A champion of the moving image for over 70 years, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) was looking to modernise its brand and reach new audiences, while still upholding its legacy and heritage.
Focusing on the personal journeys of different actors, we launched a brave and authentic advertising campaign in 2019 that contemporary audiences could relate to and feel inspired by. The actors’ raw and honest stories – about falling in love with film, getting first chances, facing career hardships and finally making it into the BAFTAS – ran through every creative thread.
To promote the 2019 Film Awards, we brought the actors’ personal stories to life across cinema adverts and other digital assets. The trailer combined found footage with film clips and a voice over constructed from BAFTA’s interview archive. Including actors like Daniel Kaluuya, Eddie Redmayne and Kate Winslet, it offers rare glimpses into their vulnerabilities and triumphs.
I was scared, of course I was scaredDaniel Kaluuya – Actor
On national billboards, posters and other out-of-home advertising, we chose a singular format, using dynamic black and white portraits of celebrities at the BAFTA Film Awards. Each image captured powerful, candid moments, from anguish and excitement to pure joy, revealing the genuine emotions of people behind the mask of stardom.
Honouring determination
For the Games Awards, which showcases the best in games design globally, we produced a digital illustration for the brochure cover showing a determined young girl on an adventurous journey. Expanding upon this theme and style, we also created a unique visual identity for the awards ceremony’s digital and print material.
Inspired by self-reflection
The Television Awards followed another path, based on the power of TV. This inspired a visual identity using moiré, a pattern that appears when cameras are pointed at TV screens. Graphic elements of moiré designs were used for the brochure cover and all other digital and print material.
We were invited to continue the journey theme and challenge audience perceptions, showing BAFTA as an inclusive brand that champions people and creativity.
We based the visual identity for the Film Awards on a hand-crafted illustration of tree rings, emphasising the beauty of growth and irregularities. On printed material, the tree rings were debossed and a gold foil ring was added, symbolising a winning year in an actor’s life.
For the Games Awards, we created a digital illustration for the brochure cover and turned it into an animation that played at the opening of the ceremony. The image spotlights the creative and diverse people working hard to design, make and release a game.
