The Tangled Within
Dyslexia is often misunderstood as a "jumbled mess" rather than a unique perspective. I created an abstract motion teaser using minimalist line art and symbolic sound design to transform the story of Taare Zameen Par into a sensory journey of struggle, guidance, and hope.
Taare Zameen Par is an Indian film about an eight-year-old boy whose undiagnosed dyslexia is misread as laziness. The brief: create a 15-second abstract motion teaser. (Restrictions : no original footage, no dialogue)
Challenges : Condense a two and a half hour emotional epic into 15 seconds no footage, no dialogue, no characters. Just the feeling of it.
Project type:
Motion video
Timeline:
7 weeks (2025)
Tool:
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, After effects, Adobe Audition, Lottie Files
My Role:
UX designer (Individual)
Condensing a 2.5 hour emotional epic into 15 seconds without original footage or dialogue meant finding a purely visual language for something as internal and invisible as cognitive confusion.
How do you distill a 2.5-hour emotional arc into 15 seconds and make someone feel cognitive chaos and clarity without a single word?
I began my research by diving into the complexities of dyslexia, moving from documentary studies to a deep thematic analysis of the film Taare Zameen Par. To deconstruct the story, I utilized the AEIOU framework, which allowed me to map out Ishaan’s journey from a rigid, unsupportive academic environment to the transformative, creative guidance of his art teacher.
Explored the topic of dyslexia, moving from short documentaries to a deep dive into the film Taare Zameen Par. My goal was to understand the internal struggle of the protagonist an eight-year-old boy whose creative potential is overshadowed by a learning disability and societal pressure.
As I researched, a specific visual of a tangled "brain" scribble stuck with me as a representation of cognitive confusion. Inspired by title sequence designers like Jeremy Cox, I decided to translate this story using minimalist line drawings. The map outlines the narrative arc I wanted to capture: from the boy being misunderstood by society and his parents, to the transformative guidance of his art teacher who nurtures his love for painting and helps him regain his confidence.
Symbolism (The "What"): I moved from the literal "scribble" representing the brain toward the more refined metaphor of a tangled thread and needle. This represents the struggle of internal processing and the slow, delicate art of making sense of chaos.
Abstraction (The "How"): To control how viewers emotionally interpret the story, I utilized minimalist line art. By stripping away faces and dialogue, I focused on "blurry vision" and rotating elements to echo the feeling of being misunderstood that many children with dyslexia experience.
Reinterpretation (The "Why"): My goal was to re-imagine the journey from confusion to clarity through abstract motion. By incorporating a sensory soundscape—like an echoing voice that surrounds the user—I aimed to create an immersive environment that mirrors the protagonist's psychological transformation.
To develop the 15-second visual, I mapped out a frame-by-frame storyboard to plan the emotional arc of the narrative.
I explored using Lottie for interactivity but found it limited my control by animating entire images at once rather than individual line elements. Additionally, the file weight of my complex drawings caused performance issues. To gain the precision and flexibility needed for detailed scene-level animation, I decided to transition back to After Effects.
To bring my line drawings to life in the teaser, I utilized After Effects to meticulously control the timing and emotional rhythm of each scene through keyframes. I integrated the Puppet Tool to add natural, expressive movement to elements like the hands and thread, ensuring the animation felt fluid. To maintain clarity for the audience, I included short headings at the bottom of each scene to guide them through the narrative journey.
This storyboard illustrates my 15-second teaser through minimalist line drawings. The narrative begins with a tangled jumble within the head to symbolize internal confusion. As the thread is pulled and society's pressure is felt, a guiding hand intervenes to untangle the mess with care. This thread is then carefully guided through a needle, stitching through the chaos to transform the jumble into a beautiful embroidery. This progression visually narrates the transition from frustration to discovery, mirroring the emotional growth and clarity found in Taare Zameen Par.
The Power of Storytelling: I learned that even a simple product can have a deep narrative. Using motion and visual metaphors like a thread untangling showed me how to communicate complex emotions and growth without needing a single word of dialogue.
Resilience in the Creative Process: This project was a big lesson in staying flexible. Whether it was switching software when a feature didn't work or fixing broken live-site interactions, I learned that the best design solutions often come from problem-solving on the fly.
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