Perinatal Mental Health

What began as a standard brief for a single 2.5-minute English-language animation for Barnsley Council evolved into an incredibly fulfilling, expansive project. The goal was to create an engaging, accessible resource to raise awareness about perinatal mental health, an issue that affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 5 men.

To maximise the impact without exceeding the original budget, that single core animation was ultimately adapted and delivered as six video variations: three language versions (English, Polish, and Romanian), each provided in a localised Barnsley Council format and a "white-labelled" national format.

Technical Challenges & Sensitive Visualisation

Working with a tight budget meant that designing a full cast of characters from scratch wasn't an option. To solve this, I sourced stock vector illustrations, which I then had to meticulously adapt and rig for 2D animation. Throughout this process, I focused heavily on maintaining a diverse and representative cast of characters.

Beyond the technical hurdles of rigging stock assets, the subject matter required a highly empathetic approach. Perinatal mental illness is a delicate topic that touches on severe symptoms and difficult realities, including domestic violence. It was crucial that I carefully considered how to visualise these specific moments. My primary goal was to ensure the animation clearly communicated the gravity of these issues to raise awareness, whilst remaining sensitive enough not to be overly triggering or graphic for viewers who might be seeking help.

The Expansion & Localisation

During the production process, my client and long-time collaborator realised that the staggering statistics surrounding perinatal mental illness meant this resource needed to reach a much wider audience. They approached me about creating the additional 'white-labelled' versions, and I was on board straight away.

Adapting the videos wasn't a simple swap of audio files. To create the localised Polish and Romanian versions, I manually retimed the core animation to perfectly fit the distinct voiceover pacing of each new language. I also translated and replaced all on-screen text so that the visual messaging was completely cohesive for non-English speaking viewers. By streamlining this localisation workflow, we successfully delivered the expanded suite of six videos at zero extra cost to the council.

The Impact

Because we took the initiative to create those white-labelled national versions, the reach of this project exceeded all of our expectations. The Department for Education adopted the videos as free downloads, distributing them to local authorities across the country and sharing them throughout their NHS networks.

To top it all off, the animation and the campaign were officially featured on BBC News.

Role: Lead Animator, Designer

Deliverables: 1 x Core 2.5-minute 2D animation, adapted into 6 variations (English, Polish, Romanian; Local & National)

Client: Adarak Ltd for Barnsley Council