Smith+Nephew
Medical & Healthcare Animation
Project Snapshot
Campaign: Paediatric ENT procedure animations
Audience: Parents considering surgical treatment for their children
Services: Creative strategy, art direction, character design, 2D animation, sound design and post-production
Deliverables: Series of medical and healthcare animations
Making Medical Decisions Less Daunting
Smith+Nephew needed a series of clinically accurate animations to support parents researching paediatric ENT procedures through its website.
The subject matter was inherently sensitive. Parents considering surgery for their child need clear, trustworthy information, but the clinical nature of the procedures can make that information difficult to engage with.
Bearded Fellows developed a series of animations designed to make complex medical information easier to understand while creating a visual experience that felt reassuring, accessible and appropriate for both parents and children.
The animations explained two surgical technologies: Tula for middle ear infections and COBLATION for tonsillectomy, giving parents a clearer understanding of the options available to them.
Reassurance Through Design
The creative direction was built around a soft, child-friendly aesthetic designed to make the subject matter feel approachable rather than intimidating.
Gentle colours, expressive character design and simplified environments created a visual world that reflected Smith+Nephew's brand guidelines, while giving the animations a warmth suited to their young audience.
Characters were central to this approach. By placing parents and children within relatable scenarios, we could communicate the emotional context around surgery alongside the medical information itself.
This helped create a more positive brand experience at a point when parents and patients may be feeling uncertain or overwhelmed.
Creativity Meets Clinical Accuracy
Making medical content leaves little room for ambiguity; every procedure and visual detail needed to accurately reflect the technology while remaining accessible to a non-clinical audience.
We worked closely with Smith+Nephew's medical and stakeholder teams throughout production, incorporating multiple rounds of feedback and clinical review to ensure every animation met the required level of accuracy and received the necessary sign-off.
The challenge was finding the balance between technical precision and simplicity - retaining the information parents needed without allowing the medical detail to overwhelm the story.
Sound design played a supporting role, with a considered musical approach that complemented the visuals without distracting from the information.
A More Reassuring Experience
The final animation series gave Smith+Nephew a distinctive way to communicate sensitive medical information across its procedure pages.
By combining clinically accurate content with empathetic storytelling and approachable character design, Bearded Fellows helped turn complex surgical information into something parents and children could understand and engage with more comfortably.
The result was an informative yet reassuring suite of healthcare animations that strengthened Smith+Nephew's digital patient experience, while giving parents a clearer view of the treatment options available for their children.
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