A multi-part engagement with a Sydney accounting firm, shared here with the client’s permission: two mascots, then the videos they now host.
Two characters smart enough to explain the tax system, and friendly enough that people keep watching.
The firm makes short and long videos that teach people about Australian tax. They wanted a mascot that came across as smart, professional and highly educated: someone you would trust with your tax return, not a cartoon that made the subject feel like a joke.
I explored animals and humans side by side. The animals, mostly owls and penguins, were built from faceted, hexagonal shapes that echo the geometry of the logo. The human concepts drew on the personalities of two people at the firm, combined with the firm’s identity, including a version in Thai dress for the Thai audience.
I presented every direction to the client, and they chose the human pair. Two characters gave the videos something a single mascot couldn’t: one who asks the questions the viewer is thinking, and one who answers them. From there I refined the pair in modern business wear: a white suit for her and navy for him, both in the brand blues.
Each mascot got a full turnaround, a personality, a role in the videos and a fixed palette, so any animator can pick them up and keep them consistent.
Bright, bubbly and genuinely enthusiastic, even about refunds. She innocently asks the “obvious” questions everyone else is too embarrassed to ask, and always wears her sunglasses on her head, even indoors.
Calm, composed and methodical: always the most prepared person in the room. He explains things clearly and precisely, with facts and real examples, and he’s never condescending. His deadpan jokes land before he even blinks.
Noonie: “Wait… I can claim that?”
Worren: “…No.”
The running joke written into their character sheets
Explainer videos depend on reactions. Each character has a full expression set, matched to their personality: Noonie is big and open, Worren is subtle and dry.
The last step was making sure they work as a duo, ready to use in thumbnails, on social media and in the videos themselves.
Vertical explainers starring Noonie and Worren.
15-second cut of the 60-second video · English version shown · also made in Thai
A 60-second explainer of Australia’s five income tax brackets, hosted by Worren and made in both English and Thai.
Explain Australian tax brackets briefly, in about 60 seconds, in both English and Thai. The topic is dry and the format is short, so every second had to earn its place.
Accounting content online tends to look the same: tables, talking heads, walls of numbers. Before writing anything, I looked at who would actually watch: everyday earners filing their own return, many of them potential new clients for the firm. That led to three decisions:
I wrote the script and storyboard together, timing every scene to the voiceover: what Worren says, what appears on screen, and how long each beat holds. The storyboard was the one document everything else was built from.
I generated the characters for each bracket in Midjourney as clean, flat illustrations, then placed them in light, faceted settings in the brand blues. Runway brought Worren and the key moments to life, and I added the bracket cards, effects and transitions in DaVinci Resolve.
Worren in motion: Runway clips generated from his character stills, then cut into the opening and closing scenes.
I designed Worren’s voice in ElevenLabs to match his personality: calm, clear and a little dry. Then I brought it all together in DaVinci Resolve: still and animated images, voiceover, sound effects and subtitles, in English and Thai.
This video is still in production. The finished explainer and a look at how it was made will be added here once it’s released.
Tell me what you’re hoping to make. A few lines is plenty. I’ll reply within two business days.
