Work

TF3: Dark of the Moon

Hasbro Entertainment & Licensing

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With the release of the third installment of the cinematic version of Transformers quickly approaching, Hasbro Entertainment & Licensing relied on us to identify new trends and develop the design assets for its licensing program. Although Transformers: Dark of the Moon still features the iconic Autobots and Decepticons we all know and love, it introduces a few new characters to the silver screen. We felt the design assets for this program should also take on a fresh, new look. Our solution? Two new trends: one utilizing pencil illustrations of the characters; the other combining various painted techniques with the CG character imagery. Our design team established a spontaneous, gestural style for the pencil illustrations, which we created by hand from character poses supplied to us by Hasbro. The painterly style simulates a variety of traditional approaches ranging from water color to sponging to aggressive brush strokes.

Industry:

Licensing

Disciplines:

Pre-Design Research, Design Assets Development, Style Guide Design

Transforming the Look of Transformers

With the advent of a third cinematic release of the Transformers franchise, we were presented with the opportunity to create a fresh, new look for the film’s licensing program. Rather than simply developing the traditional character-driven design assets that incorporate full-color digital renderings of the Transformers provided by Industrial Light and Magic, Hasbro Entertainment & Licensing wanted to produce something unique for their licensees for this style guide. Our solution was to introduce two new visual trends: pencil illustrations and painted techniques.

For the painted techniques approach, our design team generated a library of paint strokes, ranging from heavily applied oils and acrylics to delicate water color washes, then combined them with high-contrast interpretations of the CG character imagery to create a variety of badge designs.

The pencil illustrations, however, were a bit more involved. Each CG character pose was meticulously re-illustrated by hand in a spontaneous, gestural style indicative of technical concept drawings, with varying levels of intricate detail. These illustrations were then infused into badge designs, providing energy and movement to the Transformers new licensing program.

NASCAR in Disguise

Among the new characters introduced in TF3 are the NASCAR “Wreckers”, three new Autobots modeled after the vehicles of NASCAR drivers Jimmy Johnson (Topspin), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Roadbuster) and Juan Pablo Montoya (Leadfoot). We developed a series of badge designs for these characters, drawing inspiration from classic NASCAR t-shirts currently found in the marketplace. We leveraged design elements associated with NASCAR, such as driver signatures, racing stripes, checkered flags, large driver numbers and aggressive, racing-inspired type treatments.

Target Exclusive: Unlock the Secrets

We developed badge and pattern designs for a Target-exclusive licensing program based on the theme, Unlock the Secrets. The theme hinges upon the premise of using the Transformers’ alien language as a way to hide hidden messages on licensed consumer products. Through this program, licensees were encouraged to integrate technologies such as glow-in-the-dark ink and color change fabrics to reveal the hidden messages.

Walmart Exclusive: Chase Through Space

We also developed badge designs for a Walmart-exclusive licensing program based on the theme, Chase Through Space. This theme derives from the TF3 storyline, which is tied to the race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to reach the moon. We were asked to work with imagery of the moon and lunar themed concepts in the development of assets for the program.

Primed for Success

In today’s marketplace, cinematic properties often reach the point of visual redundancy due to the overuse of a handful of popular imagery across all product categories. The TF3: Dark of the Moon licensing program style guide is both robust and diverse, providing licensees with a multitude of imagery and styles from which to choose.

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