northwestern_di_02.png
northwestern_di_02.png

NUE | Film


Design Innovation

Segal Design Institute | Northwestern University

 

SCROLL DOWN

NUE | Film


Design Innovation

Segal Design Institute | Northwestern University

 

OUR ROLE     ANIMATION    EDITORIAL    DESIGN    DIRECTION    PRODUCTION    WRITING   
 

NUE | Stills


NUE | Stills


A Film About Process

The Segal Design Institute at Northwestern University is dedicated to the study of human-centered design, a methodology that uses insights gained from observing human behaviors to fuel innovative designs. When the institute approached us to create a film about their design innovation program, they made it clear that the film should be about the design process, not the end product.

“Mode Project worked to truly understand what design innovation at Segal is all about and distill that message into something that we are all proud to share.”
— Greg Holderfield, Director, Segal Design Institute

Students at Segal learn to use frameworks and tools such as empathy, visualization, rapid prototyping and iteration to create transformative products, systems and services. A big part of the process is creative and messy. Students generate lots of ideas quickly and then iterate on those ideas as they move toward the best solutions. Early on, we decided to mirror Segal’s approach for this film.

 

NUE | Design


NUE | Design


Visual Style Explorations
Our initial design explorations were digital and vector-based. The color palette and designs reflected Northwestern’s brand guidelines, post-it notes, highlighters and other design tools used at Segal.
 

NUE | Behind the Scenes


NUE | Behind the Scenes


From Digital to Analog
While our early design explorations were conducted in the digital realm, we wanted to bring a more tactile, photographic and handmade aesthetic to the film. Many of the visuals were shot in our studio using a tabletop stop-motion setup. The animations were created in tandem with the edit, allowing us to quickly experiment and iterate in the context of the film’s flow.

Test, improve, repeat.
 
IMG_0896.JPG
 
Film Production
Mode Project directed audio interviews with faculty and students for the film’s soundtrack. Next, our nimble production team filmed the design innovation processes in action.
 

NUE | Cutting Room Floor


NUE | Cutting Room Floor


The Cutting Room Floor
Watch our collection of test shots, ideas and animations that didn’t make it into the film.
 

NUE | Related


NUE | Related


Related Work