Design on the Bubble
by Stephanie Murg, (1 comments)
What do you get when you combine graphic design with 400 free bottles of bubbles, about 1000 people, and New York City’s Union Square? BubbleBath: a scene right out of Willy Wonka’s fizzy-lifting drink testing room — but with snazzier branding.
Held last month on a bright Saturday afternoon, BubbleBath was the brainchild (and part of the senior thesis) of Anthony DeFranco, a student in the BFA design program at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York. The idea came to him when he saw bubbles floating around a Manhattan street corner (thanks to an old man selling toys a few feet away). DeFranco noticed how the bubbles made people smile and brought them together, kind of like great design.
“Design played a major role in the project,” DeFranco told me. “It was how BubbleBath went from being an idea to a tangible object.” His BubbleBath brand, in a distinctive hue best described as Mr. Bubble Pink, popped up on his website as well as the event’s press kit, t-shirts, and of course, the bottles of bubbles distributed on the big day.
In addition to the event’s fun and playful spirit, DeFranco wanted the BubbleBath brand to showcase the time, effort, and genuine emotion behind the project. “This was especially important when dealing with companies and other official organizations,” he said. “Everything had to seem legit, and like I wasn’t just some hooligan who was going to take over Union Square for a day.” James Victore, DeFranco’s portfolio teacher and mentor at SVA, applied the Socratic method, pushing his student at every stage with the question “What would Pentagram do?” The end result was two logos, one more corporate and serious, the other more creative and playful.
DeFranco set the more businesslike BubbleBath logo in HelveticaNeue condensed bold and sprinkled various weights of Trade Gothic throughout the project. “Whenever I use set type these are two of my favorites,” he said. “Everything else was done by hand, which is how I prefer to do all my type.”
“For me BubbleBath was just a stepping stone. I want to keep going bigger and continue to surprise people and myself,” said DeFranco. “I would love to be able to make a career out of this type of work.” He aspires to work with designers such as Stefan Sagmeister and Victore, “who use design to touch people, to educate, and to inspire.”
The event exceeded even DeFranco’s expectations. “I never expected BubbleBath to touch people the way it did,” he said. “I had a lot of people coming up to me asking for hugs and to tell me how much the event meant to them.” But it wasn’t all holding hands and blowing bubbles. One reveler decided to share with DeFranco some bubbles of another kind. “The most amusing part of the day happened when someone came up to me and spat right in my face. Seriously.”
Comments (1)
Joe said:
This is all good and nice and I like the whole feel-good aspect but seriously a bubble project as a senior thesis project??
Check out http://newmindspace.com/ for a look at a couple of kids who, 1) hosted a bubble party as early as 2005 2) hosted a bubble battle that took place simultaneously across 6 N. American cities 3) do events that are far and beyond way more intriguing and thoughtful than just bubble parties 4) do all of this because they’re creative and fun, not linked to any school project.
I am not accusing anyone of stealing ideas, but I would think as part of a senior thesis one would have done a bit of research and either improved upon the bubble idea (and I don’t mean just make it bigger), or given a nod to previous similar (identical) events.
Posted on April 13, 2007