Digital Health Initiative to Empower Vulnerable Communities
Explainer Animations on Digital Health for a Pilot Community Health Program in Central California
Our work with ACTIVATE showcases our commitment to creating impactful animations that drive change.
We produced a series of engaging explainer animations designed to educate patients on digital health technology and inspire the public about its potential to promote health equity.
These animations were a crucial part of a community program initially launched in California's rural Central Valley, with ambitions to expand nationwide.
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Diverse Health Hub for a pilot community-based digital health program in California
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Natividad Chen - Art Director & Animator
Patricia Nguyen - Illustrator
Chelsea Canlas - Illustrator & Animator
Annie Tseng - Illustrator -
Residents of California’s rural central valley, including low-income, undocumented LatinX agricultural workers with low English proficiency
Our Approach
Inclusive Character Design
The storytelling is centred around characters reflecting actual ACTIVATE patient demographics. Alma and Joseph are both middle-aged, overweight LatinX agricultural workers with diabetes and hypertension. Moreover, Dr. Juan and Rosa are modelled after real-life healthcare providers at Livingston Health Center.
Visual Metaphors
We use visual metaphors to depict abstract concepts so that they are easy to understand. For example, we use a ball-and-stick network motif to explain “digital health”. Intersecting lines illustrate the connectivity between health data and technologies, which are encapsulated by circular icons.
Language Accessibility
The animations were produced with both English and Spanish voiceovers, including optional subtitles in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Punjabi.
Our Process
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![Moodboard showing inspiration of rural california, bright Latin colors, and examples of people, environment, objects and conceptual ideas for the video.]()
Step 1: Moodboard
While the script is edited, we created a moodboard, an arrangement of images and words to describe visual concepts.
It’s an efficient way to gather inspiration, visualize ideas, and get client feedback to establish the project’s visual direction.
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![Storyboard Sequence of digital pencil sketches of the video accompanied by the corresponding script.]()
Step 2: Storyboards
Once the script is final, we drew storyboards for each animation.
A storyboard is a series of drawings that depict the action, composition, and narration of each scene. Like a comic book, the panels sketch out how the story unfolds.
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![Animatic where the patient's blood pressure is sent as a bubble of data to their healthcare provider's laptop.]()
Step 3: Animatic
To create the animatic, we time the storyboard panels to a scratch voiceover track into a movie file.
The animatic helps establish the timing and flow of the animation.
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![A coloured image of a patient talking to their healthcare provider on a tablet while measuring their blood pressure.]()
Step 4: Styleframes
Styleframes are illustrations that visualize how the final animation will look.
They are snapshots capturing the colours, character design, textures, and typography of the final frames.
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![Animation of a patient's blood pressure adnimated as a bubble transferring to their healthcare provider's laptop.]()
Step 5: Illustration & Animation
Finally, we put it all together!
We illustrate and animate the visuals, procure the voiceover, SFX and music tracks, and then composite everything together.
Lastly, we export the animations as high resolution video files ready to upload and share.
