LAMY xevo / Special Edition

2019LAMYArt Direction / Motion Design / Visual Development

LAMY xevo turns a small change in geometry into a distinct character: its body moves from a triangular profile into a circle. For the 2019 Special Edition film, that relationship opens up a world of circular stages, translucent forms and graphic signals. The pen remains the point of reference, while its surroundings make shape, surface and colour worth looking at closely.

My contribution: Art Direction, Motion Design and Visual Development, working with Büro Achter April.

Geometry as a starting point

A small product needs a clear point of attention within a complex visual world. The circular stage gives the pen a stable reference, while fine lines and transparent volumes introduce detail without hiding its silhouette. The surrounding imagery takes its cues from the object’s geometry, making abstraction a way to examine the product more closely.

The circle and rounded triangular profile recur as visual motifs. They connect the abstract imagery to a specific feature of the xevo, giving the film a thread that runs through its different materials and compositions.

01 + 02Form study in the finished film · The product profile becomes a visual motif

Building the visual language

The concept frames test how much visual complexity the pen can carry around it. Layered planes, floating forms and fine graphic structures offer different balances of depth and transparency. Keeping the product silhouette legible gives these experiments a common criterion; they remain development studies alongside the finished film.

01 Concept frame · product and layered planes · 1280×720

02 Concept frame · transparency and graphic detail · 1280×720

03 Concept frame · graphic surfaces · 1280×720

From rig to colour

The opening rig makes composition readable before final materials and light. Establishing the relationship between pen, stage and surrounding volumes at this level gives the later surface work a clear structure to support.

The closing study uses colour to expand the otherwise restrained world without losing the product. Repeated volumes build density around a stable circular stage; holding the pens clearly above that field preserves the final image’s hierarchy. The viewport study and finished frame show the relationship between the spatial arrangement and its final material expression.

Behind the work at FMX

Michael Fragstein and Matthias Lein presented Büro Achter April's approach to the LAMY Special Edition films at FMX 2019. The Maxon session covers the series' conceptual approach and technical craft in Cinema 4D.

Watch the Maxon talk — Motion Design for LAMY.

Credits

Client

LAMY

Art Direction · Motion Design · Visual Development

Matthias Lein

Concept, Art Direction & Production

Büro Achter April

Directors

Michael Fragstein & Matthias Anton Lein

Production Team

Matthias Anton Lein, Johannes Rauch, Raphael Rau, Jonas Anetzberger, Michael Fragstein

Music & Sound

Marc Fragstein