We champion your audience.
Inclusive Motion Design (InMoDe™) doesn’t check boxes. It delivers results. We pioneered this way of working to make genuinely inclusive creative that resonates and motivates.
Our philosophy is simple — we design with, not for.
Bien assembles inclusive teams with lived experience closely aligned to your audience’s. In every step of the creative process, we champion the customer. We advocate to ensure their voice is represented in our team, how we work, and what we deliver. This results in more authentic, more accessible creative that affects your bottom line.
Great design brings people together.
Inclusive design brings more people together. 🙌🏽
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Backstory
In 2017, at the height of the tech boom, there was an explosive demand for illustration and animation work. Optimism was high. Along with that came the Corporate Memphis style, where everything was colorful, utopian, and happy.
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Problem
Underneath all that jolly, illustrative work was a lot of unconscious bias that took the human factor out of beautiful work. Diversity was disguised intentionally under purple and magenta skin. Instead of diverse body types, we got stretchy noodle arms and legs. Every illustrated character essentially looked and felt the same.
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Symbolic diversity
Tired of seeing “symbolic diversity” – uniform characters with only skin tone variations – we embraced inclusive design principles. We believe in 'designing with, not for' the audience, showcasing the true beauty and spectrum of humanity. Our approach to motion design, illustration, and animation prioritizes authentic representation, moving beyond superficial aesthetics to celebrate the unique individuals that make up our world.
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Problem solved right?
Fast forward to today. While on-screen diversity has improved, much of the focus remains centered on race and ethnicity. That’s not the full story. True inclusion encompasses many different attributes like age, gender identity, neurodiversity, ability/disability, body diversity, cultural background, lived experience, and much more. The industry stats are dismal when it comes to diverse talent. Let’s change that.
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Solution
Our goal is simple — advocate for a more inclusive future. We, as communicators and pop-culture creators, have the responsibility and power to make that happen. Businesses will see a better ROI when they can communicate more authentically with real people through accessible design. Let’s work together.
Definition
InMoDe™ — championing inclusion behind-the-scenes to create accessible content on-screen.
Two Pillars
01
Representation
A diverse team behind-the-scenes allows you to create authentic, inclusive content on-screen.
02
Accessibility
15% of the world has some type of disability. To be responsible designers, we need to ensure we’re inclusive of the world’s largest minority group.
Practice
InMoDe™ is about anthropology and ethnography. It’s a commitment to representing people and cultures authentically.
We believe it’s everyone’s responsibility (not just illustrators, designers, and animators) to practice Inclusive Motion Design because to proactively counter stereotypes, we must all get involved.
Ultimately, InMoDe™ is a way to practice social activism. To fight for good. To make change, and BE the change. As creatives, sometimes it can feel like our work isn’t contributing to the greater good of the world.
Inclusive Motion Design changes everything.
We believe it’s everyone’s responsibility (not just illustrators, designers, and animators) to practice Inclusive Motion Design because to proactively counter stereotypes, we must all get involved.
Ultimately, InMoDe™ is a way to practice social activism. To fight for good. To make change, and BE the change. As creatives, sometimes it can feel like our work isn’t contributing to the greater good of the world.
Inclusive Motion Design changes everything.
“Is it possible to weave social impact into daily production?”
— Absolutely.
— Absolutely.
InMoDe™ Initiatives
At BIEN, we believe in tactical efforts, not lip service. We reject feel-good, virtue-signaling action with no quantifiable or impactful results.
Check out some of our efforts below.
Check out some of our efforts below.
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Fliers-on
the-Wall
Curious about production but too shy, too “insert your insecurity” to ask? Portfolio deemed “not good enough” by some snobby studio 🤮? Too old to learn a new trick? We got you.
Our Fliers-on-the-Wall program allows anyone in the industry to watch as we produce, concept, design, illustrate and animate for clients.
This is the great equalizer for those seeking experience. Why? Unlike an internship or an apprenticeship where only a select few have access, this program allows anyone, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, location, experience level, or age to observe and learn from our process.
This program is so successful that we turned it into an industry-wide initiative, inviting other studios to do the same. Learn more here.
Our Fliers-on-the-Wall program allows anyone in the industry to watch as we produce, concept, design, illustrate and animate for clients.
This is the great equalizer for those seeking experience. Why? Unlike an internship or an apprenticeship where only a select few have access, this program allows anyone, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, location, experience level, or age to observe and learn from our process.
This program is so successful that we turned it into an industry-wide initiative, inviting other studios to do the same. Learn more here.
Total to date: 142+ participants from 25 countries
Scholarships
In partnership with School of Motion, we offer scholarships to eight students each year from diverse backgrounds who need financial support to build skills for their careers. Beyond financial support, our team provides year-long mentorship, counseling, and feedback to help them succeed.
Portfolio Builder
Program
Our industry is 78% male and 70% white. How can we introduce new voices and break down barriers to entry? PBP — we double a budget line item and match junior talent with senior talent on big-brand projects. Juniors get mentorship and—most importantly—a portfolio piece for their reel. That’s the key to landing future work.
Disabled VO
Talent
Cultural
Consultants
Disability
Consultants
Diversity
Reports
To hold ourselves accountable, we send our inclusionaries diversity reports to show all team members involved in creating their projects. We monitor our numbers and work to improve them yearly.
Creative Codex
Do you know what a coda is in a broadcast design toolkit? What about Version Control for Unreal? Often times, we find ourselves baffled by industry terms and practices. That’s what the Creative Codex is for. It’s a community-powered database/wiki comprised of common and unusual terms for the industry. It will also house best practices as open-source so anyone, or any studio can share and learn from one another.
Academic
Presentations &
Portfolio
Reviews
We want the future generations of designers to “see” what their audience wants, not just what the artists want. We do lectures and workshops for students, peer groups and clients. A few include—
• Hyper Island, Stockholm (3-year curriculum — InMoDe™, 3-Act Structure, Inclusive Illustration, Copywriting, Audio Design, Presentation.)
• Motion Pixel Association, Houston
• Gobelins, Paris
• Gunner School, Detroit
• Cal Poly - School of Arts, Pomona
• Western Washington University, Bellingham
• USC Animation, Los Angeles
• ArtCenter, Los Angeles
• Hyper Island, Stockholm (3-year curriculum — InMoDe™, 3-Act Structure, Inclusive Illustration, Copywriting, Audio Design, Presentation.)
• Motion Pixel Association, Houston
• Gobelins, Paris
• Gunner School, Detroit
• Cal Poly - School of Arts, Pomona
• Western Washington University, Bellingham
• USC Animation, Los Angeles
• ArtCenter, Los Angeles
InMoDe™
Workshops
Think the top-tier work you see is flawless? What if it’s missing the one thing that makes it truly relatable—the “human factor”? What if it fails to challenge stereotypes or, worse, reinforces unconscious biases and the monoculture we’re surrounded by every day? Our workshops are designed to break these patterns. They’ll help you see through fresh perspectives, counteract biases, and create work that truly connects with a diverse, global audience—one that values authenticity, specificity, and nuance.
Book a workshop with us today.
Book a workshop with us today.
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