Client

City of Durham | Planning & Development Department

Client Ask

Create a 60 second explainer video for the Engage Durham website and a 15 second television cutdown to encourage more community members, especially people historically underrepresented or negatively affected by planning decisions, to participate in five initial Listening-and-Learning Workshops scheduled for November 2019.

Within the short runtime, the videos also needed to explain what the Comprehensive Plan and Engage Durham were and where residents could learn more.

In 2021, the client asked me to remove the dated workshop information so the explainer could support smaller, ongoing community-engagement sessions.

What I Did

I identified two strategic challenges. First, explaining the Comprehensive Plan and announcing the workshops would not be enough to motivate participation; the video needed to give residents a compelling reason to care about both. Second, it needed to represent Durham’s highly diverse community without making anyone feel excluded or allowing a limited set of identities to appear overrepresented.

To solve the first challenge, I made the case for an emotionally honest, problem-first opening that connected the planning process to negative changes residents were already experiencing. I organized the message into a problem–solution–call-to-action structure, moving viewers from the unequal effects of Durham’s growth and development to the City and County’s invitation to help shape a better future.

To solve the second challenge, I proposed replacing a limited live-action cast with an animated cast of expressive circles in varied colors. This cast of circles could stand in for Durham’s diverse community without assigning literal demographic identities or reducing inclusion to a casting checklist.

My Role
Strategy + Creative Direction + Scriptwriting + Storyboarding + Styleframes + Art Direction + Design + Illustration + Animation + Voiceover Talent Direction + Editing + Client Leadership (Pitch + Reviews)

Results
Over 2,700 residents attended Comprehensive Plan workshops, community meetings, and small-group sessions held between November 2019 and March 2023.

The Durham Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2023.