American Experience
5 Things Social Series
Since 1988, PBS series American Experience, TV's most-watched history series, brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today. For their 34th season, American Experience expanded their social reach and promotion, through animated explainers on Instagram Reels, promoting their new films. The first in this series was framed around medical remedies from throughout history to promote the film, "Plague at the Golden Gate".
We explored several visual design styles, including medical illustrations from the 17th and 18th century, as well as cartoon styles and medieval paintings. However, we eventually settled upon a more humorous and less gory take by turning to animations from 1960s advertising, including the color and design popularized by the UPA. This design not only allowed for more comedic moments, it is also malleable for future video opportunities.
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The final product expanded the reach of American Experience's film launch and the team requested an additional four animated explainers for new films throughout the season.
American Experience
5 Things Social Series
Since 1988, PBS series American Experience, TV's most-watched history series, brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today. For their 34th season, American Experience expanded their social reach and promotion, through animated explainers on Instagram Reels, promoting their new films. The first in this series was framed around medical remedies from throughout history to promote the film, "Plague at the Golden Gate".
We explored several visual design styles, including medical illustrations from the 17th and 18th century, as well as cartoon styles and medieval paintings. However, we eventually settled upon a more humorous and less gory take by turning to animations from 1960s advertising, including the color and design popularized by the UPA. This design not only allowed for more comedic moments, it is also malleable for future video opportunities.
It was important for the design to have a visual language based on colors previously used by PBS Digital Studios for American Experience, so we adapted our own rules for color throughout the piece, and made sure to keep a consistent use of texture, line weight, and more. We wanted the lines within the animation to feel hand drawn, while allowing the main shapes to resemble paper cut-outs.
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