Pixel Deep, the creative agency behind Netflix's 'Man In Love' and 'Your Name Engraved Herein'. Creative Director Chris Lamb, shares some insights.

A growing number of people choose to open Netflix on their computer rather than watching TV or visiting the cinema after work. Within this trend, streaming design on the Netflix platform has gained a lot of awareness. What exactly makes artwork on a TV-series pop compared to others? Find out the answer to this question from Chris Lamb, the creative director of Pixel Deep, a Netflix partner.

Certified by Netflix as an NPCA (Netflix Preferred Creative Agency) for more than 4 years, Pixel Deep has produced image content for over 1000 titles in the areas of movies, TV shows and documentaries. Among these titles, 45 Netflix Originals, such as the well-received Taiwanese movie 'Man in Love' and 'Your Name Engraved Herein'.

Chris discussed that having clients and friends from the West, Pixel Deep was aware of the oncoming streaming phenomenon before it went viral in Taiwan. “As soon as the opportunity arose we jumped straight into designing for the new platform, and that's how we are still designing Netflix media to this day.”

Catching the audience's visual attention in under one second is the key to success

However, streaming design is viewed on computers or mobile devices, so the audience can be easily distracted by other visuals. “How to deliver the focal points of a show in one second” has become the key feature whilst designing. "If the design is too simple, the audience will simply ignore it; if the design is too complicated, the audience might not be able to understand what designers want to convey. Balancing between simplicity and complexity is the skill of the design team." On the other hand, since designing for streaming content requires a screen to display the artwork, taking advantage of a screen's ability to display colors and shades, which are not available in print, is an important tip to working in this field.

To design the most suitable artwork for a show, the Pixel Deep team usually dig into the show and unearth highlights within the story. "For example, 'Man in Love' and 'Your Name Engraved Herein' are both romantic movies, but the viewership is very different. We need to think about the difference between these two movies and design what we think the target audience will be interested in." The story telling elements may be the castings, an object from the movie, or even a key scene. Creative can only be carried out after understanding the entire story. In the artwork process Pixel Deep don't just use frames from a movie instead they recreate the idea of the scene, blending drawings, 3D and stock images into new visually exciting experiences for the audience.

Chris acknowledges that designing eye-catching streaming artwork is not a simple process. "There is no formula to follow when it comes to creating a successful piece of artwork, but when it does work it can leave an impression on a person forever."

Diversity is the future! Cross-country cooperation breeds creativity.

Although eye-catching streaming artwork has no formula you can follow, some of the reasons for success can always be found. It's a consequence of Pixel Deep’s abundant design experience, their work is outstanding on the platform. The multi-cultural team might also be another one of the reasons. Based in Taiwan, Pixel Deep has members that come from Europe, Asia and Oceania. To them, diversity is not just the team, but the fuel of their creativity. A trend for all our futures. "The diversity of the team makes a direct impact when it comes to brainstorming. Different perspectives often breed better creativities.” Chris Lamb stated.

“Multi-cultural fusion is the future. We are looking forward to collaborating with designers and artists from around the world through diverse partnerships, in order to raise our design perspectives to a higher international level.” Chris Lamb expects. By looking ahead to the future, this ten-people creative team with members from across three continents will carry on their business globally. Ideally they want to venture into Augmented Reality. They would like to make designs not only travel across the globe, but also travel between meta and reality, bringing more visual feasts for your eyes.

Pixel Deep Official Website：https://www.pixel-deep.com