London based Happy Apple is experienced at creating live illustrations for workshops, co-creation groups and Insight events. Quick illustrations to capture the discussion and also any product ideas, story boards or customer experiences.
Dogs Trust recently commissioned Happy Apple to provide illustrations and an animated gif to support their anti Puppy Smuggling campaign.
Working with the designer, we created a colour pallet and style which was bold but also emotive, and used strong shadows (similar to a graphic novel) to effectively communicate the cruel practice of transporting puppies long distances in poor conditions.
A front cover, illustrative elements, internal illustrations, map of transport routes and info graphics were created for the main Puppy Smuggling 2018 report. Online and social media assets were also created, with still images and an animated gif with a call to action to visit the puppy smuggling web page and write to your MP.
At Happy Apple we get a lot of enquiries about Whiteboard Animation videos – (and a few old school Blackboard Animation videos too!). You can find an example of our Whiteboard Animation work for Unilever on our main page. Often the commissioner has never briefed this type of work so we thought we would offer a bit of information and outline the process to help inform those interested.
What is a Whiteboard Animation video?
This type of animation normally consists of a voiceover while a hand is visable in front of the camera illustrating concepts discussed and writing out key words on a whiteboard. This type of animation was initially made very popular a couple of years ago by the online RSA Animate videos -created by Cognitive. They used this fun form of visualisation to help explain ideas from the RSA’s public events programme. Since then it has been used widely for TV and internet advertising, including the UPS Whiteboard commercials.
Advantages
The advantage of a whiteboard animation is that it is a relatively simple and effective way of animating ideas and engaging with the audience. It is far more interesting and creative than a straightforward lecture, and the visuals and info graphics can vastly improve communication of ideas. However it is still a lot less work and a cheaper option than a traditional computer animation. We have been asked to create this type of animation for online marketing, staff training videos, recruitment videos and company communications.
Techniques
There is a range of techniques that can be employed to achieve this whiteboard effect. From straight filming of someone drawing at a whiteboard and sped up to sync with a voiceover, to the use of animation software –which can have varying degrees of quality and can lack the naturalness and flair of someone actually drawing. Here at Happy Apple we have created our own technique that allows us flexibility for alterations (unlike a straightforward filming session) but also keeps a natural drawn approach. Using a green screen we film the process of the hand drawing, and then super-impose this layer onto our text and illustrations. This allows us the added dimension of animating the text and images where appropriate for extra effect, so we can make text and illustrated elements appear or disappear, grow, ‘pop’, smile and wave etc. It also allows us some flexibility for amendments if needed at a later stage.
Process
Here at Happy Apple our first starting point is the script. This determines the length of the animation and is usually provided by the client but we do have copy-writers available to help if our clients need this. Ideally the script is as concise as possible and in Plain English to get the point across -it can even be written in bullet points. If the client does not have the facility to record a voice over we can record this in a sound proofed room to ensure quality. We have a range of voice over artists of different ages and accents who we can contact to match the tone of your video.
We then discuss the visual content of the video with the client. Are there any key words that they want highlighted, any particular things they want included? The project is then brainstormed and considered and we submit a rough storyboard of what we propose, explaining how it fits with the voice over and any drawn elements that may be animated. Once the rough visuals have been approved we carry on to create the final artwork that will be viewed on the ‘whiteboard’.
The next step is filming the hand drawing in a greenroom. Finally (the really exciting part!), everything is put together in post production, adding any animation to the images, sound effects of the pen squeaking etc. and timing it all to the voice over.
Commissioning
If this sounds like a service you need please get in touch with our London studio! We normally need a few weeks lead-time so contact us soon and we can see how we can help.
Happy Apple Design London worked on a new 10 second animation for Public Health England’s online campaign ‘One You’ promoting a healthy lifestyle and simple exercise. Above are the final slides for the storyboard. The animation starts with the familiar sight of a street sign showing a man walking, the man the animates and walks directly out of the sign, starting his journey to health. The animation needed to bring home to viewers the simple everyday steps we can all take to improve our health and highlighted that just a brisk 10 minute walk to the shops counts towards our fitness and well being. It needed to be simple and clear to work within the 10 second time frame. We used the One You branded colours of teal and yellow to tie into the online app. The yellow was useful to highlight certain words and the briskness of the walking. It was a great project to work on with Crooked House Films, working to a tight time frame and a clear goal. This animation was a follow up to the video we did in January introducing the ‘One You’ app with Professor Muir Gray.
animation slides
Public Health England were wanting to raise awareness of their new health tool app ‘One You’. To do this they wanted an animation and some still illustrations to post on their website and social media at the start of 2017.
The tool needed to be on brand with the One You app and communicate with their target audience of 40-60 year olds, who were often caring for children and older relatives too and felt they had little time to build or prioritise excercise into their lives. The animation also needed to link the danger of diabetes with an unhealthy lifestyle.
We created the images in the same colour scheme of the One You brand, and also borrowed the yellow footer line from the app to travel between the images and link them together. The client wanted a white board animation slant to the piece too, using the technique of a hand drawing and writing different elements throughout to add interest and underline important points (like the popular RSA animations). Once we had story-boarded the illustrations we went to a green room in Elstree Studios North London, and filmed the motion of the hand drawing which was then masked and laid over the top of the animation. As the film starts with a narration by Professor Muir Gray we thought it would work well to have the hand come in and draw over him as well, joining the two sections of the film.
The film was launched on Facebook and social media in January 2017 and is being followed up by shorter campaigns in the same style going forward.
Happy Apple Design recently completed a set of illustrations and bumble bee logo tailored for a new nursery school being sent up in Kensington.
The images were to show the children in their London Nursery School uniform learning, eating, reading, partying and having fun. A map was also commissioned in the same naive hand drawn style to show the route to the school from the Underground and various bus stops. Using an illustrated map was a brilliant way to show the route to the school, which isn’t obvious from the tube or looking at google maps, and the client was concerned prospective parents would get lost.
The bumble bee logo was a child friendly design and was utilised in different areas of the client’s website with animated gifs and games.
Happy Apple Illustration were commissioned to design four new illustrations for Biznography, a Consumer Insight agency in London. Biznograpy’s website was being designed by Reactive Graphics based in Fulham and we teamed up with them to decide on a clear brand direction for the site and illustrations. The look we went for was clean line images with a teal splash.
The new illustrations are now up on the Biznography website. Looking fantastic!
http://www.biznography.co.uk
