DEMO - Design in Motion Festival

A festival celebrating the finest motion from the finest studio’s, designers, upcoming talents and art academies from all around the world. Showcasing work for 24 hours on all 80 digital screens located in Amsterdam Central train station.

Everyone knows the phenomenon of moving images in public places; screens and displays stand as modern digital statues in places where there is a lot of public movement. However, the nature of the creative visuals shown is always commercial. And therefore rarely inspiring or enriching. The visuals on the screens has become an addition to the daily visual 'noise' in the living environment.

Exterion Media, the biggest outdoor media owners in the Netherlands, our partner, and us found each other in this shared motivation: Taking the responsibility of what we communicate in a public space, and using this space to feature autonomous motion design.

On Thursday, November 7th, Amsterdam Central Station was taken over by motion design. For 24 hours, all 80 screens and 4 video walls, in the station showed the best international motion design.

About the visual identity:

When you design an identity for motion, it is a precondition that this identity has to move. We designed a grid that is continuously moving and a typeface that also changes form with movement. On application, all design elements react to the movement of the mouse and the accelerometer of your mobile phone.

About curating the motion programme:

The selection was extremely hard - the over all standard was very high. We had over 5 rounds where we looked at the entire body of work - 2738 pieces 18 hours of viewing for each round. We looked at concept, technical innovation, and above all did the piece challenge the paramaters of the medium. The final selection of 400 projects truly reflects an array of diverse work in both technique and concept.

The concept of having a motion festival in a public space began two years ago. We presented our idea to Exterion Media - the biggest owner of screens in the Netherlands. They unanimously embraced the idea from the beginning.

We began the identity of the festival, followed by a call for submissions. The work was then curated with the idea that you could wonder around the station and have a very different view.

Jury Feedback

DESIGN – BRAND / GOLD

A great initiative that celebrates the best in motion design across the Netherlands and further afield. A timely 24 hours of creativity breathing new life into commercial digital advertising formats. A smart takeover of Centraal Station, Amsterdam to showcase motion design to thousands of passing commuters and accessible to the masses.

This deserves a Gold lamp because of the initiative taken to curate a motion design festival of creativity rather than shameless studio self-promotion. From top designers through to talented individuals – the wide range of work makes it a huge success, for design professionals and general audience. A classic look and feel enables a playful, down-to-earth system that is well executed without shouting: “This was made by Studio Dumbar”.