The Last of Us™ Part I | Naughty Dog™ / Sony Interactive Entertainment | 2022
Remaking a Modern Classic
How does one elevate a critically acclaimed video game and beloved narrative to meet the standards of modern-day gaming? The Last of Us™, adorned with over 200 Game of the Year Awards, multiple BAFTAs, and numerous accolades, found itself at the cusp of a technological upgrade and brand refresh as the HBO TV Adaptation was slated for release in January 2023.
PS5 Remake 2022 - Cover and Marque Image
PS4 Remaster - 2014 PS3 Original Cover - 2013
As the creative director, my key role involved redefining the game's visual identity. Among the numerous challenges with both the previous covers was the portrayal of Ellie as the primary focus, relegating Joel to the background. The 2022 cover addressed this by positioning Joel as the primary figure, facing the audience squarely, while Ellie assumes the role of a haunting shadow, symbolizing the weighty responsibility Joel shoulders in the story. To evoke nostalgia from the original cover, we reinstated the sunset's warm colors, departing from the black-and-white treatment, and injecting vitality back into the brand.
Marketing Material
Acting Creative Director and Lead Designer for the Naughty Dog’s Marcom team, collaborating closely with stakeholders and Sony Interactive Entertainment's (SIE) marketing, legal, and partnership teams to create marketing materials for global use.
PS5 | PC
My role in Global Marketing encompassed a wide array of projects, ranging from Special Edition Sku product development to curating marketing treatments, capturing screenshot tones and collections, crafting branding for trailers, designing the franchise introduction on boot-up screens, and conceptualizing magazine cover designs.
Exclusive Games Global Brand Guidelines
As the Point of Contact for Naughty Dog collaborating with PlayStation and the global brand team, I spearheaded the creation of Brand Guidelines for the game's new iteration. This comprehensive guide encompassed Do’s and Don’ts, logo isolation and margin guides, localized treatments, typeface hierarchy, and provided PlayStation campaign support, enabling regional marketing teams to swiftly and efficiently generate aligned materials.
Art and Game Director: Neil Druckmann Creative Director/Brand Designer: Joshua Bradley Trailer Editor: Yvan Galermo Capture Artist: Joshua Bradley Concept Artist: Hyoung Taek Nam Painter/Artist: David Blatt Designer: Drake Socie
Partnerships and Product Development
As the lead designer and point of contact, I managed the entire lifecycle of brand partnerships and products. Notable projects included integrating the franchise into Bungie’s Destiny 2, creating premium collector statues and sculptures in collaboration with strategic partners, producing limited edition prints with artists and print vendors, and developing a new board game alongside Themeborne.
Destiny 2 : Bungie/SIE Poster Artist: Greg Ruth Poster Vendor: Fangamer Statue Vendor: Prime1Studios Board Game Vendor: Themeborne
As a crucial team member collaborating with the production team for HBO’s The Last of Us, I played an instrumental role in the early stages of production and pre-visualization. Regular meetings were held to directly educate the production team on the brand and franchise treatment. This included emphasizing specific key iconography such as the Firefly symbol or Ellie’s graphic T-shirt, detailing distinct traits of infection design, and articulating our unique world brand language that sets our post-pandemic world apart from others.
HBO’s The Last of Us is up for 24 Emmy Nominations in 2023 including Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Contemporary Program
Production Designer: John Paino Art Director: Don Macaulay Set Decorator: Paul Healy Production Liaison: Joshua Bradley / Brian Sanders
