For most creatives, the simple phrase ‘What if?’ is more than a thought-starter. It’s a portal into untapped possibilities. That notion lies at the heart of this campaign to promote The Drum Awards Festival 2025, a global celebration of advertising and design excellence.
Inspired by cymatics, the study of how particles react to sound vibrations, the campaign embraces a visual language grounded in the object that gives The Drum its name. It’s a constantly transforming system, symbolizing ideation and the chaotic beauty of brainstorming sessions.
2025
DISCIPLINE
CAMPAIGN DESIGN
BRANDING
ART DIRECTION
ROLE
LEAD DESIGNER
The following sketches demonstrate how we developed our sonic patterns and particle texture. To land our proof of concept, we used a dither-tone plug-in in Photoshop to sketch our patterns and get to the closest version of what we wanted for the end result. Then, we turned to our partners at 456 Studios to help bring it to life, defining the particles’ behavior through motion.
We reviewed iterations showing how the particles could move, taking careful consideration into what the right amount of realism was, how to achieve sharp transitions to mimic the strike of a drum, and the actual size and texture of the particle itself. Through creative direction and meticulous animation boards, we transformed the motion into engaging, kinetic visuals that reflect the creative process.
DESIGN OVERSIGHT / MICHELE MORALES, MEGAN MUSGRAVE, IAN O’SABEN
DESIGNED WITH / AVRIL YEN
MOTION DESIGN / 456 STUDIOS WITH ANJ ANDREW PUGLISE, KEVIN COMPANEY, MAX DAWSON
MUSIC / SINGING SERPENT
COPYWRITING / IVANA GATICA
ART DIRECTION / EMILEE BOWMAN