What it had to solve
Launch Verizon's newly presented 5G network and give the telecom a new visual language at the same time, articulating three pillars: the speed of the network, the exclusive Apple partnership, and access to premium content.
The idea
A modular design system of kinetic type, the iPhone outline and 3D elements lit in checkmark red — 30-second spots that convey 5G speed with no voiceover.
How it works
Led by DIA with an international team across the US, Germany, France and Switzerland, the system paired kinetic type with the iPhone outline and stylised 3D accented by red lighting drawn from Verizon's checkmark; follow-up spots applied it to New York Times 5G AR journalism, League of Legends: Wild Rift gaming and NFL viewing.
What it did
The system served as both the 5G launch and Verizon's new visual language, and spun out into campaign spots for the New York Times, Wild Rift and the NFL.
Background
When Verizon presented its 5G network in late 2020, the launch doubled as the debut of a new visual language for the company. The work came from a newly formed creative partnership between design studio DIA and production company Brand New School, built on generative design, animation, CGI and live action.
The brief reduced 5G to three pillars — network speed, the exclusive Apple partnership, and access to premium content — and DIA answered each with a modular design system: kinetic type for pace and message, the outline of the iPhone for the device story, and stylised 3D elements accented with red lighting informed by Verizon's iconic checkmark for ownability.
The spots run a non-stop tour of attention-grabbing copy that conveys the message in 30 seconds without a voiceover, deliberately differentiating from Verizon's previous type-driven work. The system then extended across the campaign: the future of immersive journalism through the New York Times' 5G AR capabilities, 5G gaming with League of Legends: Wild Rift, and real-time big-game viewing with the NFL.
Why it lands
A network launch about speed had to look fast: kinetic type literally performs the product benefit on screen.
The three pillars — speed, Apple, content — needed one coherent visual grammar rather than three separate ads, so a modular system was the efficient answer.
Red lighting lifted from the checkmark made every frame ownable without a logo appearing, and no voiceover meant the language worked in any market.
Design-system thinking let the same assets stretch from the iPhone launch story to gaming and sports partners.
What you can take
A design system, not a one-off film, can carry a tech launch: modular parts flex across products and partners while the brand stays instantly recognisable in every frame.
Since then
The kinetic typography and branded 3D campaign served as the launch of Verizon's newly presented 5G network and its new visual language in one. Subsequent spots highlighted the New York Times' 5G AR journalism, League of Legends: Wild Rift on 5G, and NFL viewing, and the DIA–Brand New School partnership continued offering full brand activation across media on the strength of it.
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