Webby 2023 | Winner

Updated: Jun 28, 2023

The Best of the Internet (it's up to you!)

The 2022 Billionaires project I worked on alongside of a couple of other amazing designers is nominated for a The People’s Choice Webby: The Best of the Internet. Be sure to Vote! 🙏

WORLD'S BILLIONAIRES LIST | 2022 Here it the backstory and how it all came together.

My goal for this project was to adhere to the structure of Forbes, which typically highlights the wealthiest individuals in a professional manner. However, coming from a pop culture background, I wanted to dial it up a notch. To me, what was missing from Forbes was color and contrast and the overarching feel of Pop. So I had the urge to elevate each individual and accentuate their larger than life appearance.

To achieve this, I drew inspiration from the colorful solid background of the Bored Ape NFT that had recently gained popularity on the internet. I also wanted to incorporate the optimistic tone that accompanied the end of the pandemic. Additionally, I was inspired by Russian Constructivism, which seemed fitting given the Russo-Ukrainian War timeline.

One of the most challenging aspects of this project was to develop a unifying concept that could be applied to over 40 stories for the annual list while maintaining simplicity and consistency. Not to mention the images came from a variety of sources so unification became the key to success. Despite these challenges, we were able to successfully blend a variety of assets into cohesive design.

THE ORIGINAL PITCH

When I initially pitched the idea, I drew inspiration from an image of Jeff Bezos in a powerful stance. I solidified (or painted) over his wardrobe to highlight his striking profile which gave the piece its overall tone. I created organic shapes within wardrobe as well as sat him on an organically shaped orb in a vibrant red which created the overall structure. I used a black and white photographic treatment to ensure images would be uniformed across the entire package. To prevent the image from appearing disconnected, I framed it with a cream-colored backdrop. This approach provided a solid foundation for the rest of the pieces to come together, making it easy to build on this initial concept.

THE HERO:

The main image, or hero, of the package underwent a challenging and time-consuming creation process. The editorial team selected the billionaires used in the image, and the hero's design was limited by predetermined positioning, size, and general theme. These constraints made the task particularly difficult to execute.

THE REPETITION: Maintaining consistency is important, but it's equally important to introduce variety. As we progressed with the piece, we incorporated color to enhance the package's richness and provide more diversity. Additionally, the use of negative space with whites and creams added visual interest.