Case Study · Complex World
Complex
World
Current Affairs Documentary Series
Motion direction and visual language for Complex's current-affairs documentary series, exploring stories across politics, culture, and social issues — from the Flint water crisis and policing to environmental racism, political misinformation, voting, and immigration — through the perspective of Complex's audience.
2021 GLAAD Media Award Winner
Outstanding Online Journalism — Video or Multimedia
“Stop Killing Us: Black Transgender Women's Lived Experiences”
Recognized in a journalism category — not entertainment design — alongside nominees from Business Insider, Refinery29, Great Big Story, and Vox.
Watch the award-winning episode on YouTubeOverview
As the motion designer for the series, I developed the motion direction and visual language used to support each episode's storytelling. The work adapted to the subject matter rather than relying on a single graphics template.
Working with producers and editors, I created the motion graphics and additional visual assets needed for individual stories — depending on the episode, that meant finding a clear way to present statistics and contextual information, bringing archival photographs to life, developing visual treatments for supplied footage, or building graphics from scratch when the story required them.
The series required a careful balance between design and editorial clarity. Graphics needed to feel consistent with Complex while supporting serious documentary subjects — informative, direct, and never overwhelming the reporting.
Role
Motion Graphics Artist / Motion Direction. Across the series, that meant title and typography animation, charts and data visualization, informational graphics, photo and archival-image treatments, video treatments, compositing, transitions, and custom graphics built per-episode to visually communicate information.
Each story set a different brief. A piece on misinformation needed clean typographic cuts and quick-read data; an archival recovery story needed careful photo treatments and restrained motion; a verité documentary piece needed graphics that stepped back so the subjects could lead.
- Responsibilities
- Motion Design
- Motion Direction
- Compositing
- Data Visualization
- Charts & Informational Graphics
- Photo & Archival Image Treatments
- Video Treatments
- Typography & Title Animation
- Editorial Graphics
- VFX & Transitions