GRAPHICS | CONCEPTING | ANIMATIONS
Between 2020 and 2023, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) worked on several projects aimed at promoting and guiding workplace practices in Finland.
The first project I worked on was the Supporting mental health at work project, which aimed to provide supervisors with tools to promote mental health in the workplace. Supporting mental health in this context meant both strengthening resources and addressing potential issues.
In subsequent years, the focus shifted to topics such as work-related immigration and worker conditions (Working in a greenhouse video), industrial work environments (Prevent irritant-induced asthma at work video), and changing work conditions (Work Modification Model project). These initiatives were loosely based on the same conceptual framework but varied in content.
My role included reviewing research materials, developing themes and storyboards, graphic design, and animating visuals.
Example of storyboard visuals
The project’s starting point was fairly typical for a research initiative: a wealth of collected data and study materials but no clear way to present the findings to the target audience.
The first phase of the work involved reviewing the research materials, identifying and evaluating key themes, and drafting an initial script based on these findings. Once the themes were approved and verified by the research team, the next step was to shape them into a narrative in the form of a storyboard.
To speed up the process, the storyboard was created using various vector graphics. At the time, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health’s (TTL) graphic guidelines included many examples and elements, which partially served as a foundation for these illustrations.
Once the storyboard was approved, the elements were animated scene by scene. The animation’s audio was produced in collaboration with Dictum voiceover professionals and Welling Creations’ sound designers.
Watch the trailer below and learn more about the research materials: ttl.fi/hyvanmielentyopaikka
In 2021, attention was focused on work-related immigration and the conditions faced by migrant workers. To support this, an instructional video was created that relied entirely on icons and illustrations, making it universally understandable regardless of language.
At the start of 2023, occupational health initiatives addressed industrial working conditions and chemical safety. Since the source materials were primarily medical studies focusing on asthma and its symptoms, the illustrations were designed to better convey this medical message.
In 2023, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health continued the original theme, focusing on evolving work conditions. The project, also known by its working title Kuura, was developed in collaboration with experts from Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, and the University of Oulu, as well as workplaces of various sizes and industries.
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