Creative communication design of Mikhail Zhvanetsky Boulevard

A year ago, the long-awaited reconstruction of Mikhail Zhvanetsky Boulevard has begun. We’re convinced that the boulevard named after Odessa’s legendary satirist can’t be pale and dull. It can’t be “just another boulevard”.

Solar Digital team, using the example of Mikhail Zhvanetsky Boulevard, decided to show what a modern urban space could look like. With easy-to-read navigation and full of creative art installations.

By the way, previously it was called the Boulevard of Fine Arts. You can read more on this topic in our blog post.

Our main goals were to solve navigational and aesthetic issues. We wanted not only to answer the question of “How to get to the Museum of Fine Arts?”, but also to link the name of the Honorary Odessa citizen to the boulevard itself. Not just in a verbal sense, but also visually.

We’ve created 4 unique statues based on signature poses and gestures of Mikhail Zhvanetsky.

2.5 m. tall, heavy-duty metal, elements-resistant — those things will last.

But navigation is just a bonus. The core idea revolved around iconic phrases and lines of the Great Master of Satire. That turns a casual walk into a quest, searching for your favorite quotes placed on metal monuments and stellas.

Meet the Voice of Satirist! Basically that’s a loudspeaker installed on the central monument. Audio clips and bits from recorded performances of the Satire Genius will play non-stop.

Currently the Boulevard has some issues with navigation, even after restoration. For example, it’s hard to tell the difference between sidewalk and bicycle lane. Our sign system was designed to separate pedestrian and bicycle lanes. And of course those signs incorporate some famous lines by Maestro Zhvanetsky. And just to make sure — we’ve added floor navigation as well.

Aside from the 4 main statues, we’ve developed complementary art objects that would help visitors to better feel the boulevard along their walk.

We fought mediocrity and dullness with bold colors and catchy visuals — boulevard won’t go unnoticed with the art-objects designed at Solar Digital.

Streets and walls can talk to people. Just like that. Even on the topic of toilets or about cleaning up after your pet.

There’s even more. It was hard to stop so we’ve added some philosophy by Zhvanetsky right onto the steps.

Boulevard can advertise itself! We’ve made it more obvious so now the passage to the Museum of Fine Arts is very hard to miss.

“Идея пришла в его голову и теперь упорно ищет мозг”.
Mikhail Zhvanetsky

By transforming the urban environment Solar Digital team wants to show that it’s possible to live in a modern and aesthetically pleasing city right now. We want to contribute to the common cause, and we’ll be beyond happy if our initiative becomes a reality so we can walk along such a boulevard. There are a lot of locations around us that need rethinking.

Solar Digital wants parks, squares, boulevards to have their own identity design and communication systems. We believe that even the courts of residential complexes and monotonous high-rises could also be creative and friendly. Let’s join forces and design a better future for our city together

Solar Digital is open to any form of partnership and cooperation. We already work on civil design projects with developers and construction companies. But we genuinely do social projects as well. And we just can’t wait to put our hands on identity design for the city parks and the city itself. We invite socially responsible businesses to join our efforts. Let’s create together!

To promote the project on social media we designed banners filled with phrases by Mikhail Zhvanetsky.

Staring:

• Mikhail Zhvanetsky — MVP — Most Valuable Participant
• Kirill Solyar — Creative direction, editorial, copywriting
• Karyna Pashkova — Art Direction, navigation and website design
• Bogdan Kozhukhar — Website design, animation and layout
• Anastasia Solyar — Illustrations
• Artur Kazimirsky, Maxim Odintsov — Copywriting and translation
• Christina Divinskaya — Research and communication, PR
• Mikhail Reva, Zhanna Kiseleva — Shared their opinion
• Nikolay Chepelev — Architectural plans
• Oleg Favelyukis — Ignited that spark to start