Brex is transforming B2B payments by creating corporate cards, rewards, and travel programs that are tailored to specific industries.
The company asked me to create visuals for the website headers in their corporate identity. The idea was to create a flexible and scalable 3d constructor with unique elements that we can use over and over again to create metaphorical visuals. I designed hundreds of elements and dozens of header images. I also created a short promotional video for some web sections. The first compositions and elements that I made were quite complex, organic, and hyper-realistic. In the process, I began to understand that in order for the constructor to be used repeatedly it is necessary to move away from hyperrealism to simple forms, in other words, turn everything into formalism. In formalism, it becomes possible to use the same elements in different compositions without any dissonance between the elements, thus building different visual symbols.
Materials and colors were dictated by the corporate identity of the company, there were no difficulties with this. As I wrote earlier, I implemented the first elements and compositions in the style of hyperrealism. Therefore, in these elements, I used a Houdini, which allows me to create generative, organic elements, as well as simulative elements like smoke, clouds, liquids, etc. But then, when I realized that it was impossible to create a constructor in this style, I switched to formal simple forms. There I used a cinema 4d for modeling these elements. One of the challenges for me was setting up the light. I tried a large number of options but settled on lighting with three light sources. This combination best expressed the volume of each element in the scene. For more expressive artistry, I used a different temperature in each light source. So I got a mix of cold and warm lighting. In this project, I discovered working with simple forms and a new genre — primitive formalism. This was a real discovery for me. Before this project, I liked to work only in the style of hyperrealism. And to tell you the truth, I did not really respect simple forms. But despite the visual simplicity, this genre in the process of work turned out to be one of the most difficult for me. I am glad that I was able to rethink my views thanks to this project.
INFORMATION
Art direction | Design | Production — Denys Sartakov
Creative director (in house Brex) — Tim Raiter
