Viacom
2021
Mental health experiences are underrepresented in culture. And when they are represented it is done inaccurately in ways that create confusion, fear, and prejudice. Viacom wants to change that narrative. And we teamed up with them to help.
In order to bring about change, Viacom wrote a comprehensive resource for content creators called, “A Guide to Mental Health Storytelling for the Entertainment Industry.” It included a list of the top twelve mental health storytelling tips focused on themes like seeking help, self care, language, stigmas, and diversity. It was our job to visualize these tips in the form of five second loops.
Loop-de-loops
Five seconds is shorter than it sounds. The primary challenge on this job was capturing the essence of the idea in a humanistic way that’s both smart and unexpected. We were very cognizant that for some people who need mental health support these stories may be one of the only touchpoints they have so we took the subject matter very seriously. We also strived to make them both relatable and optimistic — therapeutic even. If we didn’t do that, we didn’t do our jobs.
Design
From a design perspective, this job had its own unique set of challenges. Chief among them, we didn’t want the illustrations to overpower the important messages we were trying to convey so we were very attuned to finding a harmonious balance between them. One way we achieved this was by juxtaposing our irregular line work with larger fill colors to draw attention to key points of interest and messaging.
2020 was a doozy. Covid-19, racial injustice, political discord, economic instability, and the climate were all tagging in and taking their shots at our mental stability this past year. These challenges only heightened the important role entertainment, media, and culture more broadly play in our mental health.
Finding a better language for how we talk about it is a good place to begin.
BUCK
Executive Creative Director
Vincent Lammers
Executive Producer
Nick Carmen
Creative Director
Richard Gray
Associate Creative Director
Chris Markland
Senior Producer
Marcela Ferri
Art Director
Fabrizio Lenci
2D Animation Lead
Joe Brooks
Design
Freya Yeh
Leonie Despres
Miijke Coebergh
Yana Abromova
2D Animation
Joe Le Huquet
Romain Loubersanes
Agency
EVP, Marketing
Amy Campbell
SVP, Brand Creative Design
Thomas Berger
SVP, Brand Creative Design
Rich Browd
VP, Design
Rich Tu
VP, Motion Design
Tim Livezey
Executive Creative Director
Chris Williams
Executive Producer
Pam Brill
Design Producer
Colette Moffat
