NIKE: BETTERWORLD COLORDRY

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My Role: Art Direction / Concept / Design

Client: NIKE

Agency: AKQA
Produced By: WE ARE ROYALE

Nike has done an amazing job being a technology leader in the sportswear / lifestyle market for years. They invented Flywire, Flyknit, Lunarlon… we could go on, but we’d be typing for a good two minutes solid, and there’s an episode of Magnum P.I. on our DVR we’re just itching to get to. Dry dying is a technique that actually saves the world by reducing the water used in dying clothing to zero. Pretty good reduction if you ask us… It’s a rather remarkable process. Dry pigment is literally baked into the fibers of fabric through heat and pressure creating the most brilliant, evenly spread color across the entire roll of fabric. Nike coined this process “Colordry” and AKQA came to us to help them tell that story. Together we crafted this piece, which has become a permanent fixture on Nike’s Better World site. On top of creating the film with AKQA, we also supplied some hi-res artwork for the site itself, unifying the experience in the same design. The idea is to start with a single “mote” of color. Abstract, like a little world all to itself. As the pressure inside this chamber increases, the mote collapses in on itself, releasing color. At the same time, it begins to fall into the fabric like meteorites hitting the Salton Sea. Each mote impact spreads more color across the landscape. It’s a turbulent scene that culminates in a grand reveal of a single, perfectly constructed Colordry jersey suspended in a roaring stadium hallway. It speaks to sport, and abstracts the process into something bigger than itself. Nike’s saving the world one jersey at a time… and they’re looking pretty good while they do it. Now if they can get on making a line of Hawaiian-inspired shirts, we’d be in dry-dye heaven.

NIKE: BETTERWORLD COLORDRY

THE CHALLENGE

With their latest ColorDry technology, Nike needed a piece that would showcase their new waterless dyeing process. It was a call to craft an elevated video that really highlights their mastery in creating a better process for their exceptional products. On top of that, this process betters the world.

THE CONCEPT

The innovative method called Colordry happens at a detailed level. Particles of the dye, called motes, collide with fabric and infuse vibrant colors with the help of high heat and pressure. We were inspired to dive into those details and blow them out to be as epic as this new technology was. How could we get up close and personal yet tell the story in a large and explosive way? Naturally, the dye flooded the scenes, motes became meteor showers, and the fabric became a large landscape.

MY ROLE

I art directed the process from beginning to end. Starting with the pitch phase, I helped concept and visualize the look and feel of the piece. The team was comprised of experienced artists that specialized in every aspect of visual effects. I managed and collaborated with designers, animators, special effects artists, seasoned 3D artists, and top-notch compositors. There were a lot of client interactions, especially for a few in-house edit sessions with the AKQA team. With such a sophisticated spot like this, quality control was a very important part of finessing and finishing the video out.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

The dye process was the build-up that led to a fully colored shirt that was ready for the next level of an athletic challenge. It was a product we were proud to showcase with how it would increase performance, save water, and better the world.

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