ThoughtBubble

Does making ideas visual mean making them dumb? That's a common complaint, but I don't buy it. Neither does Jonathon Corbière, who, with his partner Suzanna Brusikiewicz, recently created ThoughtBubble, an organization dedicated to creating graphics-based videos about important issues and social justice. "The process that might be called dumbing down is actually refinement," argues Corbière, who graduated from York University in Ontario with a degree in design (where he regrets that the majority of his classes focused on corporate design and crafting a commercial career). The motion graphics pieces Corbière likes are short, quick overviews that explain complex topics. He calls them "learning tools," and notes these key characteristics: they're four or five minutes long, and therefore appeal to the fast-paced attention spans of the YouTube generation. "We also think you need to take your audience seriously," Corbière says. "When you do this right, there's a kind of magic when someone understands a complex idea quickly." He also advocates using "typographic landmarks" to keep viewers cued to key ideas, and attention to the right music and overall style. Overall, though, the goal of ThoughtBubble is to encourage people to watch visually stimulating material that's also smart, instructive and dedicated to social justice. Thinking about these issues, says Corbière, leads to talking about these issues, which leads to change. So how will such an organization survive? "Basically, we'll provide commercial services that will subsidize our nonprofit work," Corbière says. Sounds good. Sure, motion graphics about social issues can be terrible. But done right, they might also foster understanding and discussion. ThoughtBubble is still in the development stage, with plans for a formal launch next spring. Good luck to them!