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A collage featuring the five members of One Direction. Each person is framed in a separate colourful panel with bold, abstract shapes and patterns.

One Direction's latest tour art directed by Studio Moross, and it looks FANTASTIC

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Date
13 February 2015

How exactly do you go about measuring the success of a band like One Direction, who have been the source of underwear-throwing and diary-doodling since they came upon success in The X Factor in 2010? They’ve got a cool 22 million Twitter followers for starters, which goes some way to demonstrating the enormity of the job Studio Moross had on its hands when it started art directing their tour last Autumn.

“I started the project in August last year when Lee Lodge and Modest! Management asked me if I wanted to be involved with the On The Road Tour,” founder Aries Moross explains. “I would not have expected to have so much creative freedom, but really I was told to ‘just do me’.”

The work they produced with their studio and an enormous slew of talented designers, filmmakers, illustrators, animators and others is exactly the kind of fun, vibrant imagery they’ve become synonymous with, and on the scale of a world tour, it’s incredibly impressive. “It’s the first opportunity I’ve had to really work across multiple disciplines, from branding to scenic design, graphic design, illustration, animation and live visuals – all areas that Studio Moross covers but never within such a rounded project where all facets can be experienced at once. The fans are also so switched on, so engaged with everything that One Direction do, it was a really exciting challenge.

“I am so pleased with the results, I just got back from Sydney where I saw opening night. The scale of everything is impossible to explain, you sort of have to see it to believe it! It’s not something you can even come close to capturing in a photograph, you need to be standing in a stadium with 60 thousand people screaming in anticipation, singing along to the visuals, or filming and publishing every second of your content on the internet.”

A band performs on a stage backed by large, angular LED screens displaying blue and white abstract patterns. A row of purple spotlights glows above the stage, overlooking a dark crowd of people.
Above

Girl Almighty: Studio Moross and One Direction

A wide shot of a large concert stage with a geometric, white architectural set. A crowd of people watch from below as performers stand under bright yellow and purple spotlights.
Above

Girl Almighty: Studio Moross and One Direction

A performer stands on a stage before a massive, angular LED screen displaying a 3D render of white geometric blocks. A crowd of people watches from below under bright purple stage lighting.
Above

Girl Almighty: Studio Moross and One Direction

A performer stands on a brightly lit stage before a large crowd at a concert. Massive screens behind them display abstract 3D shapes and close-up shots of the artist.
Above

Girl Almighty: Studio Moross and One Direction

A black and white illustration featuring a dense collection of abstract geometric shapes and symbols. The composition includes 3D forms, zigzags, grids and a ringed planet, all rendered with high-contrast lines and halftone dots.
Above

Icon Design for Screen Looks: Aries Moross, Studio Moross and One Direction

A large outdoor stage is backed by a black and white graphic backdrop featuring abstract shapes and patterns. In the foreground, workers in high-visibility vests prepare the area in front of rows of empty white plastic chairs.
Above

One Direction On the Road Again Stage Design: Aries Moross, Studio Moross, Stufish and One Direction

A 3D render of a stadium stage featuring a long, glowing runway that extends into a dark crowd. A large screen backdrop displays a dense black and white pattern of doodles and a central yellow “X”.
Above

One Direction On the Road Again Stage Design: Aries Moross, Studio Moross, Stufish and One Direction

A wide shot of a concert stage featuring a massive, angular LED screen displaying white abstract patterns on a dark background. A bright white “X” glows at the centre of the display, overlooking a dark crowd of people.
Above

One Direction On the Road Again Stage Design: Aries Moross, Studio Moross, Stufish and One Direction

A colourful collage divided into four horizontal bands. The top and bottom bands feature abstract shapes and patterns, while the middle two show five people in a series of portraits and full-body poses.
Above

On the Road Again Opening Film Credits: Aries Moross, Studio Moross. Additional Footage by Chris Sweeney and Good Egg. Further footage from Fullwell productions and Ben Winston. Illustration by Aries Moross, Guy Field, Charlie Patterson, Linus Kraemer, Oliver Chapman, Tom Jeff and Anna Ginsburg. Animation by Will Samuel and Dave Penn. Further animation by Linus Kraemer and Joseph May. Hand-drawn animation by Anna Ginsburg and Aries Moross

A wide shot of a concert stage bathed in red and yellow light. A large screen displays a stylised, graffiti-style wordmark in red and white, while a performer stands at a microphone.
Above

Steal My Girl: Studio Moross and One Direction

A performer sings on a brightly lit stage, flanked by two large screens showing their image. A colourful, abstract backdrop features stylised text and graphics under a row of red spotlights.
Above

Steal My Girl: Studio Moross and One Direction

A performer sings on a brightly lit stage, flanked by two large screens showing their image. In the centre, a series of screens repeat the word “KNOW” in bold, black type. A crowd of people watch the performance from below.
Above

Steal My Girl: Studio Moross and One Direction

A wide shot of a concert stage with a large screen displaying the words “STEAL MY GIRL” in bold, red bubble lettering. A performer stands on each side of the screen, while a crowd of people watch from below.
Above

Steal My Girl: Studio Moross and One Direction

An illustration of five horizontal bands, each featuring a different colour of abstract geometric shapes and doodles on a black background. The colours are blue, red, teal, yellow and white.
Above

Stage Design: Aries Moross, Studio Moross, Stufish and One Direction

Three people stand outside a stadium, holding up large fabric banners. The banners feature the band One Direction and the text “One Direction on the Road Again Tour 2015”.
Above

Fans With Flags: Aries Moross, Studio Moross and One Direction

A person holds a plastic badge holder containing a tour pass for the band One Direction. The pass features a photo of the group and reads “ONE DIRECTION ON THE ROAD AGAIN TOUR 2015”.
Above

VIP Merch Lanyards: Aries Moross, Studio Moross and One Direction

Two versions of a tour poster for One Direction. Both feature the band members and the text “One Direction On the Road Again Tour 2015”. The left poster has a black background with a list of tour countries at the bottom. The right poster is teal and includes a short announcement about ticket sales.
Above

Tour Posters: Aries Moross, Studio Moross and One Direction

A graphic on a black background features purple and teal hand-drawn typography. It reads “ONE DIRECTION” above the phrase “On the ROAD AGAIN TOUR 2015”.
Above

Tour Branding: Aries Moross, Studio Moross and One Direction

All work Commissioned by Modest! Management & Lee Lodge for One Direction
Creative Director: Lee Lodge, Art Director: Aries Moross, Represented by Breed
Girl Almighty: 3D Motion Design: Joseph May, Edit: Aries Moross & Joseph May
Steal My Girl: Illustration: Aries Moross
 Additional Drawings: Guy Field, Anna Ginsburg & Biff
Motion Design: Linus Kraemer
Hand drawn animation: Anna Ginsburg
Tour Branding: Aries Moross and Studio Moross
Stage Design: Aries Moross Studio Moross & Stufish. Stage build: Brilliant Stages & Tait.
All Video Credits: Director: Aries Moross, Art Director: Aries Moross, Produced by Studio Moross
Opening Film: Additonal Footage with thanks to Chris Sweeney & Good Egg Fullwell Productions & Ben Winston, Illustrators: Aries Moross, Guy Field, Charlie Patterson, Linus Kraemer, Oliver Chapman, Tom Jeff & Anna Ginsburg. Animation by Will Samuel & Dave Penn Additonal animation by Linus Kraemer & Joseph May Hand drawn animation: Anna Ginsburg & Aries Moross. Opening song by Julian Bunetta & One Direction.

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About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

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Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

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