I had the opportunity to collaborate with the New York Public Library as Creative Director on this campaign. I’ve always valued NYPL as a public institution, so working on a project that represented its services was meaningful to me. What drew me most to this piece was its conceptual nature.
Challenge
This project was part of a broader campaign introducing the services of the New York Public Library. The main film was documentary-based, and my role was to create animated transitions representing different service groups.
The services could not be shown directly. No literal depictions, no explanatory overlays, no naming the audience.
The question became:
How do you communicate support systems visually without illustrating them?
How do you communicate support systems visually without illustrating them?
Visual Approach
For example, in the segment representing individuals returning to society after incarceration, there were strict limitations. The library did not want prison imagery — no bars, no cells, no direct references.
So I began in darkness. A door opens. Light enters. The city appears. Buildings gradually transform into bookshelves. Skill icons rise into the air. The transformation becomes the metaphor. It’s not about prison. It’s about transition.
Strategic Direction
Instead of treating each segment as an isolated visual idea, I approached the transitions as symbolic environments.
Each animation had to reflect the emotional condition of the audience it represented — not just their demographic identity.
The goal wasn’t to label groups.
It was to suggest opportunity, movement, and access.
It was to suggest opportunity, movement, and access.
Conceptual clarity over explanation.
Constraints
There were political and representational sensitivities.
Race could not be coded.
No visual stereotype could imply a specific background.
No group could feel categorized.
No visual stereotype could imply a specific background.
No group could feel categorized.
This required restraint.
Everything had to feel inclusive and open.
My Role
Concept Development
Visual Direction
Symbolic System Design
Animation Supervision
Visual Direction
Symbolic System Design
Animation Supervision
I directed the conceptual language for each transition and ensured the visual elements communicated meaning without relying on literal representation.
Outcome
The animations supported the documentary by giving structure and identity to each service segment.
More importantly, they translated institutional support into visual form without reducing it to labels.
