Eye-popping color, interactive design, and engaging storytelling all come together in this short film titled, “Solace.” The full screen video displays colorful bubbles floating through the window as it waits for you to press play.
The story begins as an unassuming story about a childhood friend who became obsessed with a sugary beverage named, “Spook.” Clearly, the bubbles represent the bubbles in the tasty drink. A quick tutorial shows what users can do to interact with the video. You can click to pop bubbles, and drag your cursor to move bubbles around the screen. Even when you aren’t engaging, characters will stare at your cursor and bubbles will float away from it.
The video will stop at certain points and wait for the user to engage in some way which will then continue the story. For example, there are several points where the viewer will click on a single bubble to spawn more bubbles. The colorful bubbles morph into different shapes to help tell the story. Above, we can see they have formed the beverage bottles. Each color also represents a flavor in the story. Every color choice and interaction is deliberate in order to tell the story. Even the typography in the title screen is made of the colorful bubbles!
The characters are formed by bubbles as well. They float on the screen and their eyes follow your cursor as the narrator expands on the story. Every tiny feature feels engaging and draws the viewer into the story. It’s evident that the animator was also careful not to overwhelm the viewer’s senses. The colorful bubbles are used sparingly when there is an important focal point, like in the screenshot above.
We won’t spoil the story, because it is truly something you should experience for yourself. However, we will say that the colorful bubbles and cheerful story take a somewhat dark turn which makes the color stand out even more. It almost feels eerie that such a happy, upbeat design can be a part of a story like this. However, that’s the beauty of this design.
Remember Spook is a colorful website design in the Arts & Recreation and Entertainment industries.
