CASE STUDY
Elevating PGIM Investments Through Strategic Video Design
Pioneering New Standards and Best Practices in Visual Storytelling
About The Project
I had the opportunity to lead the development of the in-house video style guide for PGIM Investments. It was a privilege to collaborate with senior V-suite stakeholders to establish a cohesive and dynamic design system from the ground up. Before this initiative, formal video standards were non-existent within the PGIM Investments division. I’m proud to have introduced new guideline standards and best practices, ensuring brand consistency across video productions while embracing modern visual storytelling techniques. Here’s a high-level summary of what I confidently delivered:
Design System Overview
PGIM Logo
I included flexible positioning options (centered or bottom-left) with clear zone guidelines and grid-based layouts for optimal visibility across formats and established a 20-column grid system.
• Logo with descriptor: 12 col wide
• Logo without descriptor: 10 col wide
• Advertising logo with short descriptor: 12 col wide
• 20 Col Grid Screen System
• Logo width: ½ title safety area (Green Zone)
• Logo w/o descriptor, X-height bottom left/top align
• X-height align option 1: 8× rock icon
• X-height align option 2: 12× rock icon
Positioned the PGIM logo centrally within a portrait format screen. Allowed at least one rock icon width to the left and right. Ensured the width of the logo is between 1/6 and 2/6 of the total width of the screen area. Maximum size of 3X.
Dynamic Element Placement
I animated essential elements with upward trajectories to maintain brand integrity and visual flow.
Visual Identity Components
Color Palette
Established primary, secondary, and tertiary color hierarchies for contrast and harmony in typography, charts, and animations.
Brand Fonts
Utilized Prudential Modern and Prudential Serif fonts with precise sizing ratios for headlines, logos, and disclosures.
On-Screen HD Safety Guidelines
Ensured all design elements adhered to title-safe (green) and action-safe (yellow) margins for clarity across devices, including HDTVs, tablets, and mobile screens.
Photography & Videography Style
Blue Wash Treatment
Photography
I implemented blue wash parameters and thoughtful cropping to evoke professionalism while showcasing architecture, people, and nature.
Videography
I defined consistent modules with clean compositions that align with PGIM’s acoustic identity.
Additional Adjustments
The contrast and image levels can be adjustment depending on the footage selected for the piece.
Motion Design & Animation
Motion Design Reflecting Core Values and Connection
I leveraged past animation work to highlight the brand’s core values of integrity, trust, and diversity. From the full logo reveal to the dynamic “rays emitter” grid, each element was designed to reflect clarity and partnership.
Transitions & Effects
Developed seamless transitions (2–3 seconds), lower thirds (5–7 seconds), and bumpers (3–4 seconds) to enhance user engagement while maintaining simplicity.
The opener, end titles, and tailored social media lower thirds emphasized PGIM’s global reach and inclusive culture.
The essence of the new PGIM Investment brand is to shine a spotlight on Directors and Managers. With a Modern and sophisticated graphics package that includes on-air, key art, and digital extensions, such as Out-of-home media advertising (OOH) and social media campaigns.
Info Graphics and Animated Charts
Animated infographics made complex data clear and engaging, reinforcing the brand’s commitment to empowering clients. Throughout, I focused on authentic visuals and storytelling to bring PGIM’s human-centered approach to life in a corporate world often missing a genuine connection.
Color choices in charts
- Navy is the fund color (mirroring PGIM Investments’ preferred logo color)
- Benchmarks are in Mustard color. Positive numbers are Mint green.
- Negative numbers are Crimson—if the total message for the chart consists only of negative numbers.
- However, this is not true when a typical chart for a fund or industry profile displays data and happens to include a negative number.
- Object strokes in art illustration must be 100% of their color value and a line stroke weight of 0.5px or 1px pixels.
Animated treatments for pie charts, bar graphs, scatter plots, and area charts to illustrate data effectively.
Commissioning Music
Longer pieces of animation or film needed support from complete pieces of music. The selection process prioritized tracks that complemented the sonic brand. The guideline specified considering determined and motivational cues that built momentum. Track-length recommendations ranged from 2 to 5 minutes. Music choices needed to suit various applications, including ads, show openings, social media content, backgrounds, image spots, and overall branding.
Ideal music selections aligned with the following attributes:
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Sophisticated
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Understated
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Empowering
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Stylish
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Warm
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Positive
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Nostalgic
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Optimistic
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Melodic
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Simple
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Real Instruments (Piano, Celeste, Acoustic guitars)
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Modern
Undesirable music characteristics included:
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Lyrics
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Electric guitars
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Heavy rhythms
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Teenage Pop
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Overdramatic
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Tear-jerking or mournful
Brand Voice: Selecting Voice-Over Talent
Recognizing the power of a relatable voice, the style guide’s voice-over talent selection process emphasized finding voices that matched the target customer profile and conveyed the right tone. The guide prioritized talent that could deliver a persuasive and engaging read and suggested starting by listening to various auditions to help streamline the selection.
To effectively turn words into a compelling story, the talent needed to present information with feelings and emotions that resonated with viewers. Key recommendations included:
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Matching the voice with the brand.
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Choosing a dynamic vocal range.
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Speaking with natural pacing.
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Keeping the audience engaged.
Sound Styles and Assets
The style guide outlined six distinct sound styles tailored for various animations and applications. To prevent audio monotony, it’s recommended to use these sounds diversely throughout your presentations. Ready-to-use sound files in .mp3, .aiff, and .wav formats were made available. These sound styles included logo openings and closings, end frame audio for primary promotions, and bed loops designed as a constant background ambience to support activity without active sounds, while recognizing the need to fade out during speech or video content.
File Standards and Production
Acknowledging the diverse broadcasting standards across regions, the guide stressed the importance of considering all technical requirements during production planning. Video templates were carefully crafted to enhance brand visibility and impact in all video productions, with strict guidelines against altering or reducing the timeframe of animated logo openings, endings, and wipe transitions.
Video File Formats
To facilitate the implementation of the logo rock icon animation, the style guide specified three file formats: ready-made movie files (.mov, .wmv) for use with a separate static frame of the logo’s fully activated form, and After Effects files (.AEP) for creating custom logo sequences.
Key Takeaways
Through this project, I gained invaluable insights into establishing comprehensive video guidelines that extend beyond aesthetics. The process underscored the necessity of addressing accessibility standards to ensure content reaches the widest possible audience. Equally important were considerations for distribution channels and the development of streamlined processes for video uploads, complete with documented granular technical specifications.
This initiative was marked by exceptional collaboration with senior stakeholders, ensuring alignment with PGIM’s strategic goals while delivering innovative solutions that elevated brand storytelling.
Additionally, I developed a deeper understanding of how brand-specific elements, like color usage and typography, contribute to a cohesive and recognizable visual identity. This experience reinforced the need for a holistic approach when crafting video style guides to guarantee effective, on-brand communication across all platforms.