Contests / Focus On Characters / Brief
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CONTEST TYPOLOGY: CO-CREATION (What’s this?)
24 Jun 16
BRIEF - NEW IDEA PHASE (read less)
Summary
Mondadori Scienza SpA invites all creative people of Desall.com to imagine a new exciting character for Focus Junior, creating an original and versatile figure to make boys and girls fall in love with the captivating world of Focus Junior.
Company description
Mondadori Scienza SpA publishes Focus, the most read monthly magazine in Italy with over 5 million readers per month and an average circulation of 281.459 copies. From the success of Focus, other magazines were born such as Focus Storia (81.794 avg. copies), Focus Junior (90.200 avg. copies), Focus Pico and Focus Wild.
Alongside the magazines a network of websites has also been created, including Focus.it with 3 million unique visitors and the family portal Nostrofiglio.it with 2,7 million unique visitors.
What we are looking for
This brief is also available in Italian ( Download ).
Focus Junior is looking for a new character for its own magazine, to adapt for the various media, from print to digital media, from a physical object to animation, a new charismatic figure that can interact with the young readers.
In this first phase we are looking for a concept that will be developed further in the second phase of the contest.
Guidelines
For the correct realisation of your proposals, keep into consideration the following guidelines:
Product typology: the aim of the contest is to develop a new character design for Focus Junior, an original figure that embodies the brand identity, becoming point of reference for the young readers and an engaging interlocutor for their curiosity and passion.
Values: Focus Junior is conceived to satisfy the curiosity of kids/young adults, proposing innovative, funny and engaging content, told as if by an elder brother that helps to discover the world in a new and intelligent way. It is a parents’ ally and is greatly welcomed for its edutainment nature (educate while entertaining).
Magazine contents: Focus Junior responds to the curiosity of its own readers, proposing several sections (I make, Social, I look and read, I discover, I learn, …) touching topics such as geography, sport, emotions, mystery, featuring games, labs, ecology, adventure, jokes, world-records, technology, video-games and covering in details such other themes, like animals, science and behaviour.
Character requirements: the new character shall be versatile, a character that can adapt to the various communication means, from print media to digital editions, from a physical object to a TV ad. It shall embody the values of the Focus Junior brand and be able to establish an empathic connection with the readers.
Style: the character you design shall be coherent with the Focus Junior brand, be dedicated to a male and female public, have a simple, funny style able to entice their curiosity and allow readers to identify themselves with it (for an example of magazine layout, see the Material files attached).
Target: the Focus Junior readers are mainly between 8 and 13 years old, with an innate interest in nature, animals and science. Also, they have an adventurous character and many interests (reading, sport, cinema), as well as placing great importance on friends. In addition, they have a spontaneous familiarity with technology.
Deliverables: upload all the images that better present your projects (rendering, descriptions, CAD files, etc.) and, if necessary, remember that you can also attach a .zip archive containing extra materials. Don’t forget about the abstract and description to give further info about your projects. You can submit as many entries as you like!
Timeline
Upload phase: 16th December 2015 – 15th February 2016 (1.59 PM UTC)
Community Vote: 15th February 2016 – 22nd February 2016 (1.59 PM UTC)
Client Vote: from 22nd February 2016
Eligibility and submission
Participation is free of charge and open to designers and creative talents of any nationality aged 18 years or older. Participants can present one or more projects, but only the projects published on the www.desall.com web site, via the upload page related to “Focus On Characters” will be accepted.
Award
1st: €2000
The selection of the winner by Mondadori Scienza SpA will be the result of an unquestionable evaluation and it will take into account originality, feasibility and consistency with the brief presented.
License fee
For the duration of the option right, the Sponsor offers an extra chance to all participants setting a price of Euro 1,000.00 (one-thousand/00) for the purchase of the rights for the economical exploitation of the projects not-acknowledged as the winning proposals.
For more info, please login and read the Contest Agreement from the upload page.
Language
Since we are an international Community, all texts provided with your uploads (abstract, description, tags, etc.) should be written in English.
Stay in touch
Do you want to stay updated about "Focus On Characters"?
Sign up in Desall, save the contest in your favourites and edit the notification preferences in your account.
Desall required files
Minimum 1 image, up to 5.
Recommended dimensions: 960 x 720px (player size) ; allowed format: .jpg , .gif , .png; color mode: RGB;
allowed resolution: 72 dpi ; max file (for each one) size: 1 mb.
WINNER (NEW IDEA PHASE)
BRIEF - PRODUCT DESIGN PHASE (read less)
LEO for Focus Junior - Character Design
Winner of the previous phase.
The following brief is focused on this work.
Summary
Mondadori Scienza SpA invites all creative people of Desall.com to enrich the character identified in the first phase of the contest to become the new mascot for Focus Junior.
Company description
Mondadori Scienza SpA publishes Focus, the most read monthly magazine in Italy with over 5 million readers per month and an average circulation of 281.459 copies. From the success of Focus, other magazines were born such as Focus Storia (81.794 avg. copies), Focus Junior (90.200 avg. copies), Focus Pico and Focus Wild.
Alongside the magazines a network of websites has also been created, including Focus.it with 3 million unique visitors and the family portal Nostrofiglio.it with 2,7 million unique visitors.
What we are looking for
This brief is also available in Italian ( Download ).
After the first phase aimed at finding a new concept character for Focus Junior, Mondadori Scienza invites you to develop the winning project creating new details, characters and other elements.
Guidelines
For the correct realisation of your proposals, keep into consideration the following guidelines:
Comment by the Focus Junior editors about the winning project:
The character we selected truly embodies the current spirit of Focus Junior. He’s a cheerful, curious, intelligent boy that never shies away from new adventures. We were struck by it because we think he’s a really humane character, who cares for the others and is never afraid of making mistakes. In addition, he’s a real bugler with that messy hair that we are sure will make the kids of Junior laugh. Yes, he’s the right character for us.
Objectives for the second phase:
- Make the character look younger, creating a new character aged 10-11 years, inspired by the winning project of the first phase and retaining his main features.
- Characterise the character adding new details or accessories, for example mobile phone, digital device, etc. Give vent to your fantasy!
- Create at least 2 new characters to exist along side the main character that enlarge his social context, creating at least a sister or best friend and a pet to replace the crow designed by the winner of the first phase. For more hints check out the comments by the Editors below.
- Identify the name of the new character. It shall somehow remind of the Focus Junior brand.
- Design the characters in different positions and situations.
Some hints by the Editors
He should have a side character, a female friend or a pernickety sister very good at math and maybe a bit nerd. She often gets angry because he has always his head in the clouds, wastes his time and messes things up.
Then he might well have a pet. Which one? Don’t know… maybe a cat, like Pussy Boots that is so cunning; or a loyal dog or a fantastic animal like a hippogriff that turns up every so often thanks to the power of imagination?
Around them a circle of friends: the four-eyes, the spoiled little girl, the bully which is actually very fragile. Maybe a teacher as well.
Style: get inspired by the character that won the first phase, keeping into consideration the comments by the Focus Junior Editors given above. The style of the main character shall be reflected in all the other characters you suggest, create a coherent and well defined series of characters, in line with the brand.
Target: keeping into consideration the indications already given in the first phase, rethink the main character with a target age of 10/11 years, so to allow the average reader of Focus Junior to better identify him/herself in it.
Indications about the name: you are invited to find a new name for the character, that might remind of the brand and be abbreviated in various circumstances as “Junior”. This might be the nickname his friends will use to call him.
Note well: for a better understanding of the whole project, you are invited to have a look at the brief used for the previous phase and available from the contest page at the section title “BRIEF – NEW IDEA PHASE”.
Deliverables: in the five available images you are invited to show the main character and the support characters. You are also invited to attach a .ZIP archive with the files used for the development and further images at higher resolution. We remind you that the character shall be versatile and suitable for several media, so make sure the materials you design your characters with are adaptable and at a high resolution. Don’t forget about the abstract and description to give further info about your projects. You can submit as many entries as you like!
Timeline
Upload phase: 22nd March – 06th May 2016 (1.59 PM UTC)
Community Vote: 06th May- 13th May 2016 (1.59 PM UTC)
Client Vote: from 13th May 2016
Eligibility and submission
Participation is free of charge and open to designers and creative talents of any nationality aged 18 years or older. Participants can present one or more projects, but only the projects published on the www.desall.com web site, via the upload page related to “Focus On Characters” will be accepted.
Award
1st: €1500
The selection of the winner by Mondadori Scienza SpA will be the result of an unquestionable evaluation and it will take into account originality, feasibility and consistency with the brief presented.
License fee
For the duration of the option right, the Sponsor offers an extra chance to all participants setting a price of Euro 1,000.00= (one-thousand/00) for the purchase of the rights for the economical exploitation of the projects not-acknowledged as the winning proposals.
For more info, please login and read the Contest Agreement from the upload page.
Language
Since we are an international Community, all texts provided with your uploads (abstract, description, tags, etc.) should be written in English.
Stay in touch
Do you want to stay updated about "Focus On Characters"?
Sign up in Desall, save the contest in your favourites and edit the notification preferences in your account.
Desall required files
Minimum 1 image, up to 5.
Recommended dimensions: 960 x 720px (player size) ; allowed format: .jpg , .gif , .png; color mode: RGB;
allowed resolution: 72 dpi ; max file (for each one) size: 1 mb.
