Each year, the City of Columbia honors local businesses that take meaningful steps to reduce their environmental impact. Our media department was asked to produce a series of short films showcasing the innovative sustainability, recycling, and conservation practices of the award-winning companies.

These videos were featured at a community celebration and later shared on the City's website and social media. I was challenged with incorporating a logo designed by another team and creating title sequences that felt fresh, relevant, and inviting.

I developed illustrated title sequences featuring animals and habitats threatened by climate change. The City's message was about positive action, so I chose bright primary colors and avoided somber imagery.

Each piece included a radiant sun representing both warmth and rising temperatures. I animated the logo's land, sea, and sky elements individually, then united them to emphasize connection and balance.

The City of Columbia is surrounded by rivers and creeks that flow into the Missouri River, waterways increasingly affected by stormwater pollution. Our team produced a series of videos featuring green-infrastructure solutions and community partnerships.

This video highlighted a rain-garden development partnership with Stephens College. The challenge was to translate technical, data-driven concepts into something visually engaging and accessible.

I designed a title illustration that turns stormwater into a visual journey. Flowing waves of neon blues and greens morph into the organic shapes of a rain garden, with purples and pinks representing growth and renewal.

Each layer of water becomes a layer of the garden, showing how natural filtration works. The animation blends science and artistry, making a complex process feel bright and alive.

This video informed the public about the bridge's development and its role in improving pedestrian and cyclist access. The subject seemed fairly unremarkable, so the challenge was to create something that would capture interest and inspire civic pride.

I visited the bridge and photographed it on site, hoping to find a visual cue for inspiration. I noticed that vegetation had already begun to grow around the iron bars, nature coexisting with urban design.

Using that detail as inspiration, I transformed a plain concept into a vibrant illustration and motion title, reimagining the bridge as a symbol of connection and growth.

The goal was to create a title sequence for a public video introducing the city’s new bike paths. The challenge was to make the piece informative yet playful, reflecting the excitement of cycling and the city’s investment in active transportation.

Because the piece centered on cycling, motion became the heart of the design. I created a title sequence that blended illustration and typography to evoke the rhythm of a bicycle in motion.

The words “Columbia, Missouri” were set in a flowing script inspired by the winding country roads where many of the new paths were built, an upbeat introduction that invited viewers to feel the joy of the ride.

The goal was to show Columbia residents how large, shade-giving trees could take root in the city's rapidly growing downtown, planted in Silva Cells, underground systems that let roots spread freely while filtering stormwater.

The creative challenge was to present this technical, infrastructure-driven concept in a way that felt clear, inviting, and visually inspiring.

To ground the project in reality, I used photographs of the specific tree species planned for downtown and overlaid them onto video footage of Columbia's streets, helping viewers imagine the city's future landscape.

I paired two contrasting typefaces, a clean, modern font for the urban environment and a flowing script for trees, echoing urban progress in harmony with natural growth.

After I created and animated several versions of the illustration, the producer requested the addition of a subtitle. Though it seemed like a small change, this adjustment significantly altered the layout and timing of the animation, requiring a full rework to maintain balance and readability.

To meet the deadline, I integrated the subtitle and refined the animation accordingly. While the client was pleased with the outcome, the piece never felt fully resolved to me.

I've revisited and revised it several times since, continuing to refine the movement and composition in pursuit of a version that truly feels complete.

The challenge was to communicate the real cost of maintaining city services in a way that felt engaging rather than bureaucratic, abstract budget numbers needed to become something the public could quickly understand.

The project also required close collaboration with videographers across multiple locations with limited resources.

I developed a concept inspired by Rocky: a man running through town past fire engines, police cars, roads, and playgrounds, each labeled with its cost. The runner symbolized both the working taxpayer and the city itself.

For visual style I drew from Budweiser commercials, a gritty, industrial aesthetic matching the city’s infrastructure. A City of Columbia employee volunteered as the runner; I created the shot list and collaborated closely with videographers to capture the action.

The producer provided a blank white canvas behind talking heads and challenged me to “use your creativity.” The goal was keeping the audience engaged visually while honoring the students’ words.

I overlaid playful illustrations, subtle animations, and colorful typography to complement the students’ readings without distracting from them.

The result was a lively video that enhanced the poetry and celebrated the creativity and voices of the students.

The producer requested that the title sequence mimic the fun, homemade aesthetic of the Buzzfeed website. The challenge was to translate that casual feel into a dynamic video title.

I combined the producer’s images and video with a bold, colorful typeface inspired by Buzzfeed’s signature style.

To reinforce the app’s interactive concept, I animated the title so it swiped across the screen, a playful, tactile feel that mirrored exploring the city’s art through the app.

This video highlighted a community mural painted on an unusual City of Columbia waterway structure. Representing it visually was challenging because it was the work of multiple artists, each contributing different styles and colors.

The task was to create a title that captured the mural's energy while introducing a sense of discovery.

I visited the mural site and selected a section with a compelling palette and texture. Using the title "Undercover Art," I animated the words so "Art" stayed hidden until "Undercover" moved up the screen, then "Art" bounces playfully into view before zooming out to reveal the full mural.

The sequence balances whimsy and intrigue: the playful animation draws viewers in, while the "Undercover" concept echoes discovering hidden art in unexpected places.