Politico Explains Series

Editorial Motion Design + Explainer Series

Overview

A series of animated explainers created for Politico to translate complex policy topics into clear, engaging visual narratives. Covering issues including tax reform and net neutrality, the work was designed to make dense editorial subject matter more accessible without losing depth.

My scope

Visual structure → title design → motion language → animation → sound design

Credits

Client: Politico
Production Company: Magnet Media
Animation: Davy Tiernan
Title Design & Art Direction: Davy Tiernan
Illustration: Matt Wuerker
Sound Design: Davy Tiernan

The Challenge

Political and policy content often carries a lot of complexity, jargon, and competing ideas. The challenge was to create a motion-driven editorial format that could simplify the viewer experience without flattening the substance. Each piece needed to feel intelligent, clear, and visually distinctive, while contributing to a broader series identity for Politico’s audience.

My Role

I worked with the creative team to define the motion language and visual structure for the series, then carried that through into title design, animation, and sound design. My role was to shape a system that could support multiple episodes and topics while maintaining clarity, rhythm, and a consistent editorial tone.

Approach

• Built a motion language for editorial clarity
  Developed a clear visual hierarchy and pacing system to guide viewers through complex information in a way that felt smart and accessible.

• Structured each episode around comprehension
  Used motion, title design, and sequencing to break dense subject matter into readable, engaging beats.

• Designed a repeatable system for the series
  Created an approach that could scale across multiple explainers while keeping the work visually cohesive and topic-specific where needed.

Deliverables

• Explainer video series for Politico

• Tax Reform explainer

• Net Neutrality explainer

• Title design and art direction for the series

• Final animation and sound design

Outcome

• Helped make complex policy issues easier to understand through clear editorial motion design

• Established a consistent visual language across multiple episodes

• Contributed to a series format intended to increase audience engagement and support sponsorship opportunities for Politico