Branding Project
Puppets on the Move, to your inbox
Created for:
Arduino
in collaboration with
Fabio Ferrero (Illustration & Animation)
Role:
Tools:
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects
To bring joy into routine digital moments, we created a series of animated emails using Arduino’s signature puppet characters. I led the creative direction and animation, crafting playful visuals that enhanced customer communications and inspired a shift toward motion design across our team.
The challenge
Transactional emails often feel cold—yet they’re some of the most viewed brand touchpoints. The challenge: infuse Arduino’s friendly, ironic tone into each stage of the online shopping experience, while staying within email system limitations (e.g. file weight, compatibility). Bonus: this was our team’s first real dive into motion graphics.
Concept & Strategy
We turned to Arduino’s existing illustration system featuring anthropomorphic “puppets” based on electronic components. Each puppet has a distinct personality—perfect for narrating the journey from purchase to delivery (and yes, even refunds). This playful metaphor reinforced Arduino’s accessibility while celebrating community diversity.
Visual Development
& Design System
Using Adobe After Effects and the Rubber Hose plugin, we built out a rigged library of puppet assets designed for future-proof animation. Each animation was limited to 2–3 hours of production time, striking a balance between quality and feasibility. We optimized color use, character movement, and props to match Arduino’s UI and system constraints.
We created 9 animated GIFs, each corresponding to a specific user action:
order confirmation, shipment, refund, etc. These were integrated into branded email templates. For instance, a LCD puppet in Monopoly attire accompanied refund emails—a quirky moment that made the mundane feel memorable.
While we didn’t track metrics directly, the store team reported increased engagement and higher click-through rates anecdotally.
More importantly, the project raised the bar internally: it sparked enthusiasm from stakeholders and led to a broader push toward motion design. Our young designers now dedicate regular time to learning animation techniques.
Lessons & Next Steps
This was a breakthrough for our team’s animation capabilities. Despite initial technical hurdles (plugin quirks, email file weight), we built a reusable animation system complete with a modular puppet library. Though the puppets have since been phased out from hero branding due to strategic shifts, they continue to live on as subtle “easter eggs” across packaging and digital content.
In retrospect, these characters weren’t just visuals—they were ambassadors of Arduino’s quirky, human-first tone. And although they’ve stepped out of the spotlight, they helped prove something essential: even the most transactional moments can be emotional touchpoints with your audience.
