Being on a design panel isn’t an easy job. It can be a challenge to form an opinion on each and every entry. There was some feedback at the press conference on the entries - Adrian Burton, Executive Creative Director, Lambie-Nairn, UK called for more ‘green work and less paper art’. His message: the millennium generation already lives in a different world, Cannes is behind the times and is loosing relevance when it comes to what is happening on the market. And it wasn’t the first time we heard it that week either.
His favourite was the LIDL project: Restaurant Dill. LIDL, on the market in Sweden for 10 years, has been in the red for just as many. The reason: cheap and good don’t go hand in hand in Swedish culture. Ingo Stockholm agency came up with the DILL restaurant (an acronym for LIDL) to challenge this way of thinking and show consumers just how narrow-minded they had been. The menu only served products from the supermarket, prepared by a two star chef. And what happened? The Swedes loved it! The restaurant was fully booked for weeks, the media went nuts, it was a super success. We present the showcase with the daring – or perhaps desperate – client that dared go to the edge of ‘good’ taste and practically threaten their customers to rethink whilst brandishing a rolling pin.
INGO STOCKHOLM for LIDL
Pum Lefebure, CCO Desing Army, Washington highlighted the potential of design. " Through branding design has an immediate impact on brand recognition and shapes it in the long run. Advertising on the other hand hits you in the first 10 seconds – or never.” She was very impressed by the classic use of the Colgate packaging solutions on plain cardboard. However, she mentioned that the panel “kept returning to the billboard from Bergen”.
Jury President Ije Nwokorie, Global CEO, Wolff Olins, agreed and elaborated that the overarching design theme in 2014 was ‘quiet’. They were most impressed by sustainable work. His favourite on the other hand was a little less sustainable, but all the more cute: penguins on the way to the zoo.
So what was going on in Bergen? Alisa Wolfson from Leo Burnett commented, “Bergen is such a small town. If you know Bergen then you know that if you are to do a job for them, like the one for the festival, then the whole town knows all about it.” Does that work in Cannes? “We all wondered that you can make an entry with something along the lines of a billboard.” Alisa laughed. Check out the showcase for the music festival, which all the judges agreed deserved to win the Grand Prix in the end.
There were of course also questions on country specific entries, including questions aimed at multi-award winning ex-pat Claire Parker, Creative Director at Design Bridge in Amsterdam. She diplomatically answered that Holland had of course also produced great work but that it had either not be entered at all or incorrectly. We agree and present three works that Claire would like to share with you.
DESIGN GRAND PRIX WINNER : BERGEN FESTIAL
We also used this opportunity to do a Mini GoSee QUEST and quizzed Eric Amaral Rohter, Senior Designer and Partner at Anti Inc Bergen AS, whom we met out celebrating after winning the highest accolade in Cannes, on the events.
How did it all begin?
When we started the process, we really focused on understanding and developing the new communication strategy for the festival, which meant creating a strong, coherent brand. This meant that we needed to speak to different audiences with varying visual expressions, yet within one unified voice. We’re all music enthusiasts (we even have some trained musicians and an audio engineer in our office) so we knew that music, through visual expression, had the flexibility and structure to solve our challenge. We did a lot of research and explored how music could be visualised. But when we arrived at the “F” and it’s systematic application, we knew we had the solution. It has endless possibilities and will continue to evolve and grow over time.
Who decided to participate in Cannes?
Our Creative Director, Endre Beretnzen, used Cannes to set the bar when we started to document the project for Bergen International Festival. Great design needs to be well documented, and with such a diverse and elaborate identity, the documentation needs to clearly communicate the concept, challenges and solutions for the design. When we created the case study film, we used Cannes guidelines as a starting point. But we always believe that a good brand tells it’s own story. We saw that the project had a lot in common with the Cannes philosophy, and we decided it was the perfect project to enter.
And in just one category?
We believed in the project. The client believed in the project. And most importantly, we saw that the design community responded to the project with great enthusiasm. We felt confident that the project fit perfectly into the 360 degree branding campaign category. The Bergen International Festival brand is much more than just a brand. It's an evolving, growing, organic visual expression. Although we put detail and craft into each individual element that made up the identity as a whole, we felt the full package was what resinated the most with audiences. So we took a big gamble..but when you believe in the idea, you believe in the success and impact it can have. We took a big risk, and it paid off.
Why just one board?
The idea was simple, and we didn’t want to overcomplicate the presentation with details and ornaments. We wanted the jury to focus on the idea, the system, and the non-traditional branding applications we pursued. One board, clear text, and a clean presentation helped to guide the jury through the concept and design process. However the case-study film, in our opinion, is was really inspires people and shows the full expression and possibilities of the brand.
Is Bergen going crazy about your Grand Prix?
In Norway, we have an unwritten moral tradition called Janteloven, which essentially emphasises the importance that individual success and importance should not be something that is flaunted publicly. We got alot of comments from the jury and others at the festival that they we’re surprised by our calm attitude and our quiet celebration. But trust us…we were thrilled. And of course, we have to celebrate and appreciate the hard work and pay-off that this project has given us. Bergen is excited and extremely proud to be the first Norwegian city to win Grand Prix in the design category. This helps us emphasis Bergen’s importance as a creative centre, both nationally and internationally.
BERGEN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL (Festspillene i Bergen) presents art in all its guises from music to theatre, dance, opera and visual art. Established in 1953, the festival is one of the oldest and the largest of its kind in the Nordic countries, with more than 220 events during the 15 days it lasts. Redesigning a festival brand—whose program ranges from the classical to the Avant Garde—it was important to create a playful, versatile platform, that spoke to different audiences in a unified voice, yet allowed for individuality in content and appearance. Looking to bridge musical and visual language, we started with what they both had in common: being constructed from a single fundamental element—a note and a pixel. Using this singular element to build the iconic ”F” logo, like a chord constructed of various notes, we were able to establish a mathematical system—a system that allows the logo to grow, subdivide and rhythmically repeat like musical units creating a beat or tempo.
By visualising music through these modular systems, we were able to create an identity that is strong and flexible with endless possibilities, yet never looses brand recognition. A logo that is both a traditional logo, and a living identity. In addition to more traditional festival materials, we looked at new ways to create brand awareness through new channels. The festival is based in Bergen, the rainiest city in Europe, so we designed a rain poncho, covered in the brand patterns. We also created a traditional Norwegian sweater, which connected the brand & the sweaters traditional knitting patterns. At the opening performance, drone helicopters created the logo in the sky. City hall used it’s windows to light up the logo. We also created a digital campaign "Sound Smith" where people could play & compose on our music sequencer. fib.no
About ANTI is an acronym for A New Type of Interference – a manifest for the studio’s approach to communication design. ANTI believes that in a world where we are bombarded with several thousand pieces of communication a day it requires an untraditional approach and result to make you stand out from the crowd. ANTI was founded in 2008 and has a client list which among others consists of Pepsi International, IMG Models, Tag Heuer, Converse, Nike, Visa, MTV, Docomo Japan, Massimo Dutti, DNB (Norway’s largest bank) and Arcus (Norway’s leading alcohol distributor). The agency has it’s very own denim brand – ANTI Denim – rooted in Norway’s largest cultural export – black metal. In 2013 – visual style powerhouse – Grandpeople became a part of the ANTI team. A team that today consists of 37 people divided into two offices and spread across professional fields like Design, Advertising, illustration/visual style development (Grandpeople) and Conceptual development for TV.
