Case Study for Rethink Diabetes Maine | Assess Your Diabetes Risk Today
Working with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Pixel Studios Inc. built a warm, character-led public health animation designed to turn passive diabetes awareness into an active risk self-assessment.
Project Objective
To convert diabetes awareness into action by helping at-risk viewers see themselves in the content and complete a risk self-assessment.
Our Approach
We used character-led 2D animation built on a mirror principle, everyday personas, a gentle visual risk meter, and second-person narration reinforced with on-screen text for silent viewing.
Target Audience
Adults across Maine at risk for type 2 diabetes, reached through social and community health channels.
Turning a Silent Disease Into a Personal, Actionable Moment
Type 2 diabetes develops silently, and the audience most at risk rarely searches for it. Static infographic and text campaigns had produced awareness without behavior, so the brief was closing the gap between knowing diabetes is serious and acting on personal risk.
CLIENT
Rethink Diabetes Maine
INDUSTRY
Public Health / Healthcare
REGION
Maine, United States
WEBSITE
Fear-Based Messaging Doesn't Move People to Screen
Medical accuracy was non-negotiable, every risk factor had to align with established screening guidance, yet research on health communication consistently shows fear-heavy messaging depresses action rather than driving it. The video also had to work entirely muted, since a large share of health video consumption happens silently in social feeds, meaning the visual storytelling alone had to carry the full message.
A Mirror-Character Structure Built Around Recognition, Not Alarm
We designed a small cast of everyday characters spanning ages, builds, and routines, staged in ordinary moments, a desk lunch, a skipped walk, a family dinner, so viewers see a plausible version of themselves within seconds. Risk factors were animated as scenes rather than listed as text, with a gentle visual meter building alongside, deliberately free of reds or flashing so accumulation reads as information, not a verdict. The palette shifts from warm to bright at the resolution, and the final sequence collapses the call to action into one concrete, modeled step: take the assessment today.
The Results
The video converted understanding into motion, holding viewer retention through the risk-factor sequence where health content typically loses its audience.
- 89% more risk-assessment completions in the launch window
- 66% outperformance against the client's prior health content benchmarks
- Reusable master asset now serving clinics and community screenings at no extra cost
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