On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, pen manufacturer edding wanted to bring the brand to mind for illustrators and creative types alike. edding continues to enjoy great brand affinity among this target group but the trend towards computer work threatens to undermine the brand. So the manufacturer of permanent markers wanted to become a topic of conversation where people spend most of their time: online.

The challenge was to create a drawing environment for a target group that uses computer drawing programs on a daily basis. It had to be an environment that was so appealing and so enjoyable for them that they would happily pick up a pen and show what they were capable of on the Wall of Fame. And word had to get around that this was what they were doing.

At the end of the first week, the collaborative piece of art consisted of 10,000 drawings. And by the end of the first month, 40,000 drawers had already made their mark at wall-of-fame.com. Even with just a quick look at the Wall, it is obvious that many of those who have worked on it are practised drawers and professional illustrators. Many of them are using the Wall to make a name for themselves and sign their artwork with the URLs of their portfolios. But perhaps the biggest success of all cannot be expressed in numbers: we created an environment in which good works are respected, so are very rarely drawn over, and in which the drawers are inspired by each other’s work.

We created an environment that was as realistic as possible. The website only features eight pens that behave just like real edding markers. They are permanent markers and there is no undo function. Every drawing can be shared with others on social networks. This created the perfect environment for users to make a name for themselves with a pen and their artwork if they wanted to. What we are presenting here is merely a snapshot – the piece of art continues to grow and evolve all the time, even as we speak.