March 08, 2025

Information Design - Final Project / Infographic Video Animation

19.2.2025 - 23.3.2025 (Week 3 - Week 7)
Chong Hui Yi / 0363195
Information Design / BDCM

Final Project / Infographic Video Animation

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Lectures

2. Instructions

3. Final Project

4. Feedback

5. Reflection

LECTURES

INSTRUCTIONS

Final Project: Infographic Video Animation

Instruction

"Using a processed design framework, you will now produce an infographic report to present the given information to a ‘target audience’ with the purpose of:

1. Creating awareness (such as Global Warming, Recycle, etc.)

2. Explaining a process (such as "how to" video)

3. Defining a concept (such as "What is Fast Fashion", "What is Color Wheel", etc.)

Any time based media and software using photography, vector imagery.”

Research

In Week 1, we formed a group of 10 members for this project, including the following:

Katelyn Tan Kye Ling (Group Leader)
Alyssa Aisyah Binti 'Arief Nasran
Chen Yuan Yuan
Chong Hui Yi (me)
Iman Binti Kamarudin
Janice Marie Eng Chia Hui
Johnny Lam Wee Zhe
Mercy Chong Hui Ziun
Nausheen Nazim
Reema Arif Hamza

First, we held an online meeting to discuss the topic for our video. The video needed to include data and have the potential for further development. Our group leader divided us into three categories for research, and I was responsible for finding videos related to "Defining a Concept," as shown in Fig. 1.0.

Fig. 1.0 Finding Our Video Topic

In the end, we chose Ponzi Scheme as our topic (original video: link).

Fig. 1.2 Sec 5: Group 2 - Flip Proposal

Storyboard

In Week 3, we were divided into two teams: storyboard and script writing. I was in the script team, and Reema and I were responsible for writing the script for Scene 4: Signs of a Ponzi Scheme.

Fig. 2.0 First Attempt Ponzi Scheme Script

Our script team completed the first version (Fig. 2.0), but we later realised it was too long and might exceed the time limit. So, we shortened it into the second version (Fig. 2.1).

Fig. 2.1 Final Ponzi Scheme Script

At the same time, the storyboard team also completed their work, but some parts were unclear or confusing. So, we decided to refine it.

Janice and I brainstormed and sketched rough drafts for the Intro Scene, Scene 2: What is a Ponzi Scheme, Scene 4: Signs of a Ponzi Scheme, and the Ending Scene.

Fig. 2.2 Intro Scene Storyboard Draft

Fig. 2.3 Scene 2 Storyboard Draft

Fig. 2.4 Scene 4 & Ending Storyboard Draft

Finally, we completed the final storyboard, as shown in Fig. 2.5.

Fig. 2.5 Final Storyboard

Design

After that, we created a script breakdown sheet, placing our storyboard next to the dialogue along with visual notes for better clarity. Since I’m also in the illustration team, I listed the illustration count/assets needed for my assigned scenes in the sheet.

Fig. 3.0 Ponzi Scheme - Script Breakdown

In Week 4, we had a physical group meeting to discuss our art direction and animation style. During the meeting, Iman created the character designs for Character A and B.

Fig. 3.1 Character Designed by Iman

In Week 5, the illustrator team had a physical meeting. I felt that an outlined illustration style would be harder to animate and draw, so we decided to go with a flat, no outline style.

After that, I used Iman’s sketches as a reference and created different versions of the character design in Adobe Illustrator. Personally, I prefer non-human characters (easier to draw, haha), and my favourite was the coin-shaped character (the second one from the left in the bottom row of Fig. 3.2).

However, the team felt that since our topic, Ponzi Scheme, targets adults rather than children, we should go with a more human-like character design.

Fig. 3.2 Character Design in Adobe Illustrator

On the same day, I created our moodboard and decided on the typography: Impacted for headings and Pally for body text. Our art style is flat, solid coloured and no outline, creating a clean and minimalist look.

Fig. Moodboard

At this point, I somehow became the Art Director… well, alright, I accepted it. Haha!

Later, I came across an animation video on Pinterest (link), which inspired me. I thought we could use a monochromatic colour scheme with small accents of other colours to keep the visuals cohesive.

Since we have five scenes, I chose a main colour for each one:

Intro & Ending – Blue (professional look)
Scene 2 – Orange (warning, as it explains Ponzi schemes)
Scene 3 – Purple (Bernie Madoff’s case, representing his downfall)
Scene 4 – Green (warning signs, as green represents safety)

Fig. 3.3 Colour Palette

For the character design, I redesigned them in a chibi style, making them cuter while still human-like. In Fig. 3.4, Character A is the narrator, so I gave her a smart-looking appearance (or at least, I think so, haha).

Fig. 3.4 Final Character A Design

In Fig. 3.5, Character B is the one asking questions, so I designed her to look more confused to match her role.

Fig. 3.5 Final Character B Design

Next, Katelyn designed a Bernie Madoff character, but I felt it did not quite match the style of the other characters. To maintain consistency, I made some adjustments and finalised the design as shown in Fig. 3.6.

Fig. 3.6 Final Bernie Madoff Design

Since I was already working on character design, and the intro scene required Bernie Madoff to appear in a speech bubble, I went ahead and designed him as well.

My initial idea was to show a black-and-white memorial photo of Bernie Madoff in a frame when Character A mentioned him. However, in the end, we removed the frame and used a coloured version instead.

Fig. 3.7 Bernie Madoff Character Design for Scene 1

Next, I started working on the opening and closing parts of Scene 4, as well as the ending scene. To save time and ensure a more polished look, I searched for art assets on Freepik that matched our style, so I did not have to draw everything from scratch.

Fig. 3.8 Art Asset from Freepik

Then, I created the initial design for Scene 4, with three different versions (Fig. 3.9).

In the first version, there is a pile of banknotes stacked like a mountain, with Character A standing on top while money falls from above. The second version replaces the banknotes with a pile of coins, and the third version includes money bags as decorations.

Fig. 3.9 Initial Scene 4 Design

In the end, I felt that the green banknote pile looked the best, so I kept that design and added the money bags for extra detail. I removed the falling money, as it was not essential and could be tricky to animate.

For this scene, when Character A says, "If they promise you high returns with little risk," the amount of money gradually increases on screen.

When she continues with, "It’s way too good to be true," a hole suddenly appears on the ground, causing all the money to fall in.

Fig. 3.10 Refined Scene 4 Design

Next, I also completed the design for the ending of Scene 4, which transitions smoothly into the ending scene.

I designed this scene with a black background, where only the mouth appears in colour, saying “too complex” to visually represent "If they’re being all secretive or say it’s ‘too complex’."

Then, the scene zooms into the mouth, revealing Character B inside, expressing gratitude.

Finally, the scene transitions back to a layout similar to the intro scene, where they continue their conversation before displaying the scam hotline number "997" at the end.

Fig. 3.11 Ending Scene

Fig. 3.12 Week 6 Flip Presentation Slide - Ponzi Scheme

Fig. 3.13 is the Adobe Illustrator file where I organised my designs. It includes a very simple frame-by-frame animation mockup video, making it easier for the animator to understand the overall animation flow.

Fig. 3.13 Frame-by-Frame Mockup for Scene 4 Beginning and Ending

I created a simple mockup video that includes my work and Reema’s section for the middle part of Scene 4.

Fig. 3.14 Scene 4 & Ending Mockup Video

I also tried animating the ending of Scene 2. Although it was not used in the final video, I learned how to create a shattered transition effect in After Effects, which was a useful experience.

Fig. 3.15 Shatter Effect Transition in After Effects

Fig. 3.16 Tried Animating the Ending of Scene 2

Final Result

Fig. 4.0 Final Infographic Video Animation - Ponzi Scheme

Work Delegation:

Storyboard & Drawing:

Scene 1: Janice

Scene 2: Janice & Alyssa

Scene 3: Katelyn & Mercy

Scene 4: Reema & Hui Yi

Scene 5: Hui Yi

Animation & Audio:

Scene 1: Iman

Scene 2: Chen Yuan Yuan

Scene 3: Johnny

Scene 4: Nausheen

Scene 5: Iman

Voice Over:

Character A: Iman

Character B: Katelyn

FEEDBACK

Week 2:

Make sure the video talks about scams and then you can go into types of scams. Ponzi Scheme can be a case study.

He’ll let us choose: think of who is your target audience? Ideally choose a more popular topic with a wider range of audience. (suggested ponzi scheme)

For next week prepare sketch of the storyboard (what is the content)

Week 3:

Script: Structure is good. Keep lines short (1 sentence), refine longer sections, and simplify as much as possible.
Storyboard: Good layout and storyline.
If the video exceeds the time limit, select the most important information to include.

Week 4:

You can record the voiceover first to estimate the video's duration.

Week 6:

Try adding audio to the animatic for better clarity.

Week 7:

Good progress, but some scenes have characters missing heads or legs, so can consider adding them or adjusting the framing.

REFLECTION

In this project, I think the hardest part was keeping the design consistent, both for the illustration assets and the animation. As the art director, I had to keep checking if everything matched. I often asked the illustrator team to make changes or made adjustments myself (hopefully, they didn’t find me too annoying, haha).

This role was tough, and I don’t think I did it perfectly. I wasn’t proactive enough in checking on the illustrator team’s progress, and next time, I should be more assertive.

Designing my own scenes was quite easy, but working in a group project was more challenging. I realised that good communication is very important. If we don’t talk to each other enough, it’s hard to stay on the same page and make changes when needed.

In addition, I’m not sure how other groups worked, but I feel like our team was very divided. The illustrators and animators worked separately, and we didn’t communicate much. Even though we finished the project, I wasn’t fully happy with the process. I hope that next time, we can work better as a team.

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Chong Hui Yi (0363195)