RecWell Recap
It had been several years since the University of Minnesota had done a year recap video, the last being a fairly simple slideshow-like animation by a previous designer. The thought to bring it back came from my often requests to work on an animated reel for RecWell's Instagram, along with a new hire in an administrative position benefitting from a task that could introduce them to the rest of the staff (like, say, asking every department for a list of interesting stats from the year). The process for collecting the information started in late November, and it was about the second week of December before I put pencil to paper to begin storyboarding.
RecWell's slogan has always been "You Belong Here," so my solution to a year recap video had to begin with invoking that feeling into the viewer. Instead of choosing a text and shape heavy animation done in After Effects, I felt a hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation fit RecWells theme better. I wanted the viewer to be able to watch the animation and imagine themselves taking part in whatever activity is portrayed. My goal was to bring to life each statistic in a way that told the story behind it. The rush of the wind as you sprint at a soccer ball, the sounds of the wheels spinning as you take a cycling class, the sway of the canoe as you float on a lake. As much as RecWell Recap 2025 is a year-in-review video, it is also an invitation for those who have never been.
