From Spreadsheets to Texture Boards – Inside Cisco's Finance Team Workshop

Finance and art don’t usually go together in the same sentence. But Cisco’s finance team wanted to challenge that.

Cisco's Leaders in Finance & Tech (LiFT) team organised a fun Texture Art Workshop as a way to bring the team together

They reached out to us with a simple brief:

“We want our finance team to have fun, like real fun. Something hands-on. Something different.”

So we pitched the idea of a texture painting workshop — right inside their office.

We transformed their conference room into a mini art studio. Tables were lined with canvas boards, palette knives, paints, rakes, sponges, and a whole lot of curiosity. For most of the participants, this was the first time they were engaging in anything remotely artistic since school.

For most of the participants, this was the first time they were doing something artistic in a long time

But that's where our planning made the difference. We ensured the session was fun — from basic blending and layering techniques to more playful experimentation with texture and form.

Within 15 minutes, people started loosening up.

Laughter echoed as colleagues compared strokes and shared color ideas. Some were hyper-focused, while others were joyfully chaotic with their paints, both valid, both beautiful.

By the end of the session, what started as a quiet finance team had turned into a buzzing, expressive, and visibly happier group. It was a complete vibe.

The quiet finance team turned into a buzzing, expressive and happy group

We love working with teams like this because it proves what we’ve always known: creativity isn’t reserved for the “creative types.” It’s something we all have. And sometimes all it takes is a little texture to bring it out.