Communication design meets music: corporate design of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017
The Red Dot Award: Communication Design is held annually, with a jury of experts being in search of good design and creativity. Only projects of high quality receive the coveted Red Dot. From all entries, only a few stand out every year. They are awarded with the Red Dot: Grand Prix, which is the highest single distinction in the competition. On 26 October the laureates of the Red Dot Award 2018 will be announced. In 2017, the Red Dot: Grand Prix was granted five times, among others to Banda Agency and to Republique, who were responsible for the corporate design of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.
Traditional necklaces as a source of inspiration
In 2017, the well-known European music event took place in Kiev and was based on the motto “Celebrate Diversity”. To illustrate it in a proper way, the creative minds at Banda Agency and Republique from the host country found their inspiration in traditional Ukrainian necklaces. The distinctive style of the pearls expresses the individuality of the participants, thus emphasising the values of the contest, which invites people to come together, listen to music and celebrate their shared cultural heritage as well as their differences. “The idea […] is both powerful and outstanding”, explained the Red Dot Jury.
The visual identity reinterprets the necklace in a modern way, following the idea of “Uniting Europe, bead by bead”. Each individual bead symbolises both a participating artist and his or her country, and features a unique appearance based on stripes, stars, crosses or dots in different sizes. Yet, they unmistakably belong together and form a unity.
In addition, they offer a wide range of playful applications: “The distinctive look of the beads […] works convincingly across all media. Whether used in animation or printed on an umbrella or T-shirt, it succeeds in conveying the joy that this competition delivers”, explained the expert panel furthermore. The inspiring creativity and well-achieved execution of this work prompted the jury members to award this corporate design with the Red Dot: Grand Prix in 2017.
The corporate design of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was created by Banda Agency and Republique. Banda Agency is an independent creative studio based in Kiev. Founded in 2011 by Pavlo Vrzhesch, creative director, Yegor Petrov, artistic director, and Yaroslav Serdiuk, head of strategy, the agency was recognised as the most creative and effective one in Ukraine from 2012 to 2015. Based in the same city is Republique, a small design studio, founded by Denys Gerasko in 2006. Together with their team, the creative directors Ivan Symonovskyi and Dmytro Basov work with big international companies and small local businesses and have won multiple international awards.
When asked how Banda Agency and Republique convince their clients, the designers answered: “Right from the very start of a project, we immerse ourselves in the detail of the problem and define our tasks together with the client. We synchronise and adjust our expectations so we learn to trust each other. We believe that the only way to create a really cool and effective design is to take this approach.”
Awarding of the Red Dot: Grand Prix 2018
In July 2018, the Red Dot Jury met in Essen, Germany, to find the best communication designs of the year. More than 8,600 works were entered in the Red Dot Award: Communication Design 2018. Only convincing projects were granted the Red Dot distinctions, and the very best the Red Dot: Grand Prix. Those, which will be honoured with the highest single distinction, will first be announced at the Red Dot Gala in Berlin on 26 October 2018.