Daniele
gavatorta
I consider myself an explorer. I have searched for and continue to search for aesthetic value in the world. Everything possesses an aesthetic value that deserves to be extracted, isolated, and told, whether it be a tragic event in someone's life or a pair of rubber sneakers. In other words, I would define myself as a Visual Designer based on this axiom: "sexy with meaning." The two things must go together, otherwise, we are either talking about pornography or something extremely boring. With all due respect for pornography.
Over the years, I have realized that everything I create derives from all the actions, words, and people I have encountered in my life. I draw from what has shaped my way of seeing the world, from spirituality, dreams, the wilderness, and a deep nostalgia, often from something I have not actually experienced. That is why I believe so much of my work always contains remnants of the pre-digital era, where analog imperfections and craftsmanship made everything more unique and human.
My motto is "observe the past and learn how to shape the future."
In my projects, I strive to reflect these values: a human-centric approach, timeless design (avoiding trends), meaningful concepts, and bold communication.
I have never searched for my own style, even though I can say that over the years, an image that I can identify with has emerged. That is why my projects embrace a wide range of techniques and languages, from the use of graphic design, typography, mixed media, traditional animation, and photography. Even in a digital environment, I always try to de-digitalize what I do, to make my projects more alive and unique.
To this day, I consider myself fortunate to be able to direct projects in the studio I have started with my partners. A studio full of talented people that continues to grow and amaze me every day. I have been in the market for more than 15 years and can say that I have worked for the world's biggest brands, grown professionally in a formidable network like Fox International Channels, and directed a short film about Charles Bukowski selected at the Annecy Festival, plus dozens of notebooks full of ideas that I don't think I'll ever have time to realize.
I love dioramas, Christmas, and the color pink. And I hate astrology.
Vivobarefoot
Manifesto
This project was born from a simple but powerful idea: we’re all born barefoot. And being barefoot means being free – respecting the natural shape that Mother Nature gave our feet. But as we grow, we’re forced into shoes that slowly squeeze, deform, and constrain us… until we forget what it feels like to walk naturally.
VivoBarefoot is a bold brand that decided to team up with an equally bold agency (maybe the boldest in the creative scene – Thingy&Thingy, UK). Back in May they reached out with a clear statement: we don’t want a f**ing commercial*. What they wanted was a manifesto – a call for change, a tool to wake people up and help them live differently. A philosophy against BigShoes: FREE Your FEET. Ambitious and brave for sure. “When your feet are free, your whole body gets the memo: you’re here to live, not just to exist under someone else's rules.”
Credits
Agency: Thingy&Thingy
Creative Studio: Nerdo Studio
Direction: Daniele Gavatorta
Producer: Letizia Saponaro
Design & Animation: Milena Tipaldo, Alessandro Novelli, Adolfo Redaño, Laura Gonçalves, Malena De Luca, Matteo Cozzo, Daniele Gavatorta
Music & Sound Design: Birdbrain
Anymotion Festival
Open Titles
The Official Titles for @anymotionfestival – The Beauty of Imperfection.
A celebration of chaos, emotion, and everything beautifully real. Inspired by São Paulo, crafted with love, sound, and raw energy.
Massive thanks to @tainadamaceno & @isacrodriguez_ , all the speakers and everyone we met in Brazil for their warmth and inspiration — and to @vallentmusic , for the stunning soundtrack he made for us. ❤️🔥
Designed, Directed, and Produced by Nerdo Studio
Directed by Daniele Gavatorta
PIF Il Testimone
Opening
We really love what we do, but sometimes we develop a deep connection with the project, and this is when we work on something we are really passionate about, something that is close to us as human beings.
We’ve been really honoured to work with someone we’ve always loved and respected.
With his “Il Testimone” Pif wrote the history of the Italian TV. He developed a whole new narrative tone, a unique point of view, bringing on the screen, for the first time, the experience of living a story through the authors eyes and ears.
Pif and his camera are the only intermediaries between us, the viewers, and the story itself. He brings us into worlds we wouldn’t be able to discover without him, through his eyes we see the world as he is seeing it and, somehow, we are not just watching a story, we are experiencing it.
This is why the new title sequence of “Il Testimone” had to be focused on Pif itself, it’s thank to his approach and perception that a whole generation grew up and matured.
Pif collects and elaborates the images and the words he meets in his reportage, giving us back not just the facts, but his inner vision of the world.
In this abstract universe we can find photographs, words, objects and a new Pif, more intense and deep.
Muller
Gut Glory
We at Nerdo have got guts, and we know that they need a lot of care and attention! Our guts don’t just make us happy from the stomach down, they also have a huge effect on how mentally content we feel. Our commercial for the new brand launched by Müller is a celebration of individuality, all about the joy of living and loving who you are, banishing ideas of “norms” or “standards”. Our people (and their guts) are glorious and they are free. They move freely, they dance without a care, they pass the Gut Glory pot between them in fluid liberated ways. The characters are not “normal” in the dull constricting sense of the word - they are good-natured PUNK-POP REBELS - and they are all the more glorious for it.
Bundesliga
Winter Campaign
This project celebrated what makes this league truly special: its fans.
It’s not just about heroes and goals but about a vibrant community of children, men, women, and everyone who proudly wears their club’s colors, carrying the badge in their hearts.
For Bundesliga fans, football isn’t just a hobby; it’s family, an experience that unites and involves like no other.
The campaign boosted the league’s international reach through a powerful mix of digital content and global activations. Over 500 digital assets were created to engage fans across all platforms and partner channels, with content localized in 9 languages and aimed at 20 international markets. The immersive vision was enhanced with AR graphics during matches, while 50 international influencers and 15 global partners activated additional social media campaigns.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to the teams of Design & Branding, Content Media & Production, and everyone involved in DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and Bundesliga International GmbH, for making this extraordinary celebration of football possible as it should be lived.
Bundesliga
Der Klassiker Redemption
In the world of sports, there are matches, and then there is "Der Klassiker." At first glance, it might seem like just another soccer game, with players, a ball, and a field. But, as any true fan knows, the clash between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund transcends the ordinary. It's a cultural phenomenon, a testament to the unyielding passion that defines the most valuable match of the league.
We had the pleasure of collaborating with the DFL Digital Sports GmbH team on the 2023 campaign for this iconic match that captures the intense emotion of this monumental event. It's a global Matchday that brings fans from around the world together.
Bundesliga
This is Bundesliga
“A football team represents a way of being, a culture.”
If you love football, you’ll know exactly what Michel Platini meant by this.
This winter we had the honour of showcasing the uniqueness of German clubs in this Bundesliga trailer intended for broadcasters around the world.
The concept is simple and straightforward: Bundesliga is where the colours, teams, players and crazy fans fuse together into a unique passion for the game. Our trailer describes in a minute the multiple facets of the Bundesliga’s ecosystem.
Working closely with the Bundesliga creative team has resulted in an edit that’s bursting with energy, with a contemporary style where text and graphics blend with carefully selected, highly expressive and engaging video material.
Bundesliga
This is just..
Bundesliga 2024-2025 Campaign
For the 2024-2025 season, we crafted a campaign that celebrated the essence of football, capturing what makes it so special and universally beloved.
Through vibrant visuals and compelling storytelling, we demonstrated how the Bundesliga represents the purest form of the sport, bringing fans together in a celebration of teamwork, spirit, and community.
The result was a campaign that not only resonated with lifelong fans but also drew in new audiences, reminding everyone why football holds such a special place in the hearts of millions.
LaF
Idents Broadcast Rebrand
The broadcast channel La Effe is not only a TV station. It’s an eclectic, multifaceted, plural and versatile way of thinking.
For their new on-air identity they were looking for something to convey a big change in their positioning, to stand out among the other SKY channels, something clear, brave and cool.
We came out with a strong typographic approach to celebrate their background, enclosed in a never-seen-on-TV design.
Nike
Yoga
Why yoga is so important for sport?
For the release of their Yoga line, Nike asked some of the greatest US sport personalities to answer this question: Christen Press, Khalil Mack, Larry Fitzgerald, Kevin Love and Channing Frye.
And we had the chance to create the animations for their interviews, highlighting how yoga changed their mind and their performances on the field.
We loved to study their characters, the yoga positions and how to combine them with the sport sequences.
So now, take a deep breath, clear your thoughts, focus on the bright colour palette and let yourself flow in the animation of this director’s cut video.
By the way, some of us also did some asanas to hep illustrators design the yoga scenes perfectly, but (un)fortunately there are no backstage videos for that.
TedX
Artificial - Sydney
We were among some of the most talented creative studio in the world to create one of the ident for the TEDx Sydney 2020, the largest TEDx in the southern hemisphere – and one of the largest worldwide. We were inspired by the concept of “reality” and how its meaning is gradually blurring nowadays.
Rai
Far East Film Festival
When Rai4 summoned us to craft the opener for the Far East Film Festival, we knew we had to bring the full force of Asian cinema to life. Samurais clashed, demons roared, gangsters prowled, and a majestic dragon soared across the screen. We meticulously weaved a visual tale that honoured the rich tapestry of Asian movie traditions. Get ready to be swept away on a whirlwind adventure, where ancient legends meet modern-day magic. Brace yourself for an explosion of cinematic artistry that will leave you breathless. Rai4 presents an epic spectacle that celebrates the captivating allure of popular Asian cinema.
Rai
Far East Film Festival
Third and final part of the trilogy on the Asian cinematographic universe, created for the opening titles of the Udine Far East Film Festival.
And to complete the set of oriental symbols that began with the dragon in 2018, what better character than Godzilla, the king of Japanese monsters? Together with him, to the delight of every“otaku”, we added a tribute to a cult anime of the 80s: Akira.
Rai
Giro d'Italia
24 teams, 184 riders, 21 stages, 3450 kilometers.
“Giro D’Italia” is one of the most important world cyclist competitions. The race passes through different cities and crosses countrysides, hills and slopes, celebrating the heritage of a sport with more than 100 years of history in Italy.
This is an event that moves a huge amount of fans, both cyclist enthusiasts and sport addicts, an event that has a glorious past of undertakings, Gimondi and Mercks, Coppi and Bartali, the legendary Girardengo and Pantani, are just a few examples of this great history.
Rai involved us in the production of the 2021 add, in which we decided to use a style that merges vintage with modern cycling. We wanted to combine the idea of the epic effort of a cyclist during the competition, an effort against himself and the obstacles of the environments, with a vibrant and energetic pop aesthetic that enhances the action.
Beer
Charles Bukowski - Short Movie
BEER is a free interpretation of the poetry “Beer” from Charles Bukowski.
The composition is a manifesto of the author’s way of life, this is why we decided to go inside the author’s mind, and it is not a safe journey.
A brain solo without filter, a tale of ordinary madness, showing how much loneliness and decadence can be hidden inside a genius mind.
New World Concept— AI Generated
