With so many disciplines and skills within the field of animation, Pixar Animation Studios held a panel on Friday, October 14th, at LightBox Expo called “Building the World of Graphic Design at Pixar.” Hosted by Graphics Art Director Paul Conrad, the panel showcased how a field you might not think of in relation to animation plays an important role at the studio. Using examples from Onward and Lightyear, we learned a few fun facts about the graphics used in each film – from fonts and insignia to road signs and product packaging.
Each project at Pixar uses a “Story Bible,” a source that can keep everyone on the production organized. In Onward, a world inhabited by all manner of fairytale creatures, shape language was used to help identify the creatures that owned certain businesses – frilly fonts for fairy folk and bold, jagged font for trolls. Some abandoned backstory required development of an ancient rune language and while it wasn’t used the way it was originally intended, evolving those symbols into the modern alphabet helped create the font used most noticeably in the film.
(Pixar/Paul Conrad/Chronicle Books)
Lightyear required some reverse engineering of the Star Command logo. The goal was for Buzz’s final costume to feature insignia close to that of Andy’s toy, but with so many time jumps, it was determined that the logo would’ve evolved up to that point. With an industrial esthetic to Star Command, Paul Conrad and his team worked backward to start with something that you would find at a government program like NASA.
You don’t likely think of graphic design when you think of creating a character or their costumes, but Paul showed examples of a graphic designer's work on Barley from Onward and Izzy from Lightyear. Barley wears a vest full of patches, buttons, and pins from his favorite band and the game “Quest of Yore” and the graphic designers were tasked with creating all of that insignia, which was also applied to stickers on and inside his van Guinevere. Even the embroidered phoenix on the back of his vest was the work of a graphic designer, and it was originally connected to the film’s plot, which featured Ian and Barley seeking the help of a firebird on their journey. In Lightyear, Izzy and her crew form the “ZAP Patrol,” and Paul got to help develop the acronym, showing some of his examples (“Zone Anti-bug Patrol” and “Zero Anthropoid Pacifier”).
Products that characters pick up also fall under the purview of a graphic designer. In Onward, Barley and Ian’s choice of breakfast cereals helps define their different personalities, with Barley munching on “Fruit Runes” while Ian starts his day with some nutritious “Trolli-O’s.” Craig knew that Pixar fans would want to take a closer look at the Quest of Yore game, so they put in lots of details for fans would pause the film at home. His work is also often used by Disney Consumer Products and he had the foresight to know that they would be interested in published versions of books and games based on the in-universe product.
In Lightyear, product packaging starts as very industrial, with Buzz pealing the label off an instant meal that is simply marked with the numbers representing that meal (1 for breakfast, 2 for lunch, 3 for dinner). But as he jumps forward in time, the planet colonizers have not only changed the types of food they like but also made the packaging a little more reminiscent of home. The Meat Sandwich packaging pays homage to logos like Burger King, which uses a rounded colored font to represent the item. The director’s feedback was to make the pink packaging as gross as possible. Mission: Accomplished.
(Pixar)
Paul Conrad hosted a fun and informative panel. With LightBox Expo’s core audience consisting of students working on entering the animation industry, Pixar’s “Building the World of Graphic Design at Pixar” panel was a great example of the numerous disciplines in the animation industry beyond the work of an animator.
You can see more concept artwork from both of these films in books from Chronicle Press – The Art of Onward and The Art of Lightyear. Visit LightBoxExpo.com to learn more about the annual event held in Pasadena and how you can attend next year.