OVERVIEW
Healing Forest, SUGi’s first short film, tells the story of the collaboration between SUGi and the Yakama Nation community. This short film brings the forest's remarkable growth and nourishing power to life through the community's powerful stories, intertwined with carefully crafted animations, typography, and seamless video editing.
BRIEF + CONTEXT
This project was developed for SUGi, an environmental organization dedicated to planting pockets of biodiverse forests in urban settings worldwide. My role was to create animations for the video and design the promotional content for the film's release that would seamlessly blend into the story, including a trailer, poster, and social media posts.
ANIMATION
1. Forest Design
The first challenge was finding a way to visually communicate the forest design and transforming it into an engaging, interactive video format. I began with an illustrated forest design sketch (1.1). The question was: how do we make it feel alive?
1.1 Forest Design Sketch
The initial idea was to overlay the forest illustration onto drone footage of the actual forest site (1.2).
1.2
It felt like a good start but failed to convey the complexity of the forest and its design. So, I explored different 3 different styles:
V1 — Integrated the aesthetic of the original sketch (1.3)
V2 — A technical, clean-lines design (1.4)
V3 — An organic, hand-drawn style (1.5)
1.3 V1
1.4 V2
1.5 V3
In the end, V3 best captured the natural essence of the project. To enhance this, I developed a ‘bleeding in’ effect — making the forest sketch appear as though it was growing in real time.
1.6 Animation V1
While putting all these elements together, something felt disconnected. So, I stripped it back. Instead of layering it over footage, I pivoted to using the sketch on an off-white background. This small change made all the difference — it allowed the animation to breathe, creating a seamless transition between the storytelling and visuals.
1.7 Final animaton
2. USA Project Map
Another key moment in the film highlighted SUGi’s projects across the United States. We needed an animation that would promptly and clearly convey the scope of their work.
I started with an existing map (2.1) and debated how to display the information. Two options emerged:
V1 — Highlight all projects, their names, and locations (2.2)
V2 — Highlight states with projects, simplifying the information for better readability (2.3)
We went with V2 as it was cleaner, more digestible, and worked better within the video’s pacing.
2.1 Previously designed USA Map
2.2 V1
2.3 V2
I took the design even further and stripped it down, removing the name of the states and overlaying some stats over the map.
The final challenge was to integrate all these elements into a simple, quick and efficient animation. I animated it so that the states would light up while the project pins popped up randomly. To maintain visual consistency, I applied the same ‘bleeding in’ animation style from the forest design section.
3. Text Animation
The main challenge for this task was creating the main title sequence animation. The title of the film, Healing Forest, has an indigenous translation that needed to be incorporated within the design. To maintain animation consistency and the organic feel of the video, I designed an effect where the two names seamlessly flowed into each other, synchronised with the audio. This blending effect reinforced the idea of connection — between language, culture, and nature.
Throughout the video, various sections required text animation to emphasise key messages. To ensure cohesion, I consistently applied the 'bleeding in' effect, reinforcing the natural and fluid aesthetic present throughout the film.
PROMOTIONAL CONTENT
4. Poster
The task was to design a poster that functioned both as a standalone promotional piece and a social media cover. The goal was to create a visually compelling and informative piece that effectively represented the essence of the film while engaging a wide audience across different platforms.
After extensive research and gathering references (4.6), I developed a design that integrated the main title sequence layout and the film credits. I then adapted it into multiple formats for different platforms — Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and email campaigns — ensuring a cohesive look across all promotional materials.
4.1 Instagram size
4.2 Reel Format
4.3 Landscape Poster
Alternative Posters
4.4 Alt 1
4.5 Alt 2
4.5 Alt 2
References
4.6 References
5. Social Media Campaign
To generate anticipation and engagement for the film’s release, I crafted a strategic social media campaign consisting of three key posts:
1. The trailer – A dynamic, engaging short preview to intrigue audiences
2. The poster – A visually compelling still image to solidify branding (4.1)
3. A series of stills and video snippets – Carefully selected moments to offer a glimpse into the world of Healing Forest
1. The trailer – A dynamic, engaging short preview to intrigue audiences
2. The poster – A visually compelling still image to solidify branding (4.1)
3. A series of stills and video snippets – Carefully selected moments to offer a glimpse into the world of Healing Forest
Each post was crafted to give audiences just enough to spark curiosity, drawing them deeper into the story while enticing them to watch the full film.
5.1. Trailer
I approached the trailer as a mini-story — a glimpse into the emotional and visual world of Healing Forest. I selected the most visually compelling moments, each one chosen to evoke a sense of wonder and transformation.
5.1
5.3. A series of stills and video snippets
A collection of three pivotal video snippets from the film, accompanied by three stills. This gave the viewer an exclusive sneak peek into the film’s world, visually immersing them in its atmosphere.
5.2 Cover
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
CONCLUSION
This project required a balance between technical precision and organic storytelling. By iterating on visual styles and animation techniques, I achieved a seamless integration of design, motion, and narrative, ensuring the film effectively communicated SUGi’s mission.
Through this work, I deepened my expertise in animation, typography, and motion design, while contributing to an impactful environmental initiative.
