Campaign identity and Animation
World MS Day
World MS Day is an international awareness day for everyone affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). It brings the global MS community together to share stories, raise awareness and campaign for change. Marked on 30 May it is a day of global solidarity, collective action and hope for one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system.
The 2024-25 campaign focuses on MS diagnosis. I had the amazing opportunity to develop the illustrative campaign identity, toolkit and animation. It was a truly collaborative project, working closely alongside design studio Osomi and the MS international Federation, as well as a global group of people living with MS who shared their stories, thoughts and insights.
Campaign aims
The illustrations I created needed to capture the campaign’s aims and actions, while featuring quite specific and complex imagery and diagnosis experiences that people with MS from all walks of life and all around the world could identify with.
The My MS Diagnosis campaign advocates for early and accurate MS diagnosis, calls for better healthcare training, research and clinical advancements, and highlights global barriers to diagnosing MS. Reaching thousands of people, and connecting MS organisations all around the globe, the campaign also hopes to raise general awareness and information about MS.
Toolkit
Osomi did a brilliant job adapting my illustrations to a wide range of campaign resources. The toolkit makes it easy for anyone in the world to join in and raise awareness of World MS Day: from social media shareables and headers to posters, email signatures and countdown graphics.
The toolkit is available in English, Spanish and Arabic.
Animation
Alongside the visual identity and toolkit I also got to work on a campaign animation, which highlights the diagnosis stories of five people from around the globe: Leonardo from Argentina, Jessica from South Africa, Jonathan from the US, Kanya from Indonesia and Rayan from the UAE.
Combining their individual experiences into one unified story, the animation manages to capture many of the key symptoms, experiences and barriers of MS diagnosis into an urgent call to action: getting the right diagnosis is key to ensuring people with MS can live good lives.
Process
There were so many incredible diagnosis stories people shared with us for this animation! Narrowing the selection down to five deeply personal stories, while also conveying the campaign angles and aims was no mean feat.
The full process took just over three months. Working alongside the team at MSiF, I was involved at every step of the way – from sifting through initial interviews, to developing the script, storyboarding, working on the soundtrack, illustrating and finally animating.
Credits
Illustration and animation: Alissa Thaler
Mixing and mastering: Old Cottage Audio
