Creating an Efficient Art Style to Meet Deadlines While Extending the Sprout Brand

Situation

Sproutlet Stories was an activity featuring five themed storybooks. We needed to develop this project within a tight turnaround time, ensuring it was both educational and entertaining while fitting with the Sprout brand.

Task

My goal was to innovate an art direction that aligned with Sprout's brand and allowed our artists to work quickly. Leading a team of 3 artists, I was also responsible for delivering all of the UI, most of the artwork, as well as helping with integration.

Action

To meet the challenge, I decided on a cut paper / material art style. This fit well with the brand and allowed for rapid production. My specific actions included:

• Developing the cut paper art style that aligned with Sprout's visual identity.
• Leading the art direction to ensure all assets and animations were cohesive and high-quality.
• Handling all UI design to ensure a seamless user experience.
• Personally creating about 80% of the artwork, animation, and assisting with integration.

Working on educational content has always been rewarding, especially with kids of my own who at the time were in the target audience. My son helped me with coloring some textures with his crayons for this app. So fun.

Result

The project was successfully shipped on time, with a fun experience and style, driving massive digital and on-air engagement. Bridging interactive web play directly with live linear television on The Sunny Side Up Show, thousands of user submissions were featured on-air alongside guest appearances by stars like B.J. Novak and Padma Lakshmi. The experience achieved critical industry recognition, winning Best Online Game at the 2014 Cynopsis Kids !magination Awards against top competitors from Nickelodeon and Hasbro.