Made Smarter Explainer Animations

Made Smarter is leading the charge in the UK’s ambitious plans to foster growth in manufacturing through digital technologies, innovation and skills development. This pioneering initiative was born out of an industry-led review commissioned by the UK Government and headed by Professor Juergen Maier CBE, who also serves as Co-Chair of Made Smarter. Their four guiding principles inspired by the industry’s challenges include: leader, adoption, innovation and skills development.

Made Smarter’s target audience comprises a diverse array of manufacturing sectors, each with its unique challenges. Whether a business is well-established or a dynamic startup, Made Smarter strive to develop greater digitalisation for their business, as well as enhanced visibility and improved connectivity in the ever-evolving world of manufacturing.

The campaign’s primary objective was to raise the profile of Made Smarter and highlight the importance of embracing advanced technologies in the manufacturing industry through captivating explainer animations. Made Smarter sought to address specific challenges encountered by creators in their animation processes, illustrating how cutting-edge technologies introduced by Made Smarter can transform approaches, leading to enhanced efficiency and higher-quality work.

Our team at Bearded Fellows, a creative animations agency covering Manchester and London, we worked endlessly to deliver a series of explainer animations. Including:

– Adaptive manufacturing

– Augmented reality and virtual reality

– Data analysis

– Decarbonisation

– Case studies

These were for use in the UK on their social media channels, as well as explainer animations on their website.

Translation of script to visual content: While we’ve had huge practise when it comes to script writing and animations as a creative video agency working in Manchester and London; crafting the appropriate narrative and translating the script into visuals that effectively communicated complex technological concepts was our main challenge with this project. 

Understanding the language: Representing cutting-edge technologies can often be abstract and elusive, especially for audiences less familiar with these innovations. Therefore, the goal was to simplify the representation, ensuring that it was both explanatory and engaging to reach a broader viewership for maximum impact. As a result, this required the team here at Bearded Fellows to bridge the gap between the intricacies of advanced manufacturing technologies and the audience’s understanding, transforming abstract concepts into visually compelling and relatable animations.

The process commenced with the development of a well-refined script in collaboration with the client. The script was tailored to ensure precision and engagement, focusing on themes such as adaptive manufacturing, augmented reality and virtual reality, data analysis, decarbonisation, and case studies. Once the script was finalised, the challenge was to simplify the representation of complex technologies, making them easily understandable and visually appealing.

Following the script writing phase, we created customised storyboard illustrations and artwork meticulously crafted using vector graphics. These illustrations served as the visual foundation, ensuring that every scene was purposefully designed to enhance clarity and engagement.

In terms of aesthetics, a vibrant colour palette took centre stage, prominently showcasing the brand’s identity. The primary colours, a dynamic fusion of yellow paired with white and black, were chosen to reflect the essence of innovation and modernisation. These primary colours were thoughtfully complemented by shades of light grey, infused with a hint of light blue, to strike a balance between professionalism and approachability.

During production, the team here at Bearded Fellows, animation studio, meticulously selected voice actors whose voices matched the characters in the animations. This included considering a wide range of factors for diversity, such as age, gender, personality and dialogue. 

Finally, we also included the use of licensed music to enhance the animation’s rhythm and support the narrative for an unforgettable explainer animation.

The end result from our dedicated animation team in Manchester was a series of captivating explainer animations that effectively conveyed the message of modernising manufacturing businesses with advanced technologies. The animations simplified complex concepts, making them accessible to a broader audience while maintaining a visually engaging and informative style. Take a look at our final results for yourself.