VICON House of Moves (HOM), a leading motion capture and animation service company, was recently contracted by EA to create identity elements and promotional content for the launch of EA‘s new entertainment platform and online store, Origin. The open-ended platform, launched June 6, 2011, is now available online and puts players at the epicenter of EA titles. Customers can log into Origin, access interactive content, and manage gameplay from PCs, mobile devices and the iPad.
EA enlisted VICON HOM to design a brand identity package for Origin that would appeal to its target audience of gamers and consumers of online entertainment through the integration of a unified system of identity elements played out across a variety of mediums. The HOM team produced hundreds of identity assets; from online buttons and animated IDs to corporate videos and 30-foot print installations, and more.
“We’re really excited about this project. It gave us the opportunity to create something completely new, something that’s strategically critical for our client,” said Todd Arnson, Executive Producer, VICON House of Moves. “Our team played a significant role in establishing the overall aesthetic of Origin and establishing the identity of a service that will be promoted and experienced throughout the world. It was especially fulfilling to get involved with a creative project like this from the ground up.”
The design team at VICON HOM refined the EA Origin logo – defining its ready for prime time silhouette and establishing the brand color palette. The animation team at VICON HOM built the 3D interpretation of the hero logo and logotype, a branded environment and a host of secondary iconography to develop a graphic back-story in which all communications could live within. From there, a comprehensive brand package was developed that required the design and animation of hundreds of individual Origin assets. The branded environment was expanded and coined the Origin “playscape”. The Origin “playscape” was iterated in several of the logo treatments and motion graphics design elements. For several animated IDs, VICON HOM was able to use the Origin “playscape” as both a design and narrative element to take venerable EA characters out of their traditional gameplay worlds and move them into the Origin branded environments.
“At House of Moves we have a dynamic animation department with extensive game development experience. We’re adding and integrating brand design disciplines by way of veteran broadcast designers and art directors with interactive entertainment backgrounds. With the combination of these creative talents — it was easy for them to tap into an aesthetic style that speaks to Origin’s audience,” explained Brian Rausch, VP of Production at VICON House of Moves. “They understand games, the demands of the market sector, and a visual communication that can captivate and sustain.”
Drawing on icons and typography from their Origin brand design work, VICON HOM also completed branded interior designs, which culminated in vinyl installations for two expansive 30-foot-plus walls and fabricated life-size dimensional logos complete with a glowing Origin icon to adorn EA‘s Redwood Shores and Burnaby offices.