Frenkee is an online financial expert. A website carrying lots of financial services content, which includes online calculators. The entire portal is relatively complex and it can be difficult to navigate all of its branches. The idea to help with communication and creating brand awareness came up with coming up with a mascot that embodies the portal in the form of a human mentor.
Frenkee’s cartoon communication is a complex matter. A basic idea of how Frenkee works can be seen in one of the explainer videos that worked as a bumper ad. It was designed to draw attention not only to the brand itself, but also to the mortgage advice service for the self-employed.
The task of our studio was to come up with a story for the video based on the text that was to be featured in the video. We also created the illustrations, animation, sound design. The client then had a voice over done with a well-known actor.
However, before the communication started, the mascot itself had to be invented and designed. Embedded below is a moodboard of not only the drawing style, but also how Frenkee should be presented. The moodboard was based on the strategic creative we put together with the client. Frenkee is the embodiment of the portal itself. He wears a hologram device that carries all the latest knowledge on financial advice.
Finding the right style, level of caricature, face, clothes and props required several weeks of research. Everything had to be designed to be as user-friendly and quick to understand as possible.
Of course, the face has to be likeable, so we proposed several solutions based on the agreed moodboard. The next part was to figure out how the character would embody the portal and present the current information. This is where we came up with the idea of a hologram computer. Props like this are an absolutely essential building block for mascots for all communication.
Frenkee is used as an illustration on the web, on social media, in animations and in newsletters. Each illustration is tailored to the event or information it is intended to help communicate.
