Artists Reimagine ‘X’ for FutureDeluxe’s FuturePlay Exploration

Where might the future take us? This is the question driving FutureDeluxe’s latest brief for FuturePlay, the Cannes Lion and D&AD award-winning studio best known for its experimental and innovative approaches to design, technology and moving image. A culture of experimentation and knowledge sharing is at the heart of FutureDeluxe, with the ethos of FuturePlay embodying this, encouraging artists to spend time each month to explore the unknown and push the boundaries of creativity.

The studio centred the most recent FuturePlay exploration using their brand ‘X’ as a creative framework. Rather than seeking to make the ‘X’ recognisable, artists were challenged to use it as a compositional framework, incorporating elements such as lines, points and negative space to guide them. This approach encouraged the team to be curious and engage with the unknown using new or unfamiliar processes, software and techniques, fostering a spirit of experimentation.

The challenge was approached through new creative approaches, primarily working within 3D design systems, whilst always encouraging artists to explore outside of their day-to-day approaches. Alongside film, photography, and illustration, they also lent into exploring integrating AI tools into their creative process not as a replacement for human creativity but as a complementary toolset and workflow, to enhance their visions and bolster creative practice.

For FutureDeluxe, AI plays a supporting role, an enhancer, not the hero of the story. The most effective use of technology often goes unnoticed in the final work, subtly influencing the process without overshadowing the artist’s vision.

Founder and CCO, FutureDeluxe and Forever, Andrew Jones added, “Through our history as a studio we have always been deeply engaged with researching new creative technology and integrating this into our workflow & projects for some of our biggest clients.

We have always steered away from the common-trodden design path and instead explored creative routes that are uncomfortable for some, but hugely rewarding for many. More recently AI continues to be a more common part of this process. But it’s always used as a tool, and NEVER the hero of the story.”