From Sea to Shining Sea: Aptive Helps Bring America’s 250th Birthday to Life 

There’s something special about walking past a federal building this summer and recognizing the work your colleagues helped create. 

That’s the experience Aptive employees have been having across the country in recent weeks. They’ve been noticing banners, flags and building wraps at courthouses, post offices and federal facilities in their own communities and sharing photos as part of a companywide “GSA Freedom 250 Spot It” challenge, which carries a fitting $250 prize. 

Through a competitively-awarded contract with the U.S. General Services Administration, Aptive’s Captivate team produced and delivered GSA Freedom 250 celebration materials to more than 250 federal buildings across all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. The materials (more than 1,600 items in total) range from interior and exterior banners and large-format building wraps to Betsy Ross flags and red-white-and-blue bunting. 

“America’s 250th birthday is a once-in-a-generation moment,” said Ashley Graham, the project’s manager. “Every banner, flag and building wrap we deliver is a tangible part of that celebration, something Americans will see when they walk into a federal courthouse or post office or drive past a government building this summer. We’re proud our work is part of making that experience special.” 

With celebration events beginning in May, the project team worked against a compressed timeline to outfit federal buildings before the first events took place over Memorial Day weekend. All products were manufactured to meet Buy America Act requirements.    

“Designing and proofing this work in active production environments required constant coordination, technical precision and the ability to adapt quickly across a massive range of formats and installation conditions,” said Art Director Sophocles Grafas. “What made this project unique was the sheer scale of it — balancing evolving artwork updates, production realities and vendor collaboration while still preserving a consistent visual impact across every piece. Seeing the work installed across the country has been incredibly rewarding because it reflects the effort and craftsmanship that went into every stage of the process.” 

The reach of the project became real for many Aptive employees in the most ordinary of moments, like a morning commute, a weekend errand or a stroll in a downtown area. The ‘Spot It’ photos coming in from across the country are a reminder that the people behind large-scale government work are often everyday professionals who showed up, did their jobs well and ended up contributing to a moment the whole country will share.