Laundry Creates Vibrant Title Sequence & Branding For Graphika Manila

Design-driven animation and production company Laundry was recently commissioned by Graphika Manila, a premier creativity conference in the Philippines, to create the title sequence and branding for its 13th annual event.

Led by Laundry partner/executive creative director PJ Richardson, the concept behind the event poster, T-shirt design, and title sequence was inspired by the infinite loop of the creative process. The title sequence follows the narrative of how the act of creating can be lonely and dark at first; the light that you walk towards is sometimes attainable, but other times, it’s out of reach. Then through perseverance, you get there, only to start over again with the next challenge.

“Laundry and PJ were a delight to work with,” says Aram Beheshti, founder of Graphika Manila. “We give full creative freedom to our collaborator to create the branding and titles for the event, and Laundry took full advantage of this in creating a branding that captures the creative spirit of the event and opening titles that are a visual treat for the attendees.”

“My goal in every which way was to put myself, our presentation, and the branding in the shoes of the creative audience,” adds Richardson. “‘What would they want to see? What would inspire or enlighten them in some way and add value to what they’re looking for?’ In posing these questions to ourselves, it’s how my team and I landed on the concept of the infinite loop of the creative process. It’s an idea that every creative can relate to.”

The poster features a vibrant infinity loop shape made of a 3D paint stroke meant to speak to both the technology and art of design. According to Richardson, the choice of bright colors celebrates the passion of the audience, and more distantly, the tropical nature of the Philippines, where the conference takes place.

Richardson, a big fan of digital artists, such as Beeple, Ash Thorp, Patrick Claire, and Gmunk, was inspired to take a new approach stylistically to learn new techniques to tell stories. He employed several animation techniques; in particular, using OctaneRender and Cinema 4D for the 3D modeling, lighting, and rendering. In an unusual twist to his design process, Richardson modeled and animated everything first and then backed into the design-look development aspect of the piece.

“Aram gave me free rein to create,” concludes Richardson. “The design just had to be exciting and creative. However, since he knows the audience best, I leaned on his instincts. His team took the assets and built the event branding and social media look around it. They did a tremendous job.”