We The People "Active Citizenship"

2021

Made in collaboration with the Obamas, Peter Ramsey, H.E.R and Netflix, “Active Citizenship” is the first episode in a Schoolhouse Rock-inspired musical anthology series from Chris Nee and Kenya Barris entitled We The People that aims to give a civics crash course to a nation that thinks the filibuster is a topping at Cinnabon. At the first annual Children’s and Family Emmy award show in 2022, the series took home a statue for Outstanding Short Form Program.

Change

This story highlights the importance of active citizenship in order to create positive change in our communities. Powered by a groovy H.E.R soundtrack, the visual style is an abstract representation of collective power, shared values, and inalienable rights.

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Meet Maya

The story follows Maya as she strives to bring positive changes to her community.

1. Color and Music Score ↓

Journey through Color Progression

More than just an aesthetic choice, color played a critical role in driving the narrative.

When we first meet Maya, she’s surrounded by a muted palette, but as she gains confidence and gets more involved in her community, the world around her becomes more vibrant, building to a hyper-saturated explosion of color (and vibes!).

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2. Vibes ↓

Speaking of vibes, we needed a way to show Maya’s positive effect on her community in a tangible way. We chose to visualize this change through a fun, wavy shape—an abstract manifestation of Maya’s energy, enthusiasm and action.

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Character Design

Unlike Schoolhouse Rock, the characters in We The People are meant to feel like real people who live in our world. We surrounded Maya with an authentic, raw, and diverse cast of characters.

3. Maya’s Journey ↓

As the story progresses, we wanted to reflect Maya’s transformation. We did this not just through color but through her wardrobe as well — her style becomes bolder and more expressive over time.

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4. Expressive Typography ↓

Typography played an important role. We wanted to find moments where we could bring the type into the world as a bold, defining feature — integral to the design, without feeling like an afterthought.

Shape Shifting Type

We balanced these scenes with softer compositions where the type is organically integrated — appearing as a pattern, a street sign, and in graffiti. We also used type as an abstract, transitional element.

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5. BTS ↓

From finding the right visual language, to crafting bespoke characters, and building the larger world, we had a ton of fun exploring the concept during the initial design phase.