Census Stories
Learn about the compelling stories of Lara Kiswani and Elizabeth Graham and how they give voice to the voiceless through encouraging their community to participate in the Census.
Expertise
Creative Direction, Animation, Design, Edit
Sound Design, Music, Direction
Partners
NextDayBetter
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Credits
Creative Director: Nico Puertollano \ Katwo Puertollano
Design Lead: Nowy Aratan
Illustrators: Catherine Gonzales \ Bianca Cosca \ Gwen Guevarra
Animators: Catherine Gonzales \ Angel Casaul \ Angel Cabanto \ EG Albor
Producer: Arielle Carpio
In the last couple of years, more people have pushed for visibility and proper representation.
In a world where your ethnicity is tantamount to your privilege, it’s easy to forget how and where ethnic identities stand on their own. Add to that, America has always been a melting pot of different cultures.
This is what Arabian-American activist and educator Lara Kiswani wanted to remind minorities—because your people exist, you do too, and because your existence is real, your voice is valid.
Deeply rooted in first-hand racial encounters and an inherent understanding of her people’s struggles, Lara advocates for an accurate count to advance Arab-American interests.
Whereas the initial campaign game plan was to have Lara shoot live in person, the pandemic’s advent altered original initiatives. What was supposed to be real-life footage of her had to be translated into another form of storytelling, in the interest of the health scare’s limitations.
Through a partnership with NextDayBetter, rezonate created a world of awe and wonder that championed her heart nonetheless.
Bearing her message, her community, and her intent in mind, rezonate mapped out a structure for her narrative, covering the creative aspects such as direction, motion design, and animation.
Primarily targeting New York’s people of color, the project objective was to remind people to use their voices to vote.
This is reflected in another highlight piece with Elizabeth Graham—a transgender woman of color in the autism spectrum. The vision the client had for this material was to encourage everyone to participate in the census.
Overall, this campaign helped start conversations and reinforced rezonate’s ability to share stories that pack an emotional punch.
