The Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) is a non-profit organisation that brings together European creatives to celebrate excellence in design and advertising, promoting local talent in a global context.

The goal was to develop two connected visual campaigns: one for the ADCE Awards and ADCE Student Awards and another for the ADCE Festival, under the concept of “Agents of Change.” This proposal aimed to highlight the role of creatives and creativity as a transformative force, with AI being the key protagonist.
Approach

The process began with an in-depth immersion into the visual universe of ADCE to align the narrative and concept with its visual identity. It was essential to develop a visual system consistent with the concept of Agents of Change, capable of adapting to the various iterations of the event: ADCE Festival, ADCE Awards, and Student Awards.

To achieve this, we employed generative AI (Midjourney and Runway) to bring an iconic and transgressive universe to life. This solution resulted in a campaign that adapted the concept of Agents of Change to different phases or stages. AI-generated figures were created for the festival, personifying the limitless potential of creativity.

In an early stage, prior to the festival’s celebration and as a visual tool to generate hype, we blurred the AI-created figures, transforming them into colour gradients that served as the foundation for the festival campaign, reflecting the initial stage of creative ideation.

On the other hand, the Student Awards adopted a bolder and more experimental approach, with these all-powerful creative ‘avatars’ in gestation, half-defined. In contrast, the awards for professionals showcased the same humanoid figures as fully developed beings at their peak potential.

Additionally, the ‘avatar’ system encoded different elements, such as the event type, award categories, and talks. Each represented a type of content or message within the campaign. Some humanoids were used exclusively for certain award categories, while others were designated to communicate talks or key elements of the festival.

We also created a motion system using the ADCE star symbol, which acted as a transitional and transformative element, allowing us to generate dynamism in the digital pieces. Moreover, it helped to build more consistency across all pieces, unifying the entire campaign even further with this resource.

In addition to the digital campaign, we designed all physical pieces for the festival, including lanyards, flyers, signage, and other printed materials. The implementation of this visual universe at the event reinforced the identity of the ADCE Festival and contributed to an immersive and cohesive experience for attendees.

As a result, the campaign resonated strongly on social media and national and international media, with widespread participation from the creative community. Its impact has transcended the event, becoming a rich and engaging visual resource that the organisation continues to use in subsequent communications and messages.