Just Dance 2021
Every year, a new Just Dance installment kicks off with fresh key art that sets the brand’s story and messaging for the year ahead. For Just Dance 2021, I pitched and designed the final key art, carried that into packaging across consoles, and built the brand guide that keeps every asset across all markets on beat. It contains things like usage rules, colors, type, graphic elements, and templates for web and print ads.
Skills
Key Art
Packaging Design
Brand Guidelines
Timeline
9 months (Feb–Nov 2020), concept to launch
COMPANY
Ubisoft San Francisco
role
Graphic Designer
KEY ART
A lockdown inspired concept: the Just Dance coaches, each in their own little box, still dancing together.
Midway through concepting, COVID sent the team home, and an unusual moment became the idea. I pitched this design as a nod to how we were all connecting through little boxes of our own (Zoom, FaceTime, TikTok) and a reminder that music and dance could keep us together while we were apart. It was a departure from the dimensional, dynamic look of past years, going flat and graphic instead. To my surprise, it was well-received, and I got to own the key art for the year.
WIDE KEY ART
STANDARD KEY ART
EXPLORATION
Every year starts wide with heavy pop culture research, dozens of ideas, and cuts after each pitch.
We began with trend research across pop culture. Specifically in 2020, what would catch the eyes of Gen Z fans? From there, art directors and designers across the team explored a wide range of directions. After every pitch, the pool got narrower and the survivors got sharper. Here are some directions, from early pitches to the later rounds:
PACKAGING
BRAND GUIDE
TEMPLATES
SOCIAL MEDIA