It’s probably fair to say that not many people could have predicted the way 2020 has turned out. It’s been a challenging year (to say the least), and we are truly honoured that in this climate of uncertainty, so many organizations have come to us with such great stories to supercharge! One of humanity’s defining characteristics is that we are storytellers, and the stories of this year will echo long into the coming years.

The good news

Our December newsletter is a reflection on this most ‘unprecedented’ year. We hope unprecedented is one word that doesn’t try to cling on. We are firm believers in celebrating achievements, and so we begin with good news from 2020. The Royal Society of Arts won first place in the Webby Award’s Animation category with their RSA Shorts series. We contributed two animations to the series, alongside many other talented illustrators and animators. Talking about the series, and the relationship between animation and ideas, the RSA’s Abi Stephenson said:

We were also thrilled to hear that architect Chris Hildrey’s ProxyAddress was awarded the Innovation in Politics Award for Human Rights! ProxyAddress helps those experiencing homelessness to overcome the barriers to support created by not having an address. We created an explainer animation, highlighting this simple but life-changing innovation. It was also nice to see friend of Cognitive, economist Kate Raworth present the award.

In October I delivered a talk organised by Ricoh to a network of printers. Ricoh’s technology allows direct-to-garment printing, making it easier than ever to take exciting and innovative visual storytelling to new audiences. I presented examples using short-form animations to help them explain what they do in very quick timescales. The challenge: how do you grab attention very quickly before people have the opportunity to click ‘skip ad’ on platforms like YouTube? We made these pre-rolls for the RSA Animate films that help do just that!

We’re immensely proud of our team, who do fantastic work for our clients, many continue to use great visual thinking in their own time. One of illustrator Tom Bradshaw’s personal projects was shared on Twitter by Elton John no less! Tom is a devoted fan of Huddersfield Town FC. His work came to the attention of Elton when capturing a conversation between the football club-owning singer and Arsène Wenger at the Hay Festival Winter Weekend. It’s a beautiful piece full of charm and wit. Tom uses the same powerful techniques we use at Cognitive to bring similar content to life with our Digital Scribing product.

A different year, a different world

The only constant is change, and that has never felt more true. From high streets to HQs, almost every organisation has had to alter how it operates. We are no different, and this year saw us responding to the rapid changes in several ways. The biggest way has been in the way we operate, transitioning from our Folkestone, UK, studio to become a fully virtual organisation. We want to thank all our staff for making this such a smooth transition. The global shift to a more virtual way of functioning has also impacted our products, we adapted the live scribing we had begun in 2019 into digital scribing as we mentioned above, and have enjoyed using it to enhance Zoom (the hero or villain of 2020 depending on your experiences) and other virtual events.

One of digital scribing projects was for the British Academy’s ‘Future of the Corporation - Purpose Summit’. These sessions were fascinating and they’re available to watch online if you’re looking for some food for thought. Of course, watching the story of 2020 unfold and being keen visual thinkers, we couldn’t resist creating a series of infographics. These have covered the virus itself, pandemic fashions old and new, and of course pro-tips for working from home.

Projects from 2020, a brief selection

We’ve worked on many projects this year and have enjoyed inhabiting the universe each one takes us into. One of the great parts about our job is the fact we constantly have the opportunity to learn new things. It’s had to choose, but here are just some of the projects we’ve worked on. It’s been great working with the Royal Society on their ‘Why Science' campaign. Aimed at students, these animations explain just some of the many ways we can use science and the scientific method in our lives, and where a career in science can take you.

We also worked with University College Dublin this year, creating an animation explaining their Impact Toolkit, and why communicating impact is so important. This animation was created by Sarah Verrall, who this year made her own transition from talented animator to Senior Creative. This year also saw another of our team take their experience into the Senior Creative role. Suzanne Lawrence has brought her extensive experience as an illustrator and has used it this year on projects such as our third animation for KMHO and EuroQol, explaining key details of the EQ-5D. Each project is unique, and we love creating the perfect recipe of storytelling and visual thinking to bring it to the screen. This was definitely true as we approached a series of short marketing stings for The&Partnership and Big Yellow Storage, where we personified the storage nightmares that lurk in our homes.

Bittersweet reflections

This year has been marked with sadness in so many ways, and we were deeply saddened to hear about the death of Sir Ken Robinson. Sir Ken was an educational visionary and an incredible public speaker, his legacy will live on for many years to come. It was a privilege to turn his insights into an RSA Animate, one of the most viewed to date. So much loss has happened this year, but there has also been so much triumph despite the adversity. From the solidarity of people in the face of coronavirus to the international efforts that have gone into the creation of vaccines, this year has shown the true strength of people, something I hope we can take into next year as we continue to grow and develop in every dimension of our lives.

Thank you for being part of our 2020. From everyone at Cognitive, have an amazing and restful festive period. I hope 2021 brings renewed success and breathing space.

Best wishes,

Andrew Park