Years. That’s how long Hollywood executives, director and writer – Bryan Unkeless and Bryce Anderson, and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and Blaise Hemingway – have spent developing the epic series, Runner, from Clubhouse Pictures. A production company that produced renowned films such as The Hunger Games, Birds of Prey, and Kate.
Runner is a labour of love with massive potential and scale for films, graphic novels, games, and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The saga shifts the dynamics of power and ownership in Hollywood to normalize inclusivity, artistic integrity, and futuristic possibilities.
It’s Hollywood-level storytelling with a decentralized lens – offering a “what could be” introspection to all its future holders, viewers, and readers.
In Runner, the world, Omega, has four nations. Racing determines which nation rules the world. Whoever wins the race, runs the world. Speed is the ultimate power. With this premise, the creators' intentions were clear, they wanted to:
tell an iconic story
build a new world with new rules
own their creative output in collaboration with the collective community.
The solution? Create a standout brand identity that would transcend generations while moving Omega Runner into Web3 and the Metaverse, beginning with NFTs.
Together with the creators of Runner and the team at Metaversal, we worked to:
create an iconic brand identity that captured Runner’s essential element – speed.
design real-world visual cues and assets for Omega that would stand out, from a comic book masthead to the big screen
contribute towards Runner’s NFT collection.
“The first narrative NFT project backed by major Hollywood creatives”
— Bryan
“You’re creating a logo masthead that’s going to live on a comic book cover, potentially for decades. It could become the next iconic type mark”
— Sheldon
“There is a character and a story for everyone, and there's a storyline and narrative for everyone in the world. There isn’t one true hero”
— Liam
Check it out here
Strategy
We conducted interviews and workshops with the creators of Runner and the team at Metaversal to find out what the project was all about. Plus how we could best represent their purpose, values, and intended impact.
Runner is an invitation to its audience to reimagine the world we live in through the lens of Omega’s universe. We learned that granular-like detail and history formed Runner. And that the world’s framework was made up of multiple cultures. But at the same time, universal relatability was important.
The breadth of this project led to various iterations in our process. And to best support the artistic vision for Runner we focused on their purpose “to create a world for anyone to explore so that they can create their own stories, new paths, and community”. With this, we collated their values for artistic integrity and new forms of ownership. Ultimately, to bring Hollywood into the Metaverse.
NFTs were a great stepping stone into Web3 while also supporting their goal to shift the dynamics of corporate power in Hollywood through decentralization. With this understanding, our design team could begin building the brand identity and the visuals for Runner NFTs.
Design
Runner is an ode to the people with epic storytelling. With speed at the heart of it all, the brand had to look and feel fast.
To create a sense of motion and speed we explored aerodynamics and 3D forms, light, focus, and colours. We landed on the idea of reductionism, reducing letter forms, to capture a sense of speed. This is evident in the Runner logo.
Building on this, we designed elements that would truly set the brand apart – an entirely new visual language. Combining sharp angles and reduced letter forms, we created a one-of-a-kind typeface for Runner.
Finally, we turned to the universality of Omega Runner’s world. First, by designing colour palettes that were unique to each nation. Then by forming harmonious visual cues that would bring it all together. This led to a brand with an ancient-contemporary feel, utilizing this same visual language to create the NFT collection.
Impact
The result is a unique brand identity and logo that looks and feels fast. A new typeface that sets Runner apart. And a Runner NFT collection that honours storytelling, community, and new forms of ownership in Web3 and the Metaverse.
Credit
Project management: Naledi Mokhele and Robyn Miguel
Strategy: Jason Tuohy
Creative Direction: Sheldon Stewart
Designers: Liam Stuart McAlpine and Robyn Salvador
Copy: Carrie Jo Bonduris