Art
The Bucha Blackboard / Journalistic Art
The Bucha Blackboard is one of the few objects to have survived the Russian military occupation of Bucha—that now-infamous Ukrainian suburb of Kyiv, where Kremlin soldiers commandeered a school and massacred hundreds of civilians during their brief yet brutal rule. A young student who survived the invasion wrote his story on the board, which once hung in his former classroom.
Danzico Studios transported the board to Ivan from his destroyed school in Ukraine and helped him write his story
The Russians were eventually forced out, leaving a trail of bodies across the streets and gardens of this devastated community. Many more lay in a mass grave. Torture and rape were routinely used.
Ivan (Іван) and his family, however, were never detected. The 12-year-old survived with eight other family members by hiding in a damp basement, approximately 1.5 by 3.5 meters in diameter. Their only reprieve was at night, when they would quietly slip upstairs to use the bathroom and feed their pets, one of which was a chinchilla, named Masha.
Crypto Effect / Journalistic Art
In this photo-projection NFT series, we explored the ways cryptocurrency charts and data seduce the minds of investors twenty-four hours a day.
“Am I the only one who still sees these charts when I shut my eyes?” Matt asks in a recent article about the effects endlessly trading altcoins and his growing interest in decentralized finance.
The name The Crypto Effect was derived from a decades-old Harvard University study, which found that people whom played the video game Tetris for prolonged periods during the day had a high likelihood of dreaming about falling blocks and shapes at night. Today, the psychological phenomenon is referred to as the Tetris Effect.
Pandemic Projections / Journalistic Art
Restricted to the Mediterranean city of Barcelona during early 2021 because of the ongoing pandemic, Danzico Studios launched a small series of photos that used a projector on the moody streets of Barna to recall moments from history that might help inform the COVID-19 pandemic. Problems faced during the ill-named Spanish Flu of 1918 were eerily similar to what we experienced in 2020 and 2021, from debates around mask-wearing to politicians using off-color names for the crisis to cast focus away from themselves.
Though far smaller in scope, this project followed on the heels of Thud and was founded under a similar credo—to use punchy visuals to recall the past and deliver important messages about the future.
Months later, this project would also go on to greatly inform the thinking behind The Crypto Effect series.
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Design
Fan Paper / Product Design
Fan Paper is a simple, eco-friendly seat cover that keeps you and your audiences safe while enjoying a film, game, flight, class or concert.
Made from recycled Kraft paper and FDA-approved, water-based ink, simply tuck your Fan Paper cover into your seat, sit back and relax. On the move? Roll it or fold it and take it with you.
Fan Paper is made from recycled Kraft paper, a smoother and lighter version of what you once used to protect your school textbooks. And now, that same paper has returned to protect your tush, too.
Thud / Graphic Design & Costume Design
Part dark fantasy and part history series, Thud was a deep dive into how to structure programs that leverage the excitement of entertainment but deliver on education and information.
For this project, data was pulled on the demographics of a large UK entertainment broadcaster. This prototype series was then developed using stats on the types of educational YouTube videos being watched amongst that demo as well as what style streaming programs were being watched by that audience. And the two genres were woven together.
Following the production chaos of 2020, we’ll be looking to jumpstart Thud with a new home once the industry settles.