Creating a Visual Learning Identity for Policy Expert Using Animation.

Creating a Visual Learning Identity for Policy Expert Using Animation.

When Policy Expert approached us to create an animated opener for their DSE (Display Screen Equipment) training module, we were faced with a blank canvas and an exciting challenge. No previous animations existed for their eLearning content, which meant we could establish something entirely new whilst staying true to their professional brand identity.

The opportunity was clear: take a compliance subject that employees typically view as mandatory checkbox ticking and transform it into something genuinely engaging through animation.

Establishing the Visual DNA

Creating our first animated opener for Policy Expert required us to imagine how their brand could come alive through motion graphics whilst maintaining the authority and professionalism their employees expected.

Our approach centred on scene-setting animations that create emotional investment before delivering essential information. Rather than launching directly into workplace regulations, we established personal relevance through compelling visual storytelling.

Working within Policy Expert's distinctive purple and magenta palette, we developed the foundation elements that would define their animated identity:

Character Elements & Iconography

Simple stick figures that show different groups of people while staying professional. These characters can show workplace situations clearly without detailed drawings, ideal for all types of employees.

Brand Integration

Each colour in the animation has a clear purpose. Purple shows authority for serious health facts while staying friendly. Magenta adds energy to motivational parts and calls to action. Mint green highlights positive endings, focusing on good results instead of problems.

Animation Techniques

We created smooth animated transitions that promote real learning and engagement in compliance eLearning. The question mark turns doubt into curiosity before giving answers. Gradient reveals show stats gradually to avoid overload. Character animations show growth and success, keeping learners interested.

The DSE Training Module

This module opens with a compelling question:

“Did you know that the way you sit at your desk can seriously affect your health?”

This animated revelation transforms mundane compliance content into a personal health conversation, immediately establishing relevance. The statistical journey that follows, revealing that

"8.9 million working days lost...far more than days lost to strikes!"

uses these animation techniques to make abstract numbers tangible and personally meaningful.

Creating Consistency Through Adaptation

The positive response to the DSE animated opener led directly to our second commission from Policy Expert, their Hybrid Working module. This time, we faced an equally exciting but different challenge: creating a new animation whilst maintaining the visual consistency and familiarity that users had responded to so positively.

Reusing Successful Elements

The stick figure characters were perfectly adaptable, with the same minimalist figures that demonstrated desk posture in the DSE training being able to illustrate work-life balance scenarios. This consistency created immediate familiarity for users whilst serving the new content perfectly.

Expanding the Visual Language

While maintaining Policy Expert's core brand elements, we introduced new iconographic components: planetary imagery for global transformation, gear metaphors, and work-life balance scales. Each addition felt natural within the established visual language because it followed the same design principles.

Adapting Animation Techniques

The transitions we'd developed, question reveals, gradient unveils, and character progressions, became the connective tissue between projects. These weren't just visual effects; they were proven engagement techniques that we could apply to entirely different subject matter.

The Hybrid Working Training Module

The Hybrid Working module employs aspirational storytelling, opening with:

"The working world has changed a lot in recent years."

Using planetary and calendar imagery, we establish the magnitude of workplace transformation before personalising the journey with individual character stories.

This demonstrates how the same design philosophy, starting with broad relevance before focusing on personal impact, can adapt across entirely different compliance topics whilst maintaining the visual consistency users expect.

Demonstrating Impact Through Visual Consistency

The real power of these animations lies in their ability to create familiarity and trust whilst addressing entirely different compliance requirements.

The DSE Module

The musculoskeletal disorders statistics transform from overwhelming data into compelling personal narrative. Visual metaphors make workplace health feel like business priority whilst maintaining human empathy.

The Hybrid Working Module

Policy Expert emerges consistently as an enabler of better work-life balance rather than an enforcer of new policies. The animation positions hybrid working as opportunity rather than obligation, achieved through the same visual techniques that made DSE training engaging.

Cross-Project Learning

Visual elements that resonated in the DSE training found natural new applications in hybrid working scenarios. Animation techniques that effectively conveyed health statistics proved equally powerful for work-life balance messaging.

Looking Forward: Sustainable Visual Animation

Our collaboration with Policy Expert established a visual language that employees recognise and trust. This foundation allows each new eLearning project to build on proven techniques whilst introducing fresh approaches for different subjects, creating consistency without repetition.

The framework developed shows that animation's real value lies in making essential workplace information genuinely accessible. When employees encounter content that feels relevant and engaging rather than mandatory, the entire learning experience changes. They approach training with curiosity instead of resignation, and organisations benefit from genuine engagement with critical content.

Ready to explore how animation can enhance your workplace training?

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