MTV x Active Minds:
A.S.K. digital ecosystem

WEBSITE DESIGN
ANIMATION
INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING
• THE BRIEF

In the lead up to Mental Health Action Day, SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios  and youth mental health nonprofit Active Minds wanted to meet young people where they are and create a digital ecosystem to equip them with the skills and confidence to provide emotional support to their friends. 

We created two engaging online experiences: a choose-your-own adventure YouTube video and a mobile-first interactive website.

• THE CLIENTS

SHOWTIME / MTV
Active Minds

• MY ROLE

Creative Lead

• THE DETAILS

The website offers a concise explanation of the A.S.K. framework. Interactive features include SMS-based and chat-bot-style conversations with Charlie, an "emotions wheel" to explore feelings and a calendar reminder tool for checking in on friends.

The website’s design incorporates a story-like landing page with parallax animations, divided into chapters that reflect the A.S.K. acronym. Users can also download social media shareable: a customizable checklist promoting healthy friend support practices.

Check it out for yourself here!

• IN PRACTICE

I worked as Creative Lead directly under CD Shelley Adamson. I owned the concept, the tone, the user journey, the treatment, the storyboards, and presented the idea myself to MTV and Active Minds. During production we split: Shelley led the animation team, I built the website.

This one was personal. Not long before this project, I was the same age as the kids we were making it for, and I know firsthand how taboo mental health conversations can be in certain communities. Peer support wasn't something anyone taught me in school. So I needed this to actually help, not just look good. I worked closely with a brilliant strategist and a talented art director to ensure that this difficult subject matter is handled with care. We translated the A.S.K. methodology into an interactive digital format kids could move through at their own pace, without judgment. Most of the budget had shifted to video production by the time I got to the site, but a clear vision turned out to be worth more than a big budget.

• AWARDS

FWA of the Day

• TEAM CREDITS

Sr Creative Director: Shelley Adamson
Creative Director: Veronika Watson-Kuc
Executive Producer: Erin Ray
Producer: Alice Pelot
Project Manager: Charlotte Favre Duprez
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Art Director: Mitch Fernandez
Character illustration & animation lead: Pola Lucas
Illustration: Riccardo Carusi
Character animation: Andre Boyd, Daniel Felipe
2D design: Szymon Lucarz
Web motion design: Lukasz Schaefer
Copywriting: Rebecca Pacun
UX designers: Francesco Bagni, Sebastian Evri
Strategist: Magda Domagała
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Tech leads: Victoria Bissengué, Javier Velazquez Traut
Front-end dev: Tomasz Madej, Patryk Ordon, Sarabjeet Singh
Back-end dev: Błażej Rybczyński, Abirafdi Raditya Putra
QA: Magnus Rolen, Pani Nicola, Pritty Gilbey

project