Hellowork

3D 3d animation animation cartoon Character design stop motion

SocialClub Paris reached out to us to create a relatable, easy-going TV commercial campaign for HelloWork, announcing its new name and the merge of several job search sites into the new platform.

We were really excited to introduce this style and vision to a TV campaign – our goal for this project was to keep the visuals warm and simple, while playing with a lighthearted tone of voice that perfectly suited the brand’s philosophy.

We combined a kick-ass art direction with slick stop-motion like animation and subtle sound design to set the mood, aiming for a pleasant and familiar vibe to go with the humorous, ironic tone of voice.We managed to design a very efficient production and achieved an elevated level of complexity in terms of character design and animation style, with a quick turnaround.

The campaign consists of a 25 seconds hero video (Candidats) toying with funny and common examples of bad practices when it comes to finding a job, plus 2 short videos (Le Café and L’Ascenseur) communicating the name change.

Simplicity was key, both for the style and the tone of voice: an almost toy-like environment creates a tender, innocent mood, while leaving plenty of creative space for the quirky characters and ironic humor that defines the Candidats video.

Style wise, we opted for a heavy stop-motion influence, mixed with thick, scaled elements, with a plastic, toy feel to them. So we decided to focus on this direction and opted for stop-motion aesthetics with a tangible twist, always keeping simplicity in mind.

We designed a friendly, welcoming business world: soft elements and simple colors define the different sets, while the rounded aesthetic creates a simple and pleasant atmosphere. Overall, we aimed to use scaled elements, with realistic but oversized textures to enhance the stop-motion feeling.

Backgrounds explorations

Character design

Character design played a very important role in the campaign, so we had fun creating plenty of striking elements to emphasize each personality.

We started by assigning clear psychological profiles to each character and then took things further, highlighting their personality with exaggerated features for a more powerful effect. This way the “nerdy” looking character got an insecure attitude and a high energy level for a more comical effect. The second character emanates a more relaxed attitude, in control of her situation, while the third exudes a lot of self confidence and energy, with a quirky, friendly touch.