November 30, 2009
Tristan Eaton Feels the Funk for the Soul Train Awards
2009 has been a busy year for Tristan Eaton, founder of Thunderdog Studios. He’s traveled around the world for Dell Design Studio, launched the B-Bot iPhone application, been featured in Art for Obama, released Thundermutt 3.0, and created murals for the Ace Hotel. We caught up with Tristan again to discuss his latest project, the rebranding of the 2009 Soul Train Awards for Viacom’s new network, Centric. The comprehensive campaign includes logo design, a new train design, print and outdoor art, subway station takeovers, animation sequences, on-air graphics, and the Soul Train award itself. Interspectacular wrote, directed, and animated the pivotal opening sequence (shown above) and all transitional elements. Bernstein & Andriulli produced the entire show package.
With a television show as heavily embedded in America’s cultural history as Soul Train, all eyes were on Tristan and Thunderdog Studios to see where they would take the updated identity. Never one to shy away from high expectations, Tristan was honored to be chosen for the task. Working closely with other Viacom networks VH1 and BET, he sought to keep the funk and spirit of the original show while making it look sharp and modern for today.
Read the interview with Tristan and get an inside look into the all inclusive campaign
