We are excited to recap all the creative content we made and shared throughout the summer in this issue of our newsletter. As always, we would like to thank our clients and business partners for their endless support and flexibility.

Meet Raquel, our graphic design sprout! This summer, Raquel worked closely with our senior illustrator and licensing team to execute design concepts for messaging stickers, Twitter emojis, and Samsung themes. We are going to miss Raquel greatly and look forward to seeing all the amazing things she accomplishes in her senior year at MassArt! Scroll down to learn more about the personal project she worked on while interning at the studio.

“Through real-life projects, I was able to develop my skills in Adobe programs, such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects. I learned about licensing for digital marketing and distributions and made some pretty cool connections with people working in those industries.”

We love seeing our summer interns get creative and work on projects that address causes important to them. #NationalThriftShopDay is not only about supporting local thrift shops but about bringing awareness to their charitable missions. For Raquel’s personal project, she designed a GIF to highlight one of the most popular thrift spots in the Boston area: Buffalo Exchange. As for what Raquel learned throughout this process, she found that she was able to showcase her design and animation skills, as well as create connections with the Greater Boston community.

“The design team at BTM was very open to me applying and learning skills even outside of my official job title. This project was challenging, but it was very rewarding to be able to bring awareness to shopping locally and second-hand. The best part was the shoutout I received from Buffalo Exchange…that was pretty cool!”

Read below to learn more about the other thrift shops Raquel highlighted (and may even create more GIFs for):

• Boomerangs: funds goes to the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in Massachusetts
• Garment District: provide affordable clothing and costumes, always putting clothes to be recycled and reused, even after being on their racks
• Urban Renewals (Family Thrift Center): sell not only clothes, but toys, electronics, furniture, and jewelry too

BTM takes on KSA! In case you missed it on our socials last month, Twitter named us the exclusive design studio of branded likes for the North America, Europe, and Middle East regions. On July 27th, our first branded like went live for Twitter users in Saudi Arabia. This design was created for stc pay, a mobile wallet that can be used to pay bills and send money to friends and family. We loved having the opportunity to bring branded likes to overseas advertisers and cannot wait for more designs to go live in the near future.

In case you missed it on our socials, we are beyond excited to officially announce our partnership with IMPS The Smurfs & Lafig Belgium. We are working together to design and bring virtual goods within ZEPETO, Asia’s largest metaverse platform.

Bare Tree Media has worked with IMPS The Smurfs in the past to provide audiences with a variety of digital content, including but not limited to, branded mobile messaging applications, Snapchat AR experiences, Samsung Themes, watch faces, and a GIPHY channel. The initial launch includes Smurfs-themed 2D and 3D branded apparel and accessories. These items are available exclusively to ZEPETO’s global audience. More details announced at: https://bit.ly/ZEPETOlaunch

“This is such a ‘smurftastic’ opportunity to launch a popular branded IP, such as The Smurfs, into the metaverse with a leading metaverse partner such as ZEPETO. We are thrilled to offer ZEPETO’s global audience of 300 million users an opportunity to customize their avatars and metaverse experience with The Smurfs-branded digital goods collection…” – Robert Ferrari, president of Bare Tree Media

July is National Ice Cream month and our design, animation, & AR teams collaborated to bring our audiences *sweet* visual experiences.

Inspired by early 2000s computer games, our lead illustrator, Danielle, designed an ice cream vending machine game for our audiences. While fully leaning into the nostalgia of the 2000s, she also wanted to bring a new and modern approach to this design. Although the storyboarding sketches below show an ice cream purchase gone wrong, we decided that everyone should be a winner during National Ice Cream month!

Rudy, our motion graphics intern, brought Danielle’s 2000s vision to life through animation. By animating the “start game” and selection processes, users feel as though they are playing the game and receiving the ice cream themselves. A flashing sign with celebratory confetti appears when users are notified they have won the game.

Wanting to bring some sweetness to our Snapchat channel, our AR designer, Wayne, designed a simple randomizer lens inspired by Danielle’s design. When users end a video, an ice cream from the machine is randomly selected. National Ice Cream month may be over, but you can’t go wrong with a big scoop of your favorite flavor of this frosty dessert. Try out “Ice Cream Machine” by clicking here.

Introducing GIPHY clips! This feature allows designers to upload animations that include sound. Our Bastille Day clip was featured alongside our other GIFs on GIPHY’s artist channel.

Boston-based team members have been getting together weekly to work in-person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Our hybrid work weeks provide flexibility, as well as an opportunity for new hires to meet long-standing staff. Team members were able to work collaboratively on design projects, discuss strategy, and even participate in a few bonding activities, including a Workbar birthday party!