FBDCreates #001: Be creative - fast!
Future by Design is an award-winning multidisciplinary studio specialized in sustainable development and visual communication. We create high-impact and innovative visual experiences for a more sustainable future.
‘It’s big, it’s important, and you have one day to create it.’
The brief every agency has a love/hate relationship with.
We hate the pressure but love the challenge, hate the timeline but love the work, and it’s always a thrill to help a client make a big announcement.
This week, a client approached us with a challenge.
They had an urgent and important announcement to make- they had just got the go-ahead, and it needed to be out the following day.
But the brief was limited. For legal reasons, big players were involved, and we could not include any brand-specific elements and visuals that we would usually do for this kind of announcement. We had to show something that could be easily understood but do it in a more abstract way.
So, how did we pull it together:
Hour 1: Team meeting- CEO, Project Lead, Communications Lead, and Creative Director jump on a call from different corners of the world. Discuss the brief, scratch our heads, and brainstorm how we can creatively make this happen in the best way.
Hour 2: In Serbia, our creative lead started researching the strongest associations with the announcement. He works out what associations come to mind for most people. Meanwhile, in Paris, our CEO makes a small hand drawing with an idea- a great idea.
Hour 3: Our designer, drawing on his gaming experience, starts thinking about the map in Need for Speed—could that be the inspiration? Could it be a topographical background? He goes further on this line of thinking, and the idea is set.
Hours 4-6: Coffee and a trip in a few creative directions. How do we technically do this in our software? Creative Director Alex starts using a complicated method- Illustrator. He makes a pattern brush to try and achieve the look, but it’s just not working. Finally, he realizes the key is simplicity. With the pen tool, he draws the shape on the gaming-inspired background and adds just a few strokes to that shape.
Hour 7: Okay, the first idea is done. We need a second one to present to our client. Start again, call across the world- and get the team back together. What’s the most obvious thing associated with this announcement?
Hour 8: We're not sure we love this as much as the first idea, but visually, it’s on point. And we’re on a roll now—the idea being the hardest part. Alex sources multiple pictures, meticulously cutting them and combining them. We are unsure just how far we can push the creativity on this one, but we will go as far as we can with the idea of pairing it back if needed.
Let’s send the options to the client and find out!
Hour 9: We have feedback and changes. It turns out we did push it too far, but just a tiny bit. They like the idea and send some great suggestions. We go back and rework—we’re almost there now. We do a few internal revisions, move this over, change the color, send it to the client, and wait…
12 hours from start to finish, success, approved by legal, and posted to the world!
Another job well done.
A good nights sleep and it’s straight on to the next project, next creation, next inspiration…
Get in touch
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Get in touch -
If you like to find out more about our studio please drop us a line on hello@futurebydesign.com.
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