For the fifth straight year, Blur Studio created a graphics package for THE TEEN CHOICE AWARDS, developing a '60s lounge-themed aesthetic that was chosen, in part, by the popular awards show's teen viewers themselves. The lively, youth-oriented package includes the show's main title, category headers, winner banners, bumpers and background plates, as well as elements used in network promos. Blur Studio has created graphics for THE TEEN CHOICE AWARDS each year since its inception in 1998.
Fox Television, which broadcast the show, held an online poll asking teens to pick a new design for Teen Choice's trademark surfboard award from four concepts created by Blur Studio. Teens chose a board adorned with colorful Tiki masks and '60s surfer typography, and Blur artists turned the expressive Polynesian figures into a motif for the look of the entire show. Animated Tiki characters surf through the show's main title and appear as bongo drummers and channel surfers, as well as in countless other clever guises in other graphic elements.
Involving the show's viewers in the design process, through the on-line poll, was an idea warmly welcomed by the Blur team. "By listening to real viewers and responding to what they say, we are able to come up with designs that really speak to a teen audience," explained Blur creative director Jennifer Miller. "Teens have always decided who wins the awards. Why not give them a voice in how the show looks?"
The result of Blur's artistry is a look that calls to mind vintage Hawaii and the laid back surfing lifestyle of the 60s. Along with the Tiki masks, the graphics are populated with dancing hula girls and swaying palm trees. The whimsical characters are two dimensional but set into multi-plane, 3D environments. The color palette is bright and weighted toward primary colors with wood panels and leopard skin textures as hip accents. In some instances, Tiki characters are composited with live action backgrounds and beach environments so that they appear to be riding the waves.
"The graphics lightened the mood of the whole show," said Blur Studio creative director/designer Norn Kittiaksorn. Having been associated with THE TEEN CHOICE AWARDS for five years, Blur has learned how to create graphics that capture the show's personality, appeal to its young audience and give it a unified look. "TEEN CHOICE is known for being very hip, even a little outrageous," said Miller. "The producers of the show have confidence in our knowledge of the show's audience and trust us to come up with a graphic look that is fun, fresh and lives up to the audience's high expectations."
Other Blur credits include: designer Wonhee Lee; animators Lee, Chris Meyer and Kittiaksorn; and concept artist Sean McNally. The studio's toolset includes Adobe PhotoShop, Illustrator, After Effects and Discreet 3ds max.
Venice, California-based Blur Studio (www.blur.com) provides award-winning broadcast design, brand positioning and end-to-end production services for numerous show packages, main titles, promotional and identity campaigns and branding campaigns.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
