I am super privileged to have been asked by Comic Relief to design the iconic Red Noses, for Red Nose Day 2022. As lead designer, I researched, sketched, designed and along with 3d modellers and prototypers, created a set of 8 unique nose characters. The characters needed to capture the positivity of Comic Relief, be (mostly) red, and the theme was to create a set of wild animals.

First I researched and created moodboards for the different animals to understand their expressions and characteristics. It was important that they were easily recognisable. The sketches were developed for each animal into characters. Once the animals were approved, I formalised the illustrations into coloured vectors. The final approved set of characters was a hippo, flamingo, sloth, lion, cheetah, giraffe, crocodile and a chameleon. I then created rough 3D models from clay, which were translated into 3D CAD drawings by a 3D modeller. The noses were 3D printed from the CADs, where I worked closely with prototypers to refine them so they aligned with my sketches and vision. The noses were made of sustainable bagasse material (sugar cane pulp), and coloured in environmentally friendly inks.

The Red Noses were sold at all Sainsburys stores across the UK, in participating schools, and the illustrations featured in the fundraising campaign material as well as on POS. The noses were also worn throughout the campaign by celebrity Red Nose Day ambassadors, and featured regularly on tv programs relating to Red Nose Day.

In addition to the Noses produced from the character set, there was also additional nose merchandise, included pin badges and plush toys. Finally, Lego created a set of habitats for the Red Noses from Lego pieces, (rainforest, rivers, salt lake, savanna,) to inspire learning through play.

Client
Comic Relief

Team
Copywriter: Katie Gibson
3d Modelling: Richard Barr
Project Manager: Isobel Stephenson

Role
Character design, Illustration, Product Development

Date
2022