UN HABITAT
TECHNIQUE : INFOGRPAHICS / GRAPHIC DESIGN / ANIMATION / COMPOSITING , CLIENT : UNITED NATION HABITAT , ANIMATION / VFX : MALENA MERLINA and ALIXE LOBATO , MUSIC : FRANCISCO MAGIN , YEAR : 2022
Overview
To provide infographics and a short, animated video of the consolidated infographics to be used as a presentation for a UN Habitat project.
MC2CM (Mediterranean city to city migration). Seven years of work from UN Habitat’s, collaboration with governments, NGO’s, the European Union, reduced to 16 infographics and 1 animated explainer video divided into 4 smaller videos. Purpose: To be used for future educational use and guidance for the MC2CM project around Europe.
The Brief
Alixe and Josephine were commissioned by UN Habitat to produce 16 infographics and a short, consolidated video for local, regional, national and international level of governance + NGO’s, Sponsors, investors, stakeholders to use for education and guidance.
The Challenge
The deadline, project and budget gave us a few challenges.
We were asked to produce 16 infographics and a video without a script, in less than two months and on a limited budget.
We were supplied with written, summarised research stretching over seven years that we had to translate into visual explanations / infographics without using anything but icons and titles/terms in English and French. We also had to make it playful, engaging yet simplified without losing the content context and the processes.
The Solution
We assembled a team of designers to extract key information from the vast amount of material we were given. They then created the infographics and established a style for the video to adhere to. We also agreed with the client on a timeline for delivery and feedback to save time, money and move forward with production.
We translated the research into a visual script for the designers with key words to support the processes. Pre-production was vital to give our designers the best possible conditions to work from.
An external animator to the team helped by creating two different templates for the animated video, we saved time and created an efficient and effective workflow.
Alixe supervised the animations made by Malena tweaking and polishing the movements. She finalised the video adding also some sound design. Graeme helped to create the different versions for social media.
The Process
It was critical that we understood the elements that needed to be included in the infographics from the start. We needed to translate long paragraphs into infographics, and we needed mind-maps and graphs to help us do this. Having a broad and multinational team was advantageous in this case since we collaborated to break down the information and make it simple for our designers to absorb and transfer into visuals.
When creating the video, we went above and beyond, adding unique music and sound effects to give depth. The budget did not cover this, but we believed it was necessary to complement the film and support the visuals.
The Technique
We used PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator and old-fashioned paper to translate the project/research into a visual script for the designers and client, so they could follow our process and add notes.
Our designers then produced the infographics in Illustrator using vector icons. Once all infographics were polished our animator created the templates for the video in AfterFx.
We also added original music and sound effects.
Software
After FX, Illustrator, InDesign
Results
The client was really pleased with the final assets and what we had accomplished within the time limits. We exceeded the customer’s expectations by providing an original soundtrack and sound effects at no additional expense to the client and in the limited time frame we were provided. They loved our ability to translate the research into simplified, visual processes for multinational participants in the MC2CM project.
Our Credits
Design: Flying Duck Studio Lab (Malena), Antonio Leon and Chris Bee
Script: Flying Duck Studio Lab (Josephine)
Animation: Flying Duck Studio Lab (Alixe and Malena) / Federico Parodi and Graeme Maguire
Music: Francisco Magin
Sound effects: Alixe Lobato
Testimonials
Jesús Salcedo Villanueva (Programme Management Officer, UN-Habitat)
We are very happy that you and your team managed to produce the work within a tight deadline. Looking forward to working with you again in the future.
