MACHAS

Designed by the Sun: Ray Oranges for SEAT Leon global campaign

When you’re born in the sun, looking on the bright side comes easier. And Ray Oranges, who was born on the sunny shores of Calabria, Italy, has channelled sun-drenched memories into his sleek, contemporary vision for “Born in the Sun”,  the new SEAT Leon campaign.

The series of striking new artworks features seven monochrome portraits, awash with warm sunlight and skilful play of shadows, to which Ray added a dynamic, urban twist. Ray’s style is renewed worldwide for its geometric precision, essential approach to details and love for design, and the brand new SEAT campaign sees Ray tackling a little-explored subject until now: portraiture.

“I aimed at approaching portraiture with my style, combining the exactness of proportions with geometric shapes,” says Ray. “My goal was to achieve in each portrait a good balance between dynamism and stillness, whilst maintaining the readability required by the campaign’s creative concept. I also had to keep in mind that the artworks would accompany the car’s image and work seamlessly with the copy, so it was important to accurately select the colour palette and composition to tie all elements together.”

The campaign production started a few weeks before the lockdown took place first in Italy, and then in the rest of the planet. “I was very grateful that I could keep on working, but it was a scary time for everyone,” admits Ray. “I thought it was important to put out a positive message, and I tried to exorcise the fears and the worries through work and have fun with the project. So the man who’s singing his heart out looks just like me!”

The result is a strong global campaign, and the first three visuals have been launched now in Holland, Poland and Portugal.

See more of Ray’s work here.