Illustration Explaining GRAEF Culture

A "Big Picture" was created for GRAEF Office that illustrates the company's core values in specific work situations. It serves as a guide in everyday work and helps employees and managers develop a shared understanding of the corporate culture and actively embody it.

GRAEF Big Picture: “What We Stand For—Our Value Promise,” featuring six thematic areas centered around a core theme

topic

Corporate Culture & Values

industry

Industrial / Office and Consumer Goods

format

• Big Picture (Corporate Culture Manifesto) for digital media and large-format printing

area of application

• Onboarding • Employee Communication • Workshops & Training Sessions

target group

• Employees • Managers • New team members

special features

• Illustrations of actual GRAEF workspaces

Initial Situation & Challenge: Making Values Tangible and Experiential

GRAEF specializes in the design and furnishing of modern work environments and helps organizations develop office and work spaces that are both functional and reflective of their identity. As a dynamic company with a strong team spirit, GRAEF places particular emphasis on sustainable growth, trusting collaboration, and continuous development. These values, which are actively lived out, form the foundation for long-term success—and should now also be brought to life visually through a “Big Picture.”

The challenge was to condense an extensive collection of values and guiding principles into a few clear and emotionally compelling visual scenes.

The Solution: A Picture of How Values Are Put into Practice

"The Big Picture" translates the company’s values into concrete everyday situations—depicted in GRAEF’s actual workspaces. These spaces were illustrated based on photographic references and integrated into the visual world in such a way that they remain recognizable to employees. At the center is “Why we do what we do,” broken down into What, How, and Why. The surrounding scenes pick up on this logic and show how values such as sustainability, enthusiasm, and professional development manifest themselves in concrete ways in our daily interactions—not abstractly, but visibly through our actions.

Individual scenes

A team is brainstorming ideas in front of a whiteboard on the topic of "innovation."

This scene illustrates how ideas are developed and refined collaboratively, and how employees grow in the process. It shows that professional development at GRAEF is an active, collaborative process.

The scene shows how work is distributed evenly among the team and how time off is respected, ensuring that no one becomes overworked. This makes it clear that sustainable work at GRAEF also involves a mindful approach to time, health, and performance.

Four people in an office shake hands, surrounded by the GRAEF spirit

This scene captures the sense of unity: people from all areas work together as equals and pursue a common goal. That’s how individuals become “One GRAEF.”

This is how the big picture came about

We developed the Big Picture iteratively, working closely with the key contacts over the course of several coordination meetings. Step by step, a lengthy PowerPoint presentation of values evolved into a Big Picture featuring striking scenes and a clear visual structure.

1. Workshop & Analysis

GRAEF brought an existing set of values and guiding principles to the table. Based on these, Big Pictury developed initial visual concepts and scene ideas, which were discussed during joint meetings.

2. Prototyping & Iteration

In subsequent meetings, the scenes were fleshed out in detail: GRAEF's actual office spaces were assigned to the scenes, and it was determined which values should be represented and how.

3. Feedback & Finalization

Finally, the details and text were refined, and all visual elements were adapted to GRAEF’s corporate design. The finished “Big Picture” was prepared for large-format printing and web use.

Effect & Results

At GRAEF, the Big Picture is now used as a key tool for communicating the company culture. It creates a common foundation for discussions, makes it easier to find one’s bearings in day-to-day work, and supports the integration of new employees.

“This is how a shared identity is formed”

“Our values are the foundation of our collaboration and our success. With the Big Picture, we’ve created a visual framework that brings our corporate culture to life and provides guidance for all employees. It not only shows what we stand for, but also how we live out our values in our day-to-day work—in our real spaces, through real situations. This fosters a shared identity that binds us even more closely together as a team.”

- Füsun Cihan, Accounting, Human Resources, Authorized Signatory, GRAEF GmbH

Five people are working in a modern office, are pleased with positive "CUSTOMER REVIEWS," and are holding video conferences as a team.

Get started today—schedule your free initial consultation!

Take advantage of this opportunity to learn how a big picture can simplify and strengthen your communication in a 30-minute conversation. We look forward to hearing about your challenges.