Series of animated explainers for University of Surrey. Produced, designed and animated by Dreaming Fish Productions.
The client and the brief
Founded in 1966, University of Surrey is based on the outskirts of Guildford with specialisms in science and technology. We were first approached by the team in 2018, with the prospect of working on an animated project together. These explainers would need be added to their website and shared across the campus, on various screens. After initial chats and brainstorm sessions with UoS, we had a clear brief. A total of 5x animations were needed to explain the University’s approach to: student support, equality & diversity and harassment. As the videos were part of a series, it was important that they all had a similar look and feel.
The inspiration
When it came to the design approach, we wanted to do something different.We drew inspiration from images of a raised fist, prevalent in soviet and US propaganda and political posters. The fist stands for change and revolution, but also power and unity, which felt appropriate for these videos. The hand-drawn illustration style incorporates a range of simple characters to represent staff and students within the University. Additionally, we used icons and charts throughout the animation, bringing them to life on colourful backgrounds to keep the visuals dynamic and engaging for viewers.
The production
We worked collaboratively with the team at UoS to write each of the video scripts. As we’re aware that on average, online viewers will only watch a video for a maximum of 90 seconds, we knew the videos couldn’t be too long. The end result was 5x bright and colourful explainers that delivered the messages in a simple and straightforward way. Check them out below!
