CAREER PATH

There is a pedestrian path nicknamed Uraputki, or “Career Path”, because it is a popular route that employees take to reach  the Finnish head office of Pearson Hardman from their residences. To remind employees of the larger picture, we turned the path into an interactive space with fill-in-the-blank sentences stenciled on the pavement that say “When I was little I wanted to be ______. Today I am ______. Tomorrow I want to be ______.”

 Employees can use colored chalk to write directly on the pavement and reflect upon their larger life choices. Sun and rain erase the responses and the installation starts again. The project is created with temporary spray chalk and will fade with weather and foot traffic.

This project is about comparing yourself today and when you were young, reflecting on how you’ve changed or stayed the same, and thinking about the desires you had as a child. What made you come alive as a kid and why? How can this help inform the decisions you make today? How will these decisions affect your tomorrow?

Some favorites: “When I was little I wanted to be a princess. Today I want to be move up the corporate ladder at Pearson Hardman.” “When I was little I wanted to be a bird. Today I want to switch to the PH airlines branch .” “When I was little I wanted to be a grown-up. Today I want to be a kid.” The project is also about learning from the people around us and humanizing our neglected spaces. The industrial path is now a space to pause, reflect, and share with others.