City Hall Live Spotlight is a livestream concert series initiated by the City of Toronto in partnership with Happin in order to support local music industry that has been directly impacted by the pandemic. I was tasked with creating the visual identity for the series, including asset creation and motion graphics.
Visual Identity
Video + Motion Design
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe After Effects
Since this is a city-run initiative, I needed to take into account the city's brand as well as the accessibility aspect of the design.
I first considered the existing City Hall Live assets, but the project leader gave me free reign to start fresh. Then I researched design projects relating to music or live performances or to the arts in general. After research, I narrowed down my explorations to three branches: one based on my interpretation of musical symbols, one based on typography and minimalism, and one based on a vintage 90s poster look. Upon presentation, it was agreed that the first direction was the way to go. I opted to simplify the use of symbols and go with an oval (reminiscent of the whole note) and the five outlined ovals stacked (to signify the bar/staff of the music sheet). The oval also acted as a visual signifier for the spotlight, as I used an oval frame to house the image of the featured artist.
Since there are 25 artists, I needed to come up with a way to make sure all 25 assets (if looked at a single glance) could be visually cohesive but not jarring, at the same time not be too repetitive. Therefore I decided to not assign one single brand colour to promote the artists. Rather, I opted to pull the primary colour from the photo supplied by the artist. If for some reason the colours from the photo are mostly dark, I would adjust the tone so black text can be easily read on top of the colour and adhere to WCGA 2.0. Once I set these guidelines and template in place, it allowed me to create assets in a seamless manner.
The design also came to life in a different way when I started on the motion graphics and video assets for the stream. I animated the symbols and shapes and added movements to the typographical elements, adding life and vibrancy to the two-dimensional design.
The project is currently on hold until the lockdown lifts; once it's given a green light again, it will have a great impact on providing support to the city's music scene.
