Thinking Space

Sygnia – displaying content beautifully

Firedog was tasked with creating a more engaging presentation template for Sygnia, one of our long-standing clients. The financial services company feared that due to the highly technical content of their presentations, many of the people present weren’t at all engaged. The reason why? They’d already seen much of the subject matter from Sygnia’s competitors.

The crux of the problem was that this content was essential to the presentation and consequently couldn’t be changed. Our brief, therefore, was to communicate this essential information in the most captivating way imaginable. Attention was specifically drawn to the tables and statistical content, which needed to be much more appealing to viewers.

To begin with, we worked with the existing visual look and feel. It was immediately apparent that Sygnia’s own look and feel was very “on brand” and different to their competitors. However, this didn’t translate into the presentation format, meaning it failed to pull the presentation into a place where Sygnia really stood out.

Firedog then assessed possible ways of dividing up the different areas of the presentation that were already established. We took inspiration from magazines – especially those with a more editorial style – and minimalist websites. Looking at different visual techniques was also an influence, particularly those that were mainly inspired by art. These enabled the sections to contain contrasting styles.

Sygnia would need to create bespoke pages for each of their presentations. We therefore decided that when presenting concepts for these different section styles, we should have different elements within the section titles. These could be used within each of the subsequent pages within the section. This allows for a flexible system which enables the subsequent pages to follow suit and become a part of a document that creates a feel of synergy between all of the items within a section.

In keeping with Firedog standards, we presented concepts that ranged from conventional, “safe” styles to something much more time consuming and alternative. To our delight, the most unorthodox concept was chosen. This resulted in the exciting task of working alongside a 3D designer we have worked with in the past to execute the concept.

As this was a complex task, we approached it in stages. We began by planning each of the sections. Within these, we needed to represent the title using a range of 3D assets that would make up a scene. We designed the theme to reflect each of the titles and started by hand drawing the 3D scene as a whole. After this was approved by the client, we entered the design stage. Here, the scenes were designed and rendered before introducing any colour.

As we wanted to differentiate the sections, each scene needed to have a unique look and feel. This meant we needed to be careful in terms of creating harmonious colours that although different would still complement one another.

Once the designed section start pages were approved, we started to take them apart and create the sub pages that hold the main information of the presentation. Each of these pages was approached in an editorial style that allowed for different layouts and different content styles. We had to include charts, tables and alternating styles of content. Each uses different elements from the title page for the section. Furthermore, the layout varies to hold the viewers’ attention and allow for a narrative throughout the sections.

Overall, this project differs greatly from much of the work that goes on in the Firedog studio. However, the style and creativity it retains will ensure that when Sygnia present to a client or potential business prospect, their attention will be held. Due to the bright and diverse artwork, Sygnia’s presentations are now more memorable and streets ahead of their competitors.