Commercial 3D CGI design project by John Harwood
It was a fairly open brief. After four previous generations of logos spanning over fifty years, the OppenheimerFunds Inc. logo needed bringing up to date, along with the overall branding feel. I was supplied with this new black-on-white graphic by Havas Worldwide, the advertising / ideas agency given the task of handling the entire rebranding exercise. My initial role was to engage with the creatives and explore some concepts. The main criterion was that the device had to have dimension. As a springboard, it seemed sensible to see what a dimesional 'frame' would look like, and move on to containing the negative space of the hands in some way or other. I felt that to maximize the dimensional effect, the 'frame' should have a convex attribute. The 3D CGI process facilitated that exploration in the most economic and flexible way.
Two design directions were now being explored simultaneously. One as a metal / chrome / painted object; the other as a crystal or clear acrylic object. Whilst trying to retain the flavor of the original graphic, early tests with the crystal device proved problematic, and the original 3D computer model was rebuilt several times in order to find something that wasn't too anatomical, but strived for a more up-to-date feel. We were in uncharted waters at this stage, and the only way forward was to produce many slightly diferent renditions, which were then edited down by the agency's internal creatives and account teams. Those edit's were then put before the client and focus groups for further consideration. The design above was version 13 in the evolutionary process.... many more designs followed this one.
The 'metal' framed version was now more or less exhausted regarding the possible permutations of it's technical features, and various colorways were finally explored. After extensive market testing involving focus groups, it was eventually decided that we should concentrate on the 'crystal' version. (When eventually launched, the statement from the client was this : "The new look and feel of the OppenheimerFunds brand demonstrates our belief in providing greater transparency for investors that operate in an increasingly multidimensional world."
The evolutionary process continued and versions were submitted with the hands joined, separated with a slight air gap between them, separated but just touching.... Different renders were produced with various surface reflections. At the end of the day, we were all happy with this simple swirl type (sky - horizon - land) front surface reflection. It's eventual use was a version without those surface reflections.
Executive Creative Director : Chris D'Rozario
Associate Creative Director : Rocky Reed
Senior Art Producer : Alex Tasch
