An animated campaign for sea level rise strategy
Comparison of Great Garuda island concept with Indonesia’s national symbol.
After Effects, ToonBoom Harmony, Figma, Miro | February – August 2022 | Penn Animation as Research Lab team of 3
At the Penn Animation as Research Lab, I animated a motion-designed campaign explaining four strategies to protect the Netherlands from sea level rise. My team worked with a Dutch consulting firm to reframe their cartoons and make Meebewegen, a nature-based flood adaptation strategy, easier to understand. We revised the work based on feedback from global climate experts, including a site visit to the Netherlands.
Research Structure
Challenge
Though the Netherlands is a global leader in sea level rise adaptation, Meebewegen, a strategy involving nature-based flood barriers and property relocation, remains controversial. For an anti-flood strategy defined by movement and change, its existing visuals were difficult to understand fully as static images. We identified a need for animation to clarify the strategy, reduce stigma, and make it more accessible to the public.
Early-Stage Insights
‘Summer Oak’ natural hospitality illustration (Jeroen Helmer).
Among many visits with experts in water management, my team resonated with illustrator Jeroen Helmer’s take on ecosystems, and decided to frame our visual strategy to destigmatize Meebewegen around restoring ecosystem dynamics to create natural flood barriers.
Ideation
My team and professors devised a series of overarching visual metaphors to simplify the data into one story. We brainstormed the 4 Strategies as:
We convened on war room plans – Meebewegen as a negotiation due to its alignment with the client’s goal of framing Meebewegen as a peaceful solution to the Netherlands’ ongoing sea level rise problems.
Storyboarding & Testing
I developed a series of storyboarded visual metaphors, and edited my team’s work into an weekly animatic. We iterated on feedback from the Lab’s professors and visiting experts.
“River highways” animated concept to explain the Beschermen Gesloten (‘Protect Open’) strategy.
Comparison of Dutch Great Garuda island concept with Indonesia’s national symbol.
Deliverables
With my team, I animated a video that synthesized complex climate data on Dutch flood adaptation into an engaging narrative. Within this story, we also unfolded our strategy to explain Meebewegen.
1. Framing existing visual content on flood adaptation
War room strategies against sea level rise.
2. Depicting stakeholders and decision-makers
Engineer, designer, and politician characters.
3. Breaking down the first 3 strategies
Highlighting sustainable & unsustainable features.
6. Building upon Meebewegen’s themes in future content
Animated ship captain on a future video about sand.
4. Acknowledging Meebewegen’s public perception
Public perception of meebewegen cartoon concept.
5. Promotion of Meebewegen as peaceful
Land-building peat activated by rising water table.
Impact
Our videos have reached a combined 35k viewers, have been shown at a COP 28 event, and have contributed to the global conversation about different Dutch sea level rise adaptation strategies, both in the Netherlands and other coastal nations. View the full video and others I worked on here: