The Indy 500 is held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and is known as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The 500 is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix. The event is steeped in tradition and the event where onsemi would give a special gift to their invited guests.
Illustration by Brian Miller for onsemi. All photos courtesy onsemi.
Before starting any illustration project I always ask myself the same question: What is the story I am trying to tell with this artwork? In this instance the story for onsemi wasn't only about the Indy 500 but the entire 2023 season. Specifically, the six races where onsemi would be the primary sponsor of the onsemi Arrow McLaren #6 Chevrolet. To tell this story I would need to create a visual touchstone to each of the six key races.
Having been previously involved with the concept and collaborative design process of the onsemi racing livery with Arrow McLaren I used this photo I snapped prior to the livery unveiling as reference.
My initial grayscale drawing of the onsemi Arrow McLaren #6 Chevrolet is done using Adobe Draw on iPad Pro with Apple pencil. This allows me to create a hand-drawn illustration in a high quality vector digital format. One distinction between photography and drawing is imperfections and while I block in the racing bodywork as well as details like the racing wheels and sponsor decals I resist the urge to overwork the illustration or make it pixel perfect. This illustration is hand crafted by a human and should appear as such.
With the car drawing roughed in I set to work dreaming up the background elements. My initial concept is to choose iconic imagery which will convey the locations of each race without the need for text labels. I play around the idea of six vertical panels and then add in a curved "swoosh" elements which will help the six panels recede into the background. One bonus is the upper right corner of the swoosh might be a perfect location to add the onsemi Racing logo.
As the six panels come together I choose palm trees to represent the Streets of St. Petersburg, a ferris wheel and roller coaster track as a visual identifier for Streets of Long Beach, and the famous Pagoda and grandstands of Indianapolis Motor Speedway to signify the Indy 500. For Streets of Detroit I chose the GM Renaissance Center as a focal point, with Road America famous for its scenic trees and bridges this seemed like a natural choice, and St. Louis is easily recognizable by the Gateway Arch.
With the locations of the six primary races defined I utilized the corporate colors of slate gray and onsemi orange to bring the image to life adding details and textural elements as I progressed from initial drawing to finished illustration.
The overall look and feel of this poster style design is one where bold areas of flat color dominates. However, a close-up view demonstrates the level of detail inherent in the illustration as well as the role texture and halftone shading play. These creative techniques provide clarity and emphasize the focal point of the illustration, the onsemi Arrow McLaren #6 Chevrolet.
The finished illustration was provided as a gift to onsemi's invited guests during the Indy 500 weekend.
This project started as a single illustration for the Indy 500 gift. However, it evolved into much more. Each of the six panel were recreated and expanded as full-width backgrounds to represent each of the six primary races.
This illustrated background represents Long Beach, California.
These six backgrounds were used behind 3D renderings of the onsemi Arrow McLaren #6 Chevrolet to create a wide variety of social media and event imagery to support onsemi Racing's efforts leading up to and during each race. This allowed for a cohesive look and feel across much of onsemi Racing's graphics for the 2023 season, resulting in stronger brand recognition and enhanced engagement.
Instead of using non-specific race track imagery or checkered flags, the illustrated backgrounds make it easy for viewers to understand each race takes place at a different location.
Providing each of the six races with a unique identity also allows people who live-in various parts of the country to recognize something familiar. This encourages interactivity and sharing of the content with friends and family. An additional benefit is social media users are less likely to "tune-out" or lose interest over the course of the race season since they are seeing fresh and exciting new imagery leading up to each race weekend.
I loved the challenge of this illustration project and watching it evolve from one drawing to a full-season of creativity. It is a thrill collaborating with everyone behind onsemi Racing as well as Arrow McLaren and of course none of it would be possible without the direction and support of the amazing onsemi marketing team.
Illustration by Brian Miller for onsemi.
All photos © onsemi and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of onsemi. All rights reserved.