SEIU’s New Offices Reflect the Very State They Represent

Wow, what a difference a mountain can make.

We’re talking about a big, beautiful sweeping image of Mt. Hood that spans the entire length of a glass wall. Add a few more iconic Oregon landmarks, including well-placed banners featuring friendly faces, and you have an office space with a human touch—one with a sense of place both new and native Oregonians can identify as home.

Portland’s XO Agency designed these fresh new digs for SEIU (Service Employees International Union), Oregon’s public services and care provider union. In their words, “the work we do touches the lives of every single Oregonian.” SEIU includes the 72,000 people with 500 job descriptions who repair bridges, maintain Oregon’s parks, care for children, seniors, and people with disabilities, help veterans, assist at-risk youth, and so much more.

XO Agency asked Premier Press to produce impactful graphic imagery to revitalize the office interior—the goal was to create a visual link between this new SEIU office space and the workforce of Oregonians they represent. What you see are the results of our handiwork.

First, we produced a photographic series of landscape images that would be wet-mounted to glass doors and panels. The photos were printed with black and white ink on 3MIJ8150 clear vinyl panels using a wide format VUTEk press. This proved to be a tricky process requiring a few rounds of prototyping—the black-and-white ink ratio had to be just right. How else could you identify the trees on that shaded field of snow?

Next, we printed four large vertical banners for the SEIU front windows. Printed in four colors on both sides of Ultra Flex blackout vinyl panels, the featured photography of smiling, multi-racial faces can be seen from the street and, on the reverse side, in the reception area.

Premier also delivered other small-but-nice additions to the office aesthetic. Notice the word ‘welcome’ in multiple languages applied on windows above the banners—these letters were cut, along with the SEIU logo, from vinyl. Another welcome touch, a wall-to-wall cityscape of Portland, is mounted above the coffee bar.

• Large format black and white photography printed on clear vinyl, wet-mounted to glass, takes center stage with a mural-like presence.
• Office entryway with striking, four-color vertical banners and ‘welcome’ in multiple languages speaks to the SEIU workforce mission.
• Wide, photographic cityscape mounted above the coffee bar creates a nice focal point in a communal area.