Advertising

Freddy’s Kaleidoscope of Motion Design

By Delphine Hirasuna | October 23, 2013September 4, 2014

The symmetrical patterns and multiple reflections created by a kaleidoscope served as the perfect metaphor for the art of dance and gymnastics – and a means to demonstrate the ease of movement offered by the dance and fitness apparel manufactured by Freddy Wr.UP of Italy. For the making of the video, DLV BBDO Milan collaborated with Abstr^ct:groove production company to build a simulated kaleidoscopic view of performers in motion. Considerable storyboarding preceded actual production. Abstr^ct:groove producer Mauro Mastronicola says, “To understand how to achieve the graphic patterns we wanted, we started by studying small scale models and then we went into CGI simulations. All the effects were obtained in camera without the use of added post-production.”

Not everything happened in camera, however. Abstr^ct:groove designed and built four thaumascopes of different sizes and shapes, the biggest being about 30 feet long with an triangular opening of about 8 feet and the smallest being about 5 feet in length with a square opening of about 2 feet. The Italian National Team of Rhythmic Gymnastic ‘le Farfalle’ was asked to perform the gymnastic movements which were choreographed by their trainer Emanuela Maccarani. Luigi Pane directed the film and Franky B (aka Cryptic Monkey) produced the music.

Greek EcoNews Intro

By Delphine Hirasuna | October 18, 2013September 4, 2014

Anthimos Xenos in Athens, Greece, produced this animated introduction for the Greek environmental television network, EcoNews. For the 30-second video, Xenos served as art and creative director, motion designer and 3-D animator, and completed the project from start to finish in one month. Music and sound compositing was by Xenakis Lefteris and additional direction by Nikos Tsimouris. In February 2013, Xenos founded his own firm, Darling Creative Motion, in Athens, to focus on TV branding and advertising.

Brand Logos

Rebranding San Francisco’s Chamber of Commerce

By Delphine Hirasuna | October 16, 2013September 4, 2014

Picking the most recognizable icon to represent a city can be daunting, especially for a multi-faceted place like San Francisco. There are so many famous landmarks, cutting-edge industries, and innovative happenings to choose from, that settling on only one symbol doesn’t do justice to the vibrance and diversity of the Bay Area. So, San Francisco-based designers Primo Angeli and Stapley-Hildebrand chose not to choose. Instead, they packed as many icons as they could into a mosaic to create a new brand identity for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. The “C” logo is meant to denote the Chamber, the city and the community. To reflect the Chamber’s key mission, they added the tagline “Our City, Your Business.”

Packaging

Tea Brand Mascot Steeped in Tradition

By Delphine Hirasuna | October 15, 2013September 4, 2014

A wandering elephant has been the brand mascot for UK-based Williamson Tea since the company began tea farming in Assam, India, in 1869. India, then still part of the British Empire, used trained elephants as farm animals, much like the West used horses and mules. Until the advent of farming machinery, Williamson too relied on elephants. When the family-owned business moved its tea farming operation from India to Kenya, it kept its elephant logo, but changed its profile from an Asian elephant to an African elephant, which has bigger ears and a concave humped back.

To this day, the wandering elephant remains an important emblem in Williamson’s brand identity program, reminding consumers of the tea grower’s exotic history. Springetts Brand Design in London built on this tradition by featuring ornately decorated elephants on luxury-edition “tin” caddies. Each tin is color-coded to reflect the type of tea inside. More than just an eye-catching marketing ploy, the elephant tin containers are highly collectible, and are themselves charming works of art.

Viral Marketing

Nothing Cheesy About These Ads

By Delphine Hirasuna | October 10, 2013September 4, 2014

These commercials aren’t selling what you think they do. They were created by London-based John Nolan Studio/Robot Factory, which boasts an impressive portfolio of film assignments including “Dr. Who” and “Where the Wild Things Are.” The Nolan’s Cheese and Nolan’s Nuts brands don’t exist, but John Nolan’s animatronic design and FX services do, and the videos show off the firm’s talent and capabilities quite effectively – little wonder that they went viral online. The cheese video came out first, and a nutty variation of the idea followed.