VRV Brand Launch

I joined Ellation to build VRV, the company's first new streaming product since Crunchyroll's launch. VRV is a "skinny bundle" platform that aggregates content from Crunchyroll and other fan-oriented brands. I worked on VRV's development from concept through to launch and post-launch.

Logo Development

For the VRV brand design project, I enlisted both my internal team and trusted freelance designers to pitch treatments. The brief called for a classic, bold and readable mark that would stand out among other logos in information-rich environments. I prefer to begin with black and white designs and use a 3-round iterative process to refine and reduce options before exploring color and usability. Stakeholder feedback is crucial for ensuring institutional support and success of the final choice.

Round 1 Logomarks

Round 2 Logomarks

Round 2 Mockups

Round 3 Final Logomarks

Final Logo

Why Is The VRV Logo So Yellow?

Right from the start, we determined that the VRV logo should be attention-grabbing and legible in various settings, including those where it would be contending with larger brand logos for notice.

Brand Development

Pre-Launch Videos

During the 16 months we spent developing VRV, we crafted hype pieces to support business efforts such as attracting new partners.

Producer/Editor: Anibal Nuñez
Design/Motion Graphics: John Ducusin

“The Meatball”

To prepare for the product launch and save time on licensor approvals, we commissioned artist Nick Sirotich to create an illustrated asset featuring around eighty characters that represented the genres we hoped to include on the platform. Though intended as a temporary measure, this key art foreshadowed our ongoing artist collaborations in building the brand.

Product Attribute Mascots (Yokai)

Brand Voice Guide

Product Launch

In Fall of 2016, we initiated a soft launch of the VRV product, enabling us to experiment with diverse design approaches before its full launch and the need for paid media.

Post-Launch

In Spring 2017, several months after VRV's launch, we gained a better understanding of our customer base. Despite our initial assumption that VRV would mainly attract gamers, we found that the majority of our audience consumed anime, likely due to our sister company, Crunchyroll. This prompted us to adjust our marketing design assets to align with this genre preference, resulting in the creation of "More Anime" (previously "All The Anime"), our first attempt at broadening the design.

Summer 2017
Better Together

Autumn 2017
Krackle

Winter 2018 Evergreen

Heading into 2018, we evolved the brand's aesthetic to be more bright and poppy to align with our audience and content strategy, which was focused on 90s nostalgia. We have since continued with this design approach.

Topical Video Creative

Topical Marketing Creative

VRV Events And Collaborations

From its inception, VRV has collaborated widely with artists of various sorts. In 2018 we really leaned hard into that process. The idea is to be constantly iterating around our brand creative, and these collaborations provide a mechanism for that.