Responses by Pum Lefebure, chief creative officer/cofounder, Design Army
Background: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Hong Kong Ballet, Design Army was asked to conceive and design a brand campaign that speaks to Hong Kong Ballet’s innovative spirit and reflects the passion and vision of the company’s artistic director, Septime Webre. Our intent was to give a nod to the heritage, while taking a decisive step into the future.
Reasoning: This is an important year for Hong Kong Ballet and we wanted to make a big splash. Hong Kong has a perfect mix of traditional and modern, but ballet in Hong Kong is seen as traditional. Our goal was to make ballet relevant for the modern audience. We did this by combining everyday Hong Kong life with pop culture icons relatable to an international audience. But to give the campaign visual stopping power, we mixed ballet with the unexpected—basketball, Kung Fu, pastels and neons—to create something fresh and memorable.
Challenges: We shot the video and brand photography in two days! It was an extremely ambitious schedule and the weather could not have been worse. On the day of the shoot, it was pouring rain. Filming at a school, the floor got extremely wet. The male dancers literally carried the female dancers on set so their ballet shoes wouldn’t get wet. Before and after each shot, everyone was wiping the street dry so the dancers wouldn’t get hurt. Also, we thought the grandma-swimming scene would be a simple and straight forward. But in the fitting the afternoon before, we realized one of the grandmas could not synchronize with the other two grandmas. We had to find a replacement grandma at 4:00AM that could participate in the swimming scene!
Favorite details: I love that the campaign takes the audience on an unexpected and wildly colorful journey. Every single photograph was heavily art directed. From the hot pink basketballs to the grandmas’ matching outfits, every single element had to be coordinated with the next scene and location. We sketched out everything, which helped us juggle conversations with the choreographer, director, stylists, music designers, prop stylists and the client on how to break through and push further.
Visual influences: We took cues from pop culture like basketball, emojis and fashion—specifically sneakers—and mixed them with pieces that are uniquely Hong Kong, like the pink lion, dim sum, traditional banquet halls and Victoria Harbor. But, my biggest inspiration came from Hong Kong itself. The city has such a distinct characteristic with cotton candy–like pastel hues and buildings that pierce through the fog. This inspired the costumes, props, locations and even the sound. And then there are glass-and-steel skyscrapers next to traditional Chinese buildings that have existed for decades. The mix of old and new that creates something you’ve never seen before.