WINNER
The Big Welcome
by Alphabetical, for University of the Arts London
University of the Arts London (UAL) partnered with Alphabetical on a project aiming to bring the student experience to life for those joining hybrid-learning structures. The studio developed a visual series of characters to try to help students navigate their first virtual term via digital tools, guides, emails and social media.
According to the studio, to make it as fun and user-friendly as possible they collaborated with UAL, students, staff and alumni on the project to ensure they were well-represented. They also designed characters with different personalities and interests which are deliberately free from any association with gender, race or age.
The characters work by giving students insights into new resources, networks and facilities at UA, and also try to help them to find like-minded students to connect with.
Alphabetical says the campaign saw a huge response from both students and staff and saw UAL's highest ever engagement with welcome materials and online content.
The judges said: “A fun and approachable way for students to face the challenges of reintegrating into in-person classes while navigating online components during the pandemic.”
Zeisberg Lab – COVID-19 Research
by Blue Hat, for Zeisberg Lab – Göttingen University Medical Centre
Zeisberg Lab wanted to introduce an innovative technology to reduce the spread of COVID-19, which it could present to potential investors to raise funding for the next research phases. In collaboration with the lab, Blue Hat handled the video project through different phases.
From creating storyboards to synchronising the finished graphic elements with subtitles, the studio intended for all design and graphic elements to be purely functional. According to the studio, it had to consider simplifying technical terms with the script to adapt to an audience that might not be familiar with medical terminology. The studio also intended to carry the factual tone through to the audio.
Blue Hat chose a colour palette related to human anatomy, adding colour-coding to explain the different variants of COVID and RNAs.
Blue Hat says that the finished product is an animated video that conveys sensitive yet digestible information. Zeisberg Lab presented the final animation to investors through two applications and secured a funding of 1,500,000€.
Designing out COVID-19
shortlisted