Overdue 2021 wrap-up. . .
I missed the 2021 wrap-up, with all of the holiday running around. So it's time to tie a bow on this one, and look ahead to what will (hopefully) be a better 2022. Of course as I write this I'm having events shut down and postpone due to the current Covid situation. But the industry is thinking a little more positively this time around, and the attitude for rebounding is better than last year. We had the Grammy Awards postpone yesterday; but they already had a plan for moving the date. So they were off and running with the next move, which was great to hear. And I think that's the new way of approaching this pandemic. Clients aren't sitting back and waiting. Their next approach is already prepared.
Anyway . . . so the last few weeks of 2021 were a bit frantic, as everyone was cranking out their events as quickly as they could. I had a few that cancelled halfway through the project. I had a few that radically changed their approach as the event date arrived. But all-in-all I didn't see a lot of panic. And the industry was busy.
This sketch was for the red carpet premiere of "The 355". An action movie from Universal Pictures. Sadly, we never made it past the first round and the studio cancelled the premiere due to escalated Covid risk.
On the positive side, the Billboard Music Awards were held in a very normal fashion this year. While being cautious with all of the surrounding events, they were proactive with their approach to health and safety. We did a slightly smaller red carpet and there was a strong focus on logistics. I loved the graphic style of this year's event and creating supplemental graphics from their style guide direction was fun and challenging.
We also did a little backstage broadcast set for Security Benefit. It was a simple, fun setup with subtle branding. I enjoy these quick broadcast sets. The clients are usually very open to brainstorming ideas, and you crank through the creative process quickly. I often enjoy these so much I hardly realize how fast we go from revisions to drafting to construction. Projects like this can start on Monday and be in the shop on Friday.
And speaking of "in the shop" . . . we pulled out some pieces from last year's American Music Awards and repurposed them for this year's red carpet. Like the BBMS's, a new graphic campaign gave things a different look and allowed us to explore some fresh ideas. As was the usual for 2021, we had to scale down a little. But that challenge often leads to some unexpected creative solutions.
Ok. . . I can see that my blog is running long. This FEELS like the end of 2021 for me. I was packed with work, which I will never complain about. But it was a bit of a frenzy. Now, when I go back to re-post this stuff, I don't realize just how much there is.
So that was the end of 2021. And now, as I've taken a few minutes to post this, I'm way behind on stuff for 2022. So I'll sign off. Stay safe out there, everyone.