WIRED & IBM’s

The AI Effect

I worked on a four-part video series for IBM and WIRED that explores the role of AI across different industries. The series is featured on WIRED UK’s YouTube channel and is accompanied by in-depth articles on the WIRED website. For this project, I created the styleframes, storyboards, and illustrations for the articles. Here I showcase my work for episodes 1 and 2.

Wired X IBM AI Illustration
A digital illustration of a human head in profile with a spiral galaxy inside the brain area. Surrounding the head are floating digital windows representing data and analysis, connected with lines, with a background of concentric circles and a blue color scheme. The word "WIRED" appears in the bottom left corner.

Putting the human back into AI

Below is a selection of the work I created for the first episode, which focuses on AI in HR. We aimed to find a visual style that matched the abstract nature of AI within human resources. This led to the concept of a ball that represents the AI and guides the employee throughout their career.

The two illustrations below are featured in the article that accompanies this episode. A link to the article can be found below. In addition, the episode itself, along with the styleframes and a selection of storyboard snippets created for this project.

Styleframes

The idea was to build an abstract world that could communicate how AI supports people in HR by enhancing decision making and simplifying complex tasks. Telling a human story within an abstract space is challenging, especially when avoiding literal representations of people and technology.

To solve this, we reduced everything to a single visual language. People and AI are both represented as spheres. The monochrome spheres symbolise human presence within the HR system, while the vibrant gradient sphere represents AI as an enabling force that introduces nuance, flexibility and momentum.

Conceptually, the world before AI is rigid, muted and uniform. As AI is introduced, the environment gradually shifts toward a more organic and expressive visual language. Structure becomes fluid, colour emerges, and the system feels more adaptive and human-centred. This contrast between the existing state and a possible future was essential in making the impact of AI tangible without relying on literal metaphors.

The visual style continued to evolve throughout the process. Some early styleframes differ from the final output, reflecting how the direction shifted during the proces. I chose to include both the initial explorations and the final result to show not only where the project landed, but how the visual thinking developed along the way.

Abstract digital illustration with blue and orange hues, featuring floating spheres, curved screens displaying data, and modern technology elements on a blue background.
Abstract digital illustration of a person in red and black running, with a trail of small orbs, set against a background with scattered pills and capsules.

Storyboard snippets from episode one

A black and white sketch of a modern architectural design with multiple interconnected buildings, featuring various geometric shapes and arrows indicating movement or flow.
A gray and white abstract illustration depicting a spherical object with streaks emanating from it, surrounded by smaller spheres and rectangular shapes, with a flowing, wave-like pattern.
Animated image showing a hand pressing the down arrow key on a keyboard, with other keyboards in the background and small 3D letter keys flying through the air.
A grayscale illustration showing a board game with an arrow pointing to a circular space, surrounded by other spaces and arrows indicating movement.
A grayscale patterned background with repeating abstract shapes, including circles and rectangles, arranged in a symmetrical, geometric pattern.
Abstract black and white image featuring various spheres and swirling lines.
A corridor with debris and flying objects, including broken pieces and balls, in a monochrome style.

AI is Making Our Volatile Planet More Predictable

The next bit of work is all for the second episode, which focuses on how IBM’s AI, combined with NASA’s high-resolution data about our planet and its sun, helps us better understand the world we live in.

The same structure as before applies to this section, beginning with the articles and ending with the storyboard. As you see we have created a variety of styles in this project and that’s what made this a lot of fun to work on.

Illustration of Earth with white cloud patterns, surrounded by satellite communication signals and a space background.
Silhouette of an oil field at sunset with oil pumpjacks, trees, a river, and mountains in the background.
Layered 3D topographic landscape models showing terrain features in different visual styles on a blue background with contour lines.

Styleframes

When we started designing the scenes for the episode about our planet, there were many different environments and ideas that needed to be communicated visually. The episode moves through landscapes, solar systems, topographical maps and other ambitious subjects, all of which had to be translated into a cohesive and visually striking animation style.

Beyond making it visually engaging, the scenes also needed to help explain the AI system developed by IBM. This led to several adjustments throughout the process, as the visuals evolved to better support the story and align with the client’s needs.

Conceptually, the world before AI is rigid, muted and uniform. As AI is introduced, the environment gradually shifts toward a more organic and expressive visual language. Structure becomes fluid, colour emerges, and the system feels more adaptive and human-centred. This contrast between the existing state and a possible future was essential in making the impact of AI tangible without relying on literal metaphors.

The visual style continued to evolve throughout the process. Some early styleframes differ from the final output, reflecting how the direction shifted during the proces. I chose to include both the initial explorations and the final result to show not only where the project landed, but how the visual thinking developed along the way.

Storyboard snippets from episode one

A black and white topographic map showing contour lines representing elevation changes across multiple landforms.
Topographic map with elevation contours, grid lines, and a black square marking a specific area, showing terrain features and a river.
Black and white 3D topographic map with mountains, valleys, and ridges depicted by contour lines.
Map with topographical lines showing an area with coordinates 40.7124° N, 74.0060° W, location in New York City.
A topographic map with contour lines displayed on a three-dimensional grid.
An illustration of three layers of 3D topographic maps, each with contour lines representing elevation, stacked vertically against a plain background.

Credits

Creative Director

Director

Motion Designer

3D Animator

Animator

The AI Effect

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