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CATEGORIES: NOT-FOR-PROFIT, ILLUSTRATION The Client The Big Issue The Problem The Big Issue is a not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to supporting and creating work opportunities for homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged people. They are best known for their fortnightly, independent magazine, which is sold on the streets by vendors. These vendors are not asking for charity. By selling the magazines, they are running a microbusiness, and The Big Issue is helping them to help themselves. Unfortunately, this concept is not well understood by the general public. Our Approach We met with the client and workshopped ways that the concept could be communicated. Our empathy forecast activity helped to elicit some of the assumptions made by members of the public, and the internal conversations that vendors have. This helped to extract multiple layers to the message, including:
  We explored the possibility of communicating this message, and the unique business model, as a comic strip. After several iterations, we hit upon the concept of a single diagram depicting what is a virtuous cycle: make -> buy -> sell  Our Solution The final image combined scenes from the original comic strip with the diagram depicting the cycle, with the vendor pictured at the centre of the process. We delivered portrait and landscape versions of the diagram, so that the magazine publishing team could fill half- or full-page slots when there were advertising slots that had not been sold.  The Outcome The image was an absolute stand-out success, and led to additional work with The Big Issue for us to evolve the concept into an animated video. What began as a simple diagram to fill pages in the magazine in lieu of advertising slots evolved into a multi-media campaign that was screened nationally on free-to-air television, cinemas, and large outdoor displays in Melbourne’s CBD, as well as continued reach via The Big Issue’s various social media channels. But the real impact was a growth in confidence in vendors, which came from them having a tool to clearly explain that they were not seeking charity, but were in fact running a microbusiness.
Client Testimonials “The sketch clearly articulated The Big Issue model. It was really helpful to distil the transaction simply as ‘Buy, Make, Sell’—it showed that the ‘Make’ component was central to the enterprise. Without the creation of a magazine, there is nothing for vendors to sell! The central element of the sketch clearly conveyed the sustainability of the model and the central role that the vendor plays. It packed a lot of information into one infographic.” —Louise Gray More Information For more details on this project, or to learn how Sketch Group can help you make an impact by sketching your story, contact our friendly team:
CATEGORIES: INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, MOTION GRAPHICS The Client AustralianSuper The Problem Making superannuation fun is a tough ask. And communicating the principles of measured risk within the superannuation world is even more difficult. But that was the challenge that AustralianSuper set us. How to educate the investment team on when to take risks, what parameters to adhere to, and how and when to report incidents are all important—but boring—messages to get across to the entire team. Our Approach We worked with AustralianSuper to create a series of animated videos that illustrated these concepts in a way that was light-hearted, but still accurate and carried the gravitas required for these big topics. Our first step was to establish a character that could be used across multiple stories. Having a recognisable face would provide for continuity and create anticipation with each new story released. The character we created was “Wriskers”, a mouse. This choice of animal came from the popular “cheese model” that is prevalent throughout the world of risk. The concept stems from the holes that occur in Swiss cheese, and when we proposed the idea during the proposal stage, the client fell in love with it immediately.  Given the client had well established brand guidelines, it was important that Wriskers—and every other element created for the video series—fit in with the rest of the existing brand colour palette, style, tone, and choice of language. Our Solution  The videos that we created for the Risk team at AustralianSuper are those of which we are most proud. The combination of challenges made for an extremely rewarding project, namely:
The Outcome The “Risk Matters” internal campaign was a huge success. After the first video in the series was published to the staff intranet, inquiries began about when the next in the series would be released. Pageviews of each video reflected a high degree of engagement, and the team capitalised on “Wriskers” becoming the local office mascot by extending his presence to other marketing collateral. Client Testimonials “The Risk Matters animated videos from Sketch Group were such a hit, and the team were wonderful to work with. We had too many cooks in the kitchen, but they were incredibly patient and delivered something that we are really proud of. I can’t wait to partner with them on another project soon!” —Julianne Dowse, Change Manager More Information For more details on this project, or to learn how Sketch Group can help you make an impact by sketching your story, contact our friendly team:
CATEGORIES: BRANDING, TRAINING The Client VELCRO® Australia The Problem VELCRO® is a known and respected brand around the world. But the trademark is often misused, and the language used by suppliers and customers when describing the range of products can be inconsistent and wrong. The VELCRO® team wanted to educate people in the correct way to use the brand, and do so in an engaging and understandable way. Our Approach We opted to use a carrot rather than a stick when it came to educating users on how to refer to the VELCRO® Brand trademark. We knew that creating a fun, light-hearted and engaging video would illuminate problems and solutions with a smile. We facilitated an empathy forecast session to gain clarity on the VELCRO® brand and the message. The exercise also shed some light on how distributors and partners feel about the brand, and some assumptions that they make. We used the outcomes of this activity to distil the language and key points that needed to be in the video, to ensure the desired message would be heard, supported and remembered. Our Solution Because we shoot our sketch videos in a studio, rather than utilising a software tool to mimic a hand bouncing around on screen, we are able to bring additional items onto the canvas other than just a pen and paper. In this case, it made perfect sense for us to use some of the much loved and instantly recognisable VELCRO® brand products, and combine them with sketching to bring the messages to life in a unique, memorable, and colourful way.  The Outcome The video was well received by the client, and anecdotally was a success with distribution partners as well—anecdotally, the client has seen a decrease in the number of partners that discuss, promote, or request VELCRO® brand products incorrectly after watching the video. And the client now has a video resource that will be used for many years to come to protect their brand, image, and trust in their products. Client Testimonial
“The problem that faced Velcro Australia was trying to educate our distributors that we are a brand and that we should not be referred to as a noun or adjective. We wanted to ensure that our trademark was protected and displayed in the correct manner at all times, when referring to our genuine hook and loop fasteners. The sketch video created was ideal for conveying our message. It put across the message of trademark hygiene in a fun and engaging way which we thought may not be possible. The video is used regularly to help protect and train our stakeholders of the importance of our beloved trademark.” —Xavier Poynton, Marketing Manager More Information For more details on this project, or to learn how Sketch Group can help you make an impact by sketching your story, contact our friendly team:
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AuthorMatt is Chief Doodler at Sketch Group. He has contributed to several books on visual thinking, most recently The World of Visual Facilitation. 
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