NETFLIX—Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj

PROCESS—
Patriot Act with Hasan Minaj was a weekly show that sliced through global politics and culture with the help of an all-encompassing LED backdrop. Or as Hasan puts it, “it’s like Michael Bay made a powerpoint.” The stage’s graphics were designed to be a modern visual orchestra, with Hasan playing maestro. To live up to it's visual ambition, the show allotted a 3+ month R&D phase to prototype key moments from the pilot, as well as establish brand conventions. The show went on to win an Emmy for oustanding motion design.
ROLE—
Creative Direction, Design, Animation
EXEC CREATIVE DIRECTION—
Michelle Higa Fox
STYLEFRAME DESIGN—
Phil Sierzega, Tony Zagoraios, Elliot Blanchard, Erin Kilkenny, Guillaume Combeaud, Michael Batista
BIBLE DESIGN & ANIMATION—
Michele Graphieti, Jerry Liu, Eddie Song, Christopher Mennuto, Brendan Roche, Stephanie Swart
PRODUCTION—
Jennifer Vance
SHOW CREATORS—
Hassan Minhaj, Prashanth Venkataramanujam
CONSULTING CD—
Sam Spratt
SHOW PRODUCTION CO—
Art & Industry
PRODUCTION CO—
Slanted Studios
SHOW GRAPHICS STAFF—
See full Credits
Select moments from the finished pilot.
We started with a broad exploratory phase, creating a sea of styleframes to spur active discussion. Having design in front of Minhaj and his team allowed us to collectively and strategically understand the best approach for the show’s unique stage design and quick production timeline. After some evolution and experiementation, we landed on the top look – Microfiche – an ode to the investigative nature of the show.
Alternate approaches presented, see above credits.
From there, we evolved the look by diving into motion tests. The images below are just a slice of the overall bible, which were designed against a work-in-progress pilot script. Our goal was to make the stage feel dimensional, dramatic and all encompassing. We also established core brand signatures: fonts, colors, image treatments, labels, titles and “homebase” looks. Our work was codified in an 80 page deck – a foundation, which enabled the show to be in full production mode from day one. Here’s just a sample from that deck.
Sample Guides for hypothetical, future episodes
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