Istation Educational Videos — “Nova Scouts”

Overview

Nova Scouts is a series of animated educational videos designed to teach English and Spanish literacy through engaging characters and a playful, space-themed narrative. Developed with guidance from educational experts, the videos combine storytelling, animation, and instructional clarity to support early learners in bilingual environments.

As Art Director, I led the visual direction of the series while also rethinking production workflows. By introducing new art guidelines, strengthening pre-production, and streamlining asset usage, our team significantly increased efficiency—reducing overall video production time by 40% without sacrificing quality.

Project Type

Visual Direction
Workflow Design
Animation Systems

Role

Lead Designer
Art Director

Tools & Programs

After Effects
Asset Libraries
Production Pipelines

Deliverables

Layout Templates
Art Guidelines
Bilingual Book Series
Accessible Print Versions

Acknowledgments

A special thanks to the talented artists who collaborated on this project:

Kressent Rhodes, Greg Shrader, and Amy Saunders.

Project Objective

Create a visually engaging, bilingual animated video series that supported early literacy instruction while dramatically improving production efficiency and scalability for future content.

PHASE 1

Concept & Narrative Direction

The Nova Scouts World

The series was built around a space-themed concept featuring approachable characters designed to engage young learners while reinforcing literacy concepts in both English and Spanish.

Creative Goals

Create characters that felt friendly, modern, and memorable
Use visual storytelling to reinforce learning objectives
Balance fun, motion, and clarity for early readers
Support bilingual content without visual overload

PHASE 2

Art Direction & Visual Systems

Defining a Cohesive Visual Language

I established a clear art direction that could be applied consistently across dozens of videos.

Art Direction Focus

Consistent character proportions and expressions
Simplified environments optimized for animation
Visual hierarchy that supported instructional clarity
Assets designed to be reusable and flexible

These guidelines allowed multiple artists and animators to work in parallel while maintaining a unified visual style.

PHASE 3

Workflow & Production Optimization

Improving Speed Without Sacrificing Quality

One of the core goals of this project was to reduce production time while preserving high standards.

Workflow Improvements

Introduced clearer pre-production planning and asset organization
Implemented consistent project management practices
Created art guidelines that reduced revisions and rework
Combined and reworked existing assets to maximize reuse

I collaborated closely with a team of three artists and four motion graphics animators to ensure the new systems were practical, efficient, and easy to adopt.