Projects: Golden Globe Award

A Hollywood Icon Reimagined

The redesign of the iconic Golden Globe Award for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

In 2018 FILE2FAB partnered with the HFPA, RG/A and RS Owens to reproduce the Award. The task was to modernize the Legacy Trophy and enhance its design.

The redesign would be a celebration of the award itself, giving the HFPA more prominence.

Intense collaboration between firms enabled delivery of the award in record time.The new award has an enhanced presence and demands attention.

Development

Reverse engineering and historical research of legacy awards.

HFPA provided a legacy award to 3D scan. Our high-resolution scanner captured ultra fine details of the award. Dimensional data was then transferred to powerful CAD software for downstream development. Historic details such as the film wrap and globe carried on into the new design untouched.

The team researched the details of awards going back 78 years. This research allowed the team to define a design language for the new award. Designers developed and visualized a variety of components as images and animations. An interchangeable kit of parts consisting of 3D printed prototypes proved critical in design development.

Redesign

Human factors and design modifications.

Weight added to the base keeps the award vertical when handled. Winners now hold the award with the globe visible during speeches and photo-ops. In addition, the new trophy is three quarters of an inch taller, a quarter of an inch wider and several pounds heavier.

The legacy award’s mirror gold finish was too bright and harsh for photography and video. A new brushed gold finish gives the entire award a timeless Art Deco appearance. Lighting the awards is much easier for photographers and videographers.

In many photos winners held the award up showing the bottom green felt surface of the legacy award. The team leveraged the base of the award adding extra branding.

Technology

An innovation in award design.

The HFPA had an ongoing issue with fake reproductions. Several awards appeared on eBay after a security breach at an event. An engraved serial number was the only way to verify the authenticity of a legacy award.

RFID (radio-frequency identification) and NFC (near-field communication) technology were all researched. In a first for award production, we embedded NFC technology in a secure “puck” built into the base. This is the same technology built into contactless payment on mobile devices.

At the event staff encodes winner, category and authenticity data into the award. This data is securely transmitted using blockchain technology to an offsite database. From this point HFPA can verify the embedded digital proof of authenticity inside the award through a custom smartphone app.

Details

Design improvements over the legacy award.

The new trophy is 11.5″ tall with a width of 3.75″.

The globe and film portion of the award is 120% larger.

At 7.8 pounds the award is 2.3 pounds heavier than the legacy trophy.

The HFPA logo featured under the globe makes the brand much more visible.

Construction materials are zinc, brass and bronze versus zinc and marble.

The Cecil B. deMille and Carol Burnett lifetime achievement awards feature marble bases.