In fall of 2019, I was contracted by Swift to provide stylistic direction and illustrative execution for a whimsical, character-driven marketing campaign focused on promoting various new devices and features within PayPal’s merchant accounts. Over an extremely fast-paced month and a half, I collaborated with fellow freelancers and Swift’s internal team to bring this world to life.
The character style we landed on was motivated by a desire to remain flexible and adaptable to any scenario. The “noodle” limbs, as we coined them, allowed for easy transitions and fun animation sequences. Following a limited color palette in keeping with the PayPal brand helped keep these various characters cohesive and familiar. Elements like hairstyles and outfits helped make each character distinctly unique, and gave everyone an individual personality.
I had such a blast plotting out keyframes and partnering with both Rick and Matt on figuring out transitions. The dancers above were some of my favorites to come out of the woodwork.
Rick and the Swift team came up with several metaphorical environments as vehicles for demonstrating the various ways PayPal simplifies the process for merchants to run their businesses. Matt and I brought these to life in the same minimal and geometric style we had created for the characters, including a yoga studio, shoe cobbler’s workspace, kitchen supply store, an overgrown bush, and even the open sea.
Credits
Art Directors: Claire Fraze, Rick Ewing, Raina Jung
Senior Designer & Illustrator: Myself
Motion Designer & Animator: Matt Hemmerich
Copywriters: Beth Roeser, Erik Zimmerman
