Regions

Synergy

Diego Alba | 02/08/2023

When my colleagues Rob Tannen and Michael McAghon heard that I love painting, they approached me to create a custom piece that they could make a digital copy of for the EY Design Studio e-newsletter, Studious.

They told me I’d be designing for the second issue, entitled Independent Study, and set me loose.

I created a 60” wide x 24” high acrylic and graphite piece, using vivid colors and bold interlocking shapes. I leveraged the EY Design Studio colors and geometric shapes as a foundation for the piece, where the shapes intersect, overlap and collaborate toward the creation of the whole picture — much in the same way as each studio and designer collaborates with others to achieve something larger.

Scroll through the gallery below to see how it all came together.

  • Phase 1

    1 / 10

  • Phase 2

    2 / 10

  • Phase 3

    3 / 10

  • Green section

    4 / 10

  • Yellow section

    5 / 10

  • Blue section

    6 / 10

  • Pink is introduced

    7 / 10

  • Bringing it together

    8 / 10

  • Another angle of blue

    9 / 10

  • Another angle

    10 / 10

I thought to use these shapes to form a landscape where through the virtue of each, they don’t simply compromise on the space, but synergize in the creative process, hence the title of the piece.

The painting involved a gallery-wrapped canvas, several layers of acrylic paint to achieve a solid look, and bold black graphite lines defining each component. It was entirely done by hand without too much worrying about perfectly straight lines.

The piece now sits behind me in my home office and always sparks comments and conversations during my virtual meetings. I’m grateful for the opportunity to combine my passion for painting with my work!

The painting in Diego's home office

All photography by Diego Alba