THG – Rebrand and Website Launch

THG.com Homepage Animation

The Project

When The Hut Group (THG) prepared to go public, they needed a centerpiece video that would encapsulate everything they stood for—an animation that not only showcased the high-profile brands under their umbrella but did so in a visually cohesive, luxurious, and high-end way.

The goal was ambitious: unify the individuality of each brand while crafting a world that reflected THG’s premium aesthetic and global reach.

The video needed to showcase many of the high profile brands under their umbrella, staying true to each while also unifying everything into a world of luxury and high end marketing.

The Video

As a full-stack motion designer, I collaborated closely with the creative director to shape the project from concept to completion. We began by assembling a visual reference library that highlighted materials, lighting, and design styles capable of conveying THG’s identity and ethos. I led the storyboarding process, ensuring each scene flowed seamlessly into the next to create an emotionally engaging narrative, where every shot communicated an idea or evoked a feeling.

The video surpassed their expectations, especially given the timeline (under 1 month). They scrapped their initial plan for the site and made the video sole face of the entire site as an auto-playing landing page.

The Process

I worked with the creative director, at first assembling reference that would present the products with a visual language that instantly communicated what THG embodied, really focusing on materials and lighting.

sample of provided reference

I moved on to story-boarding the scenes so they flowed together and told an evolving, progressing story, each shot an opportunity to convey each brand’s firm place in the THG lineup.

The heart of the animation was THG’s diverse product lineup.

My role involved modeling and texturing products with an unwavering commitment to realism, ensuring they were presented in their best light while staying true to each brand’s identity.

This meant collaborating directly with stakeholders across multiple departments, aligning creative decisions with their expectations, and meticulously refining every detail to reflect THG’s high standards.

These brands included Eyeko, llamasqua, MyProtein, and Tom Dixon.

We were grounded in the real life objects. I was tasked with modelling and texturing everything true to form, dealing directly with stakeholders from every corner of the company, ensuring that their products were represented as realistically as possible in as flattering a manner as possible, and also in the context of THG’s brand.

From initial concept through final delivery, I managed every phase of production:

Post-Production Expertise: Compositing, editing, and sound mixing to finalize a polished product.

Storyboarding and Look Development: Defining the visual language and emotional tone.

3D Pipeline Mastery: Handling modeling, texturing, animation, lighting, and rendering.

Communication and Revisions

This was a high-stakes project, with immense visibility across the organization and a hard deadline tied to THG’s public launch. I ensured that stakeholders were actively involved by uploading daily renders and facilitating edit reviews with playblasts, keeping everyone informed and engaged throughout the process.

Technical Autonomy Under Pressure

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck at, I seamlessly transitioned to remote work thanks to my technical expertise in building and maintaining my own workstations. This ensured no downtime or disruption, allowing the team to meet our critical deadlines.

I build and maintain my own computers, so I was able to seamlessly switch over to working remotely and handling the technical challenges that come up in even the smallest productions, let alone a project like this in the midst of the GPU shortage.

We didn’t miss a beat, launching on time for the hard deadline when the company officially went public.

The Products

An incredibly important brand to THG’s line of health and fitness line is MyProtein.

They already had a strong, resonant voice in place, so I leveraged it and utilized the power of Houdini to create the particles of the powder forcefully ejecting outward.

It was the first large-scale project that I had used Houdini on, but given the complexity of the simulation, it was necessary.

In addition to the technical complexity of the simulation, I had to model the MyProtein product tub from scratch.

So much thought had gone into the packaging, I had to represent it as true to life as possible, down to every detail of material and form, so I created all of the texture maps to reflect them.

Also, this helped me to keep the model as low poly as possible.

Illamasqua

Illamasqua was another high-value brand under THG.

Their visual style was lighter, more fluid, but still needed to carry the intensity through.

For this particle simulation, I used Cinema 4D and X-Particles, as it gave me more immediate control.

Taking inspiration from the color palette and and texture of the makeup patch, I created a flowing, explosive scene, charged with emotion and style.

And as with all the products in the video, I received the physical product in the mail and modeled them to strict specifications, gaining an understanding how they looked under light, as well as how they moved for animation.

THG.com Landing Page

This project highlights my ability to manage complex productions, adapt to challenges, and deliver stunning, high-quality animations that meet the needs of global brands.

For a more comprehensive breakdown of this project (and lots more) please reach out!