United Way of NYC

Working together with Lowy + Lacar on our first collaboration, we created an animated video for United Way of NYC. This project featured families whose lives were improved by United Way, paired with our custom illustrations that we animated to tell their stories.

Abstract illustration of a woman holding a child's hand, walking in an urban environment with geometric shapes and a modern cityscape in the background.
Illustration of students in a computer lab learning coding, with a teacher assisting them. The room has desks with computers and a whiteboard displaying HTML code.
Illustration of a person holding a ribbon and flask with the text 'Jessica's Story' on a sign. Background shows people on stairs. Dominant color is yellow.
Animated night cityscape with a crescent moon, illuminated apartment windows, and silhouettes of people inside. Text reads "2 of 5."

Project Overview

  • Purpose: An explainer video describing the services offered by United Way of NYC, as told through the stories of impacted families.

  • Deliverables: 1 Short-Length Video and 1 Extended Video

  • Duration: Original 2.5-minutes and Extended 4-minutes

  • Timeline: 4 Months

  • Shown on: United Way’s YouTube & Social Media, & at Fundraising Events

Animated cityscape at night with skyscrapers, glowing windows, and a starry sky background.

Production Phases

  • MoodBoards

  • Storyboards

  • Styleframes

  • Layout & Character Designs

  • Animation Tests

  • 2D Character Rigging

  • Character & Typography Animation

  • Sound Design, including Voiceover Casting & Directing, Edit & Mix

Illustration of an empty storage room with white shelves and yellow walls, featuring the text 'FeedNYC' in blue at the bottom right corner.

Results

Lowy+Lacar chose to partner with us to create an animated video for United Way of NYC, featuring testimonials from families whose lives were improved by the non-profit organization. We created original illustrations, characters and backgrounds, and used handwritten text and textured brushes. Along with subtle visual metaphors and smooth transitions between scenes, these simple yet elegant animated techniques gave the film a more personal and handmade feeling.

The original 2.5-minute character-animated video was completed in 6 weeks. The video was so well-received by our clients, they had us develop a longer-form 4-minute video, which we completed in 9 weeks. An illustration from these videos is still used as the banner image for United Way NYC’s YouTube channel.