 I'm not sure if you've noticed, but there's something in the air of late. I can't quite put my finger on it... is it—could it be? A sense of normalcy? Sure, there's still plenty of doom and gloom. Wars are raging, and floods are destroying homes. But luckily, for many of us—the lucky ones—there is also some ... hope. There's a hint that things are returning to business as usual. Well, not usual usual—we're still working from home sometimes, and occasionally we have to don a mask or isolate or what-have-you. But people are returning to shops, theatres, sporting events. They're getting on trains, venturing out, and spending their money. We've even graphically recorded a few in-person workshops. Which is kind of exciting! But also kind of scary, too. We've all been conditioned to be so cautious and keep our distance from people. Are we ready to return to work? We think the answer is yes. In fact, we made a short video about it: a 60 second slice of optimism about the great return to work to counter the much hyped great resignation. We're quite proud of it actually: We'd love you to take a look, and if it strikes a chord, share it with your colleagues. Post it to your intranet. Or send it to a friend who needs a smile.
Bring on 2022, we say. It's time for a much-needed, long-overdue win.
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Here in Melbourne, like many parts of the world, we're currently in lockdown (again) and, well, it kind of sucks. While we're lucky that it's (mostly) business as usual for our video, illustration, and graphic recording clients, we still can’t wait to safely get back to doing all of those things we once took for granted: eating at cafes and restaurants, filming in our studio, visiting other people's homes, seeing live music, getting inspired at galleries, and travelling! It's clear that none of this will happen until enough people are vaccinated against CoVid-19, so we thought we'd join the movement in encouraging everyone to get the jab. Our entire team are grateful and proud to be fully vaccinated, so we thought we'd "wear it proud" by way of a virtual background in the virtual meetings we have with friends and colleagues, to celebrate where we’re headed and encourage others along the way.
And you can too! These images will work with any videoconferencing software that supports virtual backgrounds—Zoom, Teams, WebEx, or something else—and are completely free for you to download and use. There are no restrictions on use, or any credit necessary. Just download the image, set it as your virtual background in your meeting platform of choice, and spread the word. Because the more people who can get vaccinated and do get vaccinated, the better off we’ll all be. To download the virtual backgrounds, right-click on the image and select "Save As".   CATEGORIES: TECHNOLOGY, SALES The Client Squirrel Business Hub The Problem Squirrel is a fast-growing technology consulting firm that specialises in the installation, configuration, and integration of business systems—in particular Customer Relationship Management systems (CRMs).  Every business reaches a point at which they need a CRM to handle incoming leads and customer conversations. Unfortunately most small businesses owners don’t even know what a CRM does. Our Approach We believe that education is the most powerful sales strategy. The goal of this video was to build authority and trust with the audience by explaining what a CRM is and how it helps a business function more effectively. The Squirrel brand is one that is very approachable and friendly. Much like the mascot at the heart of the brand, there is an element of fun and cute in the way that “Squirrelies” portray themselves to the world. As a result, we knew that it would be important that the video reinforce the fact that, while technology can be intimidating and scary, your technology partner need not be.  Our Solution We opted for a first-person view of the customer, so that the target audience would see themselves in the story, and the pain relayed by the narrator would resonate. The client was so happy with the video script that the final line: “for all the things you didn’t get into business to do” would go on to become the marketing tagline adopted by the business. To present the solutions that the Squirrel team offers its clients as non-scary, we peppered the technical explanations with squirrels and fluffy, friendly “cloud” creatures throughout the video.  A hand-drawn explainer video is an effective tool for educating without being patronising. While it was necessary for us to introduce some terminology, we:
Client Testimonials
“We have that video on the home page of our website for a reason—it beautifully communicates everything that we want potential customers to know about what we do before we start a conversation with them. It’s perfect!” —Kylie Harker, Founder 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: NOT-FOR-PROFIT, VISUAL FACILITATION, ILLUSTRATION The Client Victorian Department of Health & Human Services The Challenge We feel extraordinarily lucky on a regular basis that we get to partner with clients doing work that matters, so we were humbled when the Department of Health & Human Services approached us to map the journey of foster carers from initial interest to multiple children and beyond.. One of the biggest challenges in this space is there is a higher demand for foster carers than are available, so there is a real need for efforts in educating and inspiring others to take this journey. Getting people together with a lived experience, and enabling them to feel safe enough to share their story was a huge part of this exercise. Once we elicited their stories, we were able to illustrate the journey in a way that made sense as a poster to raise awareness and validate the important role that existing carers play. Our Approach We worked with folks from DHHS and the Foster Carer's Association of Victoria to:
 Our Solution Because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter, we decided collectively that there was value in creating two versions of the poster—one that would be useful for recruiting, retaining, and raising awareness of foster carers, and another version that was more suitable for internal use. This internal version was more focussed on helping members of DHHS and agencies to identify opportunities where the overall system could be improved. We were faced with the challenge of walking a fine line between wanting to shout from the rooftops about what amazing work foster carers do for our community, with painting a realistic picture that accurately portrays the fact that being a foster carer is hard. Some of the stories that came out on the day were heartbreaking, and the weight of responsibility to capture and visualise those emotions was enormous. 
The Outcome  We were extremely proud of the final result, which was a truly collaborative effort from the department, agencies, carers, advocates, and several members of the Sketch Group team. With this journey map, the Victorian Government and the Foster Carer’s Association are better equipped to explain what is involved, manage people’s expectations, and encourage more Victorians to volunteer to foster a child. Client Testimonials “I love it. I think it is perfect.” — Katie Hooper Chief Executive Officer, Foster Care Association of Victoria 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: EDUCATION, LIVE SKETCHING, LOCAL GOVERNMENT The Client Mount Alexander Shire The Problem Educating children about how to stay safe outdoors—for example, when cycling, camping, interacting with animals, or during a natural disasters like bushfire or flood—can be a tough sell. For it to be received effectively, educational content needs to be experiential, delivered using variety, interactivity, and novelty. Our Approach The team from Mount Alexander Shire did a great job of creating a range of outdoor stalls for school groups to visit on the day. We complemented these efforts by providing a graphic recorder to visualise the content on a large canvas.   The Outcome
The canvas was attached to a portable GraphicWall, which meant it could be easily moved between stalls and was therefore visible when it added the most value. The final canvas captured some of the highlights, and served as a record of “safety tips” for teaching staff, to remind students how to stay safe in a colourful and fun way. Photographs of the canvas served as useful marketing assets to celebrate the success of the event via official communication channels, such as the local council’s email newsletters and social media accounts. Client Testimonials “[The graphic recorder provided] Another dimension to the day by providing excitement and fun to participants (kids) and facilitators while sketching the main points of each presentation. Matthew communicated extremely well with participants and organisers and showed a genuine interest in the project and objectives we were delivering to assist with keeping children and their families safe and prepared for emergency. Credit to Matthew.” -- Luke Ryan, SAFE organiser 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: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, TRAINING Our Solution Sketch video is a powerful medium when the subject matter relates to topics that are either sensitive or cross-cultural boundaries. Illustrating scenarios, rather than filming them, is a cost-effective way to capture the nuances of interactions that have the potential to be emotionally charged. Using illustration also allows for sophisticated concepts to be effectively presented—and received—by an audience who may or may not understand every word in the voiced script. Watch the video on YouTube.  The Outcome The video has been viewed nearly 5,000 times. We also assisted in translating the video into other languages, including Mandarin, Hindi, Vietnamese, Malay, Indonesian, and Korean.  Client Testimonials
“Wow, it looks great! Thanks so much Kerstin. And thank you for getting it done so quickly. We’re very happy with it.” “Just wanted to let you know the video was very well received at the student conference last week, so we were really happy [with] the response.” —Melita Hoskin 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: Telephone: 1300 SKETCH Email: hello@sketchgroup.com Web: www.sketchgroup.com 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:
 If you’ve been tasked with developing a series of training videos for your company, you may be wondering what pitfalls to expect on such a large project (so that you can avoid them). Perhaps you’ve created video content for learning and development in the past, and hit a few snags that you wish you could have planned around? Creating a library of quality educational video content and delivering it on time and within budget not only requires a creative, competent team, but it also requires a mature production process. Our guiding principles have evolved from creating hundreds of videos over the years; while every project has its own unique challenges, we believe that by following these principles, we put ourselves in the best possible position for the project to succeed. Typical Challenges In our experience, the major challenges that learning and development teams run into when developing training video content are the following: 1. Stakeholder buy-in Investing in a repository of content that is to be used company-wide runs the risk of being derailed by executives who hold influence and are not part of the core project. We have seen many projects get developed and then hit a wall right before launch, because a senior person decided to get involved at the last minute and decide that the outcome needs to change, based on them not having been involved. 2. Stakeholder sign-off In the same vein, often there can be too many “cooks in the kitchen”, which results in:
3. Employee Engagement Internal videos can be notoriously boring for employees to watch. No matter how flashy or colourful the animations, if the story behind the message falls flat, the video campaign will fail. The story behind the visuals needs to be carefully crafted to hook people in, tell a story, invoke humour when appropriate, and demonstrate that the messaging is clear, authentic, and in the viewer’s best interest, while also piquing one’s curiosity for future messages. 4. Update-ability Circumstances change, and it’s important to have the ability to update content should the next pandemic or economic upheaval dictate that the company’s strategy has changed. If video content is not created in a way that allows for easy updates, then these changes can be costly and time-consuming. 5. Long-term ROI Content that is supported by management, delivered on time, engages employees, and is updapte-able will last for a long time, and is able to be used over and over again. Creating quality content that ticks all of these boxes is paramount to a successful campaign. Guiding Principles Some of the guiding principles that we follow to remedy to these challenges (and what we refer to lovingly as our sketchosophy™) are as follows: 1. Early involvement In our experience, involving key stakeholders and decision makers early in the project is crucial in order to garner the support from senior management that is critical for long-term success. At Sketch Group, we have developed an activity that we call the Empathy Forecast, which we facilitate at the beginning of every video project. This two-hour workshop is incredibly effective at:
The Empathy Forecast activity has become so successful, it received an entire chapter devoted to it in The World of Visual Facilitation, a best-selling book that Sketch Group founder, Matthew Magain, co-authored in 2019. And while these benefits are all valuable insights for shaping the end product, there is often one more (unintended) upside to running this activity:
 Coming up: Free Empathy Forecast Workshop
Are you interested in learning how to build a successful foundation for your next communication project? Why not register for our next free workshop? We’ll explain what the Empathy Forecast activity is, and step you through how to run it with your own groups. You'll even get the chance to practice applying it in a small group, with each group having a different communication challenge to solve. Get in quick! These workshops fill up quickly—numbers are limited to 25 participants. 2. Single point of contact Having one person as the primary point of contact is crucial for managing rounds of feedback and achieving deadlines. This point of contact should be responsible for collating all of the feedback from individuals who will help shape each video. 3. Visual consistency We believe that campaigns with visual consistency will be longer lasting. In our experience, multi-video projects should be viewed as internal campaigns, and communicated as such—with each component complementing the other to support a broader message. A great way to ensure this is by using the same illustrator throughout the life of the project for example to achieve this consistency. 4. Visual/verbal balance The content should strike the balance between visual and verbal forms of communication. Science shows that optimising both channels leads to higher retention and recall of information as well as improved focus. What this means for your trainees is that they will have an experience that is both memorable and engaging. 5. Character-driven It’s no great secret that the key to successfully communicating your message is to do it through the telling of stories. However, it is important, as with the visuals that drive the stories, that the characters within them make regular appearances. This consistency of a cast of characters allows the viewer to learn more about the personality of each character, and relate to each of them as they interact. They can identify with and form empathy for them, and anticipate their reactions in the various situations in which they are depicted. In short, character-driven stories are more relatable, because the characters allow the audience to form a personal bond with the message. 6. Modular Construction There’s no telling what’s around the corner, so it’s conceivable that in one, two, or five years’ time, one or more of your videos may need updating to reflect the latest change in direction, acknowledge a new global pandemic, or communicate a different strategy that the board has decided upon. Building a video in a modular fashion will minimise the cost of making such changes. It’s helpful to begin a project with the expectation that there may need to be changes made down the track, to reduce costly rework. Conclusion Overseeing the creation of a large number of videos can become a time suck if not planned for or managed properly. As we’ve highlighted, by being aware of the common challenges that come up in projects like this and planning around them, you can ensure that your training video project becomes famous (and not infamous) for all the right reasons. We’d love to hear your experiences, or any challenges or solutions that we may have missed, in the comments. And of course if you’d like to chat with someone about how to ensure your next training video project is a success, contact our friendly team: hello@sketchgroup.com sketchgroup.com 1300 SKETCH @sketchgrp |
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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