Pandora @ CES 2020
Every year at CES, Pandora hosts a very exclusive clients-only party with big name talent. 2020 was no exception. We looked to SiriusXM to secure one of their most popular radio show hosts, and the GOAT of old school hip hop.
Alongside the events team, I worked directly with LL Cool J’s management team on all creative.
Art Direction, Design & Production by Cecilia Cruz
Looping Animation by Bec Stupak Diop
Creative Direction by Eric Suliga
The initial inspo board* included dripping ink, radiating hand-drawn line work, halftone patterns and colors that conveniently aligned both with the venue and LL Cool J’s current radio show on SiriusXM.
Images above are not my own and are here for inspirational purposes only.
The Email
ROUND 1
A gig-poster inspired header image with radiating, hand-drawn linework to align with Pandora’s Sound On campaign. Colors are inspired by LL’s Rock the Bells talk show on SiriusXM.
ROUND 2
The artist team felt the first round was “too Tribe Called Quest” and wanted something that aligned more closely with LL’s brand. So I removed the line work and toned down the color set and adding gold chains to the mix.
Final Invitation
Based on further feedback from the artist team, we removed all color to pivot to a black and white approach, added “bass” and brought LL into full color. On this round, we won approval to move forward to the next step: fleshing out the environmental graphics and motion work that would bring the event to life onsite.
Environmental Design
Rope chains, cassettes, turntables, mics, graffiti and halftone dots inspired by flyers from the dawn of hip-hop in honor of LL.
Looping Venue Screens
In contrast to the flashing club lights that are typical of Las Vegas music venues, Brooklyn Bowl Vegas is an old-school style venue, so it was the perfect spot to host our OG performing artist. Animator Bec Stupak Diop took creative direction from myself and team and expanded on the creative assets from the environmental design to create the following hip-hop inspired hype reels that played across all monitors in the venue: the bars, the VIP lounge, the ends of the bowling lanes and of course the main stage. The loops at once honored LL by repping his hometown, and built the hype leading up to his truly mind-blowing performance.
The event was a huge hit with our advertisers, a respite from the grind of conference life, and LL’s explosive performance was one for the history books.
