Digital studio Convoy want to completely reinvent your internet experience, and with the kind of work the design duo are putting out, they might just do that
Originally printed in Protein Journal Issue #15

It’s no secret that consumers are inundated with branded content online these days, whether we seek it out on a brand’s website or it pops up as sponsored content on our news feeds. For smart brands to captivate consumers in an everyday digital space their story needs to feel native, but also catch the eye. It’s almost a paradox, and one that Paris-based digital agency Convoy understands better than most. “The gap is closing between branded and editorial content,” says Convoy’s creative director Juan Costa Paz, from the company’s airy office near Montmartre. “We consume so much online media every day – too much maybe. Advertorial is the best way for brands to sneak into your daily feed of content in a subliminal way and it’s crucial for brands who have aspirations of building a cultural movement around them, which is often the case with fashion brands.” Convoy works mostly with fashion brands today, counting French label Kenzo and French sport brand Le Coq Sportif among its clients. Convoy wasn’t always a French studio though. Founded by Costa Paz in Buenos Aires in 2009, Convoy initially worked with mass-market brands including Unilever and McDonald’s – projects that, for Costa Paz, lacked a cultural edge; his background was in cinema, and while he wanted to work with digital media, he also wanted to create something as visually dynamic as what you’d see on the big screen.

Luckily Costa Paz soon found a creative partner. In 2010, a friend-of-a-friend from Paris crashed on his sofa. Nordine Benotmane was on a road trip of South America, but had settled in Argentina for a few months. Having worked on the art direction for French musicians such as Charlotte Gainsbourg, and with the producers of Parisian electro label Ed Banger, Benotmane had a lot to discuss with Costa Paz when it came to art, design and culture. When the couch-surfer returned to his native France in 2010, the two began working on the same design projects remotely.

Soon after, Benotmane met Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, the creative partnership behind fashion studio Opening Ceremony, and everything changed for Convoy. Benotmane was asked to consult on an Opening Ceremony Versus project that saw the studio collaborate with various artists from Argentina. Costa Paz was chosen to select the collaborators and the bonds forged through the project meant that, when Lim and Leon were made creative directors of Kenzo, Convoy was brought in to help redevelop the brand. “It was 2011,” recalls Costa Paz. “Our goal was to position Kenzo as a brand that felt younger and digitally native.” He had wanted to work in digital media and with brands that were culturally influential – this was the perfect opportunity, so he got on a plane and relocated Convoy to Paris.

Convoy was tasked with reimagining Kenzo’s entire digital presence: the studio redesigned the brand’s online platforms and worked to adapt its social media strategy for a year. “We were required to create a massive amount of content,” recalls Costa Paz. “But it helped redefine the voice of the brand.”

This work spanned branded digital content and editorial, and blurred the lines between the two; they launched Kenzine, Kenzo’s fashion blog. “We didn’t want it to be static so there are a lot of animations and interactive elements,” says Benotmane. And, of course, Convoy incorporated the label’s bold, block colours into the design. “We were lucky to have Carol and Humberto supporting our out-of-the-box thinking on the Kenzo project,” says Costa Paz. “That’s really what fuelled it all.” Last year the trend was interactive videos. This year we want to see how we can take it to the next level

Google recently enlisted Convoy for its first virtual fashion week. For Google, it was a means to promote its products (mainly Hangouts) and to showcase the multiple ways in which you can have a creative exchange – no matter where you are in the world. In response, Convoy engineered Rose, a stunning online platform where aspiring fashion designers can create their own collection using 3D technology and show it on a virtual, 360-degree runway, complete with a lifelike model. It’s the perfect example of Convoy’s high-quality content made using cutting-edge tools and shows how Costa Paz and Benotmane are championing the 3D trend.  

“We’re not talking about the kind of 3D visuals made popular by post-internet art, but razor-sharp visuals,” says Costa Paz. Using a technology called WebGL, which allows the Chrome browser to render 3D graphics in real time, Convoy’s video work thrusts you into 3D experiences where you can move through an environment and interact with objects naturally. It’s experimental, playful and hyper immersive. More than anything, though, it just looks cool. “Last year the trend was interactive videos,” says Costa Paz. “This year we want to see how we can take it to the next level, not just for the gimmick of having interactivity on a video, but more to test how you can efficiently use a new technology to tell a video story, pushing it beyond the classic ‘choose your adventure’ dynamics.”

The more Convoy establishes its identity as a sleek and quintessentially Parisian design agency, the more trust and freedom it’s afforded to realise an experimental vision. Clients include exclusive club chain Le Baron, attracted by Convoy’s eye for what’s current in art and web design. The agency is currently working on a project for a French luxury brand, designing an interactive in-store experience featuring three videos screens, a bespoke app and an iPad with which users can navigate through a virtual environment in real time. Sitting somewhere among the works of video artists Bruce Nauman, Douglas Gordon and Gary Hill, this might technically be branded content, but it looks like the kind of beautiful video work you would find in a contemporary art gallery. “Brands are interested in these kinds of digital experiences now,” explains Costa Paz. “It’s the innate curiosity that comes when something new enters the picture, and the need for fashion brands in particular to stay contemporary. It’s the same for their consumers; they want to see, play and explore through digital. These experiences are a window to the future.”

The technology that Convoy uses can sound daunting to some brands, so the agency presents the content first, and the means to creating it second. “Don’t get crazy with too many components unless the core message demands it,” says Benotmane, explaining that technology should run seamlessly alongside content, and operating it should feel second nature. In typically Parisian style, Convoy’s maxim is “simplicity is key”.

“German industrial designer Dieter Ramscame up with 10 principles for good design, including innovation, aesthetic value and longevity,” Costa Paz explains. “That might seem like a cliché today, but while technology and consumers’ tastes have changed, the same basic rules apply.”

http://www.convoy.me/