This project request spanned across a few of the creative requests that I received. These characters were deeply connected with several tools that were utilized in connection with the Tools Academy. Each character had a unique cultural background and was connected to their own respective tools. I was tasked with the development of a character toolkit (complete with a variety of poses and gestures.) This was a complete redesign and modernization of characters in in Google's new visual language. Some characters pre-existed and some were created from scratch. Below were the original designs before I came on to the project. These were the designs used for the past several years and I was extremely excited to lead the redesign project. Below is a style guide I developed to showcase the new character designs.
Below are the old character designs and the newly redesigned characters I developed. A good portion of the design process involved heavy research on people, ethnicities and nationalities. Each character has a different cultural background and my goal was to be inclusive with the character designs. The designs were based off of character designs done by the Oddfellows studio for a prior Google project. I liked that the physical features and proportions of the characters were all one-size-fits all and really encompassed inclusivity. I wanted key features to shine through so that viewers would recognize the cultural differences, but I also wanted to be respectful and not step into the pitfalls of stereotypes. In the end, I was very happy with the end result and the new designs were extremely well received.
Part of creating the toolkit involved developing a set of hand poses that could be used interchangeably with the characters. I went through and studied many hand positions in my research and illustrated the hand poses (in new Google visual language) that I believed would be most practical in application. Below is the current set of hands in the toolkit, that I continue to update as the need for new poses arise.
Below are mockups of one of the preliminary character designs. These renders began as a study for reference and aesthetic direction. I ended up going with the Oddfellows character style and opted for a more flat look as it felt much more "Googly," however I did enjoy designing these as well.
