22 October 2010

This was a job worth its weight in US billboards and NYC public transport wraps. McCann was searching for an artist with an abstract style that could complement the assets they had already established for the new Verizon wireless campaign. We had a light bulb moment and recommended supremely talented digital artist Justin Maller. The fluidity of his work was well-suited to the brief. The outcome was sensational and omnipresent, finding it’s way onto billboards, bus stops, sporting stadiums, vans and trains, not to mention gracing a hefty amount of print and online media in the US and beyond. We wanted to know what the whole thing was like to work on, straight from the horse’s mouth.

How did you interpret the brief from Verizon? I knew they were leaning more towards my abstract style of work, so I cleaned up and simplified some renders I had and just tried to create well balanced compositions incorporating the assets provided.

What was your process? I completed a few different campaigns in this style – basically I just tried to get the “anthem” piece locked down, and once that was approved I created the rest of the series using it as a stylistic reference point.

How long did the job take to complete? Months, as I was working on different facets of different campaigns.

How does it feel to have worked on such a high profile international project? It’s been quite surreal walking through the streets of New York City and seeing my work zip by me on trains and vans! Seeing the photos of all the bus stops, stadiums and billboards made me realise the scope of the project I had worked on. Honestly it’s just strange to think stuff I’ve made was distributed on such a massive scale.