Wall Décor
The most essential elements in terms of branding and décor are our core brand elements (logo, vision statement, core values, and accent walls). These elements alone, in a clean and organized office, are enough to brand and energize the space; wall décor is optional. That said, if you currently have or plan to have any pictures or posters on the walls in your office, please read below for specific guidance.
Everything on the walls in the public areas of the office should reinforce our messages in a brand-consistent way. The journey of an external visitor starting in the reception area and walking back to a conference room is a short one, and we must make as strong an impact with the environment as possible. To that end, and to appear as professional and well-run as possible, please avoid visual clutter on the wall, and strategically hang only the below items.
Impression 1: reception area
• Framed, enlarged One Day covers
These covers not only look great, but they express the substance of who we are, the strength of our movement and organization, and both the first and second half of our mission. They are also a way to get photographs on the walls smartly and stragically with layers of messages. We will post additional covers as new issues are published.• The look and impact of the reception area should be defined by all or some of the core brand elements, most notably large application of the logo; if extra décor would enhance the area, covers from the One Day magazine are the best option because they look highly professional and express multiple core messages.
• Consider laying out items on the table in the waiting area for guests, such as copies of the annual report, the organizational overview, One Day magazine, Wendy's book, and/or other high quality marketing pieces (such as the current recruitment brochure and human assets brochures). Please make sure that the materials are up-to-date.
Impression 2: hallways and/or walls of main work areas on the way to conference rooms/ private offices
• Framed, enlarged One Day covers
These are smart and highly effective posters with current messaging. • Framed "significant gains" student work
Student achievement is at the heart of what we do and can be expressed through student work showing clear significant gains. Marketing is currently collecting strong examples of significant gains and quotes from teachers providing the context for the student work; we have a couple ready on the server that can be produced for your office. We encourage staff to collect samples and send them to Nicolas Sneed in Marketing so that we might expand our available décor library with more inspiring student work. • Teach For America "history" wall
• Since the second layer of impressions that most visitors will have is the walk back to a conference room or private office, we want to reflect a professional atmosphere and keep our messages on-point. Current recruitment posters and One Day covers are good options; a Teach For America "history" wall with a number of framed posters going back throughout the history of the organization is another option that can communicate the depth of who we are; very professionally presented student work showing significant gains, based on the templates provided on this site, also expresses the very heart of what we do.
Impression 3: private offices, conference rooms
• Framed Teach For America-focused newspaper or magazine articles
If there is an article that reflects very positively on our organization or particularly the local impact in your area, framing the article is an option. Depending on the layout of the article and how much emphasis you want to place on it, you may either frame the actual article or have it professionally scanned, enlarged, and printed. • Framed "significant gains" student work
• Private offices may benefit from this option, however conference rooms generally look better clean, with nothing on the walls except whiteboards
Impression 4: corps member or alumni resource rooms, shared staff rooms e.g. kitchen
• Unframed student work and/or morale-boosting staff-created items and/or photos
In order to keep the office environment highly professional, we recommend keeping student work or other kinds of crafty items (e.g. items using construction paper or hand-written words, etc.) in or directly outside the corps member resource room, in shared staff rooms, and/or at individual desks/offices. 
These posters perform the important function of raising awareness about TFANET and are recommended for any corps member or alumni resource room. • Student work can serve a great purpose in visually communicating our impact, but when presently informally and un-framed is best placed in or directly outside the corps resource room, in shared staff rooms, and/or at individual desks/offices. This way, we can celebrate and share the work of our students, while maintaining the clean, professional and purposeful look and feel of our offices.
