with lesser paint and add some more paint.
5. To really get it done properly you can spray after 10 minutes another layer of paint.

Step 5: Finish the Paint

The big job is done. Wait for 10 minutes to let the paint dry and get the stencil off the wall. When you still want to add some more paint you could use a white acryl marker to finish the painting. Don't forget to be proud and spread the message.