Pear Stairs, based in Welshpool, Wales, has introduced a new art-inspired livery to three of its delivery lorries.

The company, which manufactures softwood and hardwood staircases and stairparts for distribution to builders' merchants throughout the UK, commissioned employee Clare Harper to design the livery.

Ms Harper, who studied art at Central St Martins, London, was given the brief to "do anything you want as long as it's amazing".

The concept was to pique the curiosity of the viewer by making the images both obvious and obscure. Although there are pears and stairs covering large parts of the huge canvasses, any reference to the company name is subtly incorporated within the picture so the viewer has to look for it. The idea is to encourage the onlooker to think about what they see and reinforce the link between the vibrant images and the Pear Stairs brand.

The crafted wooden staircases made by the company are teamed with references to pears in classical and contemporary art, such as Vermeer's 'The Girl with the Pear Earring', Magritte's 'Son of Man' or Hirst's 'A Pear Divided'? Escher's 'Relativity', with its never-ending, impossible staircase, triggered the whole idea for Ms Harper.

Pear Stairs manager Clive McNamee said: "We wanted to produce something a little different to what you usually see. The images are about poking gentle fun at the world while seriously imprinting Pear Stairs onto the memory of everyone who sees them. Clare has done a fantastic job and we are absolutely delighted with the end result."