From the beginning, there was supposed to be a painted design on the tower. From what sources told me last year, the majority of it was supposed to have been painted onto the pieces before assembly, with final work done once assembled. Then after the pieces arrived, it was decided to do the entire paint project right after the beginning of the year (Jan/Feb time-frame). This was announced through a few different traditional media outlets back in the early Fall 2013. Then construction delays started piling up, and the painting was postponed - eventually being tabled in an effort to make the May 1st announced date. Then when testing revealed the issues with the cables and required replacement, the time to paint was suddenly available again, and so it was completed. That's how it was all explained to me.
The design on the tower now is similar to what was on the large banner at the back of Gwazi Field during Bands, Brew & BBQ (and later along the wall in Pantopia). The artist who did the work is the same woman who did some of the painting on rock work around SheiKra and many of the murals in Sesame Street Safari of fun.