About
Autism Association of Australia (formerly Autism Awareness Australia) is a leading advocacy organisation supporting autistic people and their families across Australia. Nearly twenty years after its founding to raise autism awareness, the organisation underwent a brand transformation led by FutureBrand shifting its focus from awareness to championing systemic advocacy and action for the autism community. The new identity, hand-drawn and full of raw, authentic character, mixes soft curves with sharp lines to reflect the emotional highs and lows of the autism family journey.
Challenge
As part of my internship at FutureBrand under Creative Director Josh McGregor, I was tasked with bringing motion to the newly reimagined Autism Association of Australia logo and icon set, so the identity could come to life across the organisation's social media and website. Josh gave me full creative freedom, with just one directive: the motion couldn't be too cartoony, but it still had to carry the emotional weight of the brand's message. The challenge was translating a hand-drawn, deeply personal identity system into motion within a two-week timeline, while staying true to the brand's existing static guidelines. I worked from the icon set as given, mapping out and animating each one without introducing new stylistic changes.
Results
I delivered 2 logo animations in different colourways and 6 animated icons, using Illustrator and After Effects. I began by studying the brand guidelines and creative brief to pull out the keywords and values that made the identity distinct, then explored a wide range of motion directions. Josh steered the work toward a hand-drawn feel with noise texture, which ended up suiting the brand far better than anything more polished or slick — reinforcing the "raw and authentic" character at the heart of the identity. The final animations are intended for use across Autism Association of Australia's social media and website. Thanks to Josh McGregor and the team at FutureBrand for trusting me with this project during my internship.
Testimonial
This lookes sweet and aligns really well with the brand's style and language.
