Art direction
We strive to embody Simply’s values and impart authentic, joyful and profound moments. Through our art direction we celebrate interactions between people and Simply, and the positive effect it brings to their lives.
Simply moments, whether individual or shared, inspire and motivate people. Simply encourages picking up an old guitar from the attic, grabbing a piano or a keyboard, or drawing a first brushstroke.
Our art direction materializes the brand through genuine, diverse and motivated people experiencing Simply, allowing future learners to imagine themselves within the journey and welcomes them to join.
Art direction overview
Simply is a brand for everyone. We want to celebrate relatable people and families in real, authentic settings, while featuring anyone from any age and background. We aim to capture multiple steps and moments along their journey of enrichment.
Principles
Authentic
We want to capture real people, individuals and families, in their own homes while immersed in the moment of their enriching journey. We want to feature a diverse range of relatable people from all ages and backgrounds.
Moments
From the first to the last note and everything in between, we capture moments along an individual’s journey. On any journey, there’ll be ups and downs, and it's crucial we don't only sell the ups. So we highlight the emotion at every step. Yes, that includes getting it right, but it also includes hesitation, wrong notes, bloopers and mistakes. We give the whole picture, not the perfect one.
Emotion
We visually bring joy to each moment by showing the people and families who use our brand in a warm and optimistic tone. Using bright natural light and honest angles we can make any shot feel aspirational.
Core Elements
We use the following principles to keep consistency and bring a sense of joy and enrichment to life through every image.
The People
Simply learners seek to be inspired, and the spark in them needs to be awakened with authentic emotions and visuals. The character's backstory is our north star. The backstory is our key element for profound and meaningful art direction.
Title
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Simply Piano
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Simply Guitar
Clio (26), Black coder CLOTHING AND STYLE….
John (30) Her Asian boyfriend/crush….. CLOTHING AND STYLE….
*Body copy add here* Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Et dicta voluptate et voluptatem eligendi rem consequatur dignissimos cum sequi consectetur hic porro aliquid aut sequi nostrum. Sed vitae harum et ratione impedit 33 molestias galisum a veritatis Quis sed internos Quis et molestiae doloremque eum sequi alias. In omnis enim cum saepe molestiae in nulla deserunt non enim voluptatem et nisi autem aut voluptatem neque ut pariatur sequi! Non voluptatum earum a eius quidem qui praesentium iure!
Environment
Art
Capture real people and families in their own homes immersed in a moment of their learning
journey. Ensure to capture a diverse range of people from all ages and backgrounds.
Lights
Our Lights create a mood and atmosphere to the scene, we use bright and warm lighting,
ideally from the scene itself, to create a joyful and authentic scene or cold and gloomy light
to reflect a certain emotion.
Focus
Focus on the pure moment of interaction between people and product/instrument, showing
people immersed in their own learning journey. Their full silhouette should be the focal point
of the composition with a wider context of their home visible.
Interaction with Simply
Simply is the gateway to your joyful journey of meaningful activities in life. Therefore it’s important to show the interaction as fun, effortless, delightful and satisfying. We capture honest expressions between the subject and product/instrument immersed in a moment of their learning journey.
Secret Sauce
Togetherness
The Simply Two Shot
This shot will always be identified as a Simply shot: you can clearly see the Simply product and how it connects the two characters and creates intimate moments. A moment of lovers, a mother and a daughter, two friends,…
Joyful
Mirror to joy
We can see the learners’ joyful, funny or exciting moment…
can be always identified as Simply – You can see clearly the Simply product and how it connects the two characters and creates intimate moments. A moment of lovers, a mother and a daughter or two friends.
Enriching Journey
A journey is not linear and has its’ ups and downs.
- Curiosity Moment – “what’s that?”
- Small success – hit the right note
- Down moment – “I can’t do it” (External or internal)
- Peak Moment – a glimpse of the character’s aspiration.
Supportive
Enviorment
Three acts of celebrating failure
Sliding wide lens macro shot showing Bad Playing/Drawing/Cooking.
Pen+Tilt to learner’s face
Pen+Tilt+Dolly back to Simply saying
“let’s try again!”
Simply universe
Stickers
The Simply two shots can be always identified as Simply – You can see clearly the Simply product and how it connects the two characters and creates intimate moments. A moment of lovers, a mother and a daughter or two friends.
Tablecloth
The Simply two shots can be always identified as Simply – You can see clearly the Simply product and how it connects the two characters and creates intimate moments. A moment of lovers, a mother and a daughter or two friends.
Mugs
The Simply two shots can be always identified as Simply – You can see clearly the Simply product and how it connects the two characters and creates intimate moments. A moment of lovers, a mother and a daughter or two friends.
Poster
The Simply two shots can be always identified as Simply – You can see clearly the Simply product and how it connects the two characters and creates intimate moments. A moment of lovers, a mother and a daughter or two friends.
Emotional and authentic moments
We want to celebrate every moment of the journey. We don't only show the high moments, but also the low moments such as: hesitation, bad playing, struggle practicing, bloopers or funny moments. We aim to capture the full emotional range as an authentic brand. Hesitation, Excitement, A wrong note, Silly moments.
Styling
Color Grading
Our color grading approach is about emphasizing emotions and feelings while maintaining
high recognition of the Simply brand. Our set of color modifiers result in a greater color
contrast and overall pleasing & recognizable palette.
Post Production
Focus on the interaction between the subject and product/instrument. The full subject(s)
silhouette should be the focal point of the composition with a wider context of the home on
display.
Final Imagary
*Add copy here*
Brand expression
These are examples of our brand expression at its fullest potential and the minimal components that need to be present at any production to ensure we show the Simply experience and immersion in the most honest and authentic way possible.
Best
Example for diffirent effort time managment and investment for different production, from agile branded production to high value branded production
Must have
- Example for diffirent effort time managment and investment for different production, from agile branded production to high value branded production
- Example for diffirent effort time managment and investment for different production, from agile branded production to high value branded production
Medium
Example for diffirent effort time managment and investment for different production, from agile branded production to high value branded production
Must have
- Example for diffirent effort time managment and investment for different production, from agile branded production to high value branded production
- Example for diffirent effort time managment and investment for different production, from agile branded production to high value branded production
Minimal
Example for diffirent effort time managment and investment for different production, from agile branded production to high value branded production
Must have
- Example for diffirent effort time managment and investment for different production, from agile branded production to high value branded production
- Example for diffirent effort time managment and investment for different production, from agile branded production to high value branded production
Graphic integration
We can start to weave our other brand elements into photography to further amplify the joy of each moment. Visit the spark and layout sections to see the full ruleset on how to integrate our elements effectively.
Things to avoid
Here are some examples of things to avoid when working with art direction.
Do not use scenes that feel staged.
Do not use any abstract angles.
Do not use images that are too dark or high in contrast.
Do not use black and white imagery.
Do not use images that feel too busy.
Do not use images that use flash or softbox lighting effects.
Do not use imagery that is outside of the home.
Do not apply gradients or any effects on top of the imagery.