Unsaid Studio Dreams up a Healthcare Campaign You Could Hang in a Gallery

Above: DNA strand images, inspired by DNA sequencing and gene activation. 

Researchers have used AI to compare 50 million DNA sequences in humans and fruit flies to identify unique sequences within the two enormous data sets. This approach could be used to identify synthetic DNA sequences that could be useful in biotechnology and medicine. 

Motion and design company Unsaid Studio has unveiled a new creative imagining of the future of pharma visuals, ‘Future Health’.

Moving on from tired tropes of lab coats, floating code, and microscopes that recall sci-fi cliches at best and high-school textbooks at worst, the new series explores how groundbreaking scientific stories can look when done justice. 

Above: Pill animation images, inspired by the use of glowing nanoparticles to detect cancer.

Researchers are developing functional nanomaterials for more sensitive detection of intracellular metabolites, tumour cell–membrane proteins, and even cancer cells that are circulating in the bloodstream. Silica nanoparticles are one promising material for detecting specific molecular targets. When dyed, these give an intense fluorescence signal that is up to 10,000 times greater than that of a single organic fluorophore. 

Unsaid Studio’s pharma visuals are flooded with colour, light, sculptural forms, tactile materials, and particle simulations, a breathtaking piece of art that reflects the excitement of the science itself. Sleek simplicity framed correctly fosters visual poetry, describing scientific concepts without overdoing it for a cutting-edge yet timeless feel.

The endeavour was inspired by a recent project with Redesign Health and a presentation for pharmaceutical company Roche. These connections at Roche, as well as a producer with a biology degree, guided Unsaid Studio in its quest for accurate yet imaginative visuals.

Above: Heart sculpture images, inspired by 3D printed heart valves. 

Harvard University researchers have created a method to quickly produce biomaterial heart valves. 3D printing produces a porous scaffold that enables the growth and invasion of heart cells. The nanoscale cues in the scaffolds drive cell entry and proliferation with the ultimate goal of gradually replacing the biomaterial scaffold with cells, resulting in a regenerated heart valve.

During their experiments, the team created tools to turn numbers into computer simulations, unearthing beauty in the data - set up correctly, the information speaks for itself. For the petri dishes, for example, Unsaid Studio devised a tool that scatters objects using organic noise fields. It also enables the user to control colour, size, the number of objects, and, most importantly, the ratios and behaviour between the clusters of them. Such a setup can produce endless unique microscopic landscapes based on a random seed or inputted data.

Reflecting on the project, Unsaid Studio has uncovered a number of similarities between its work in the production of advertising and that of scientists, both being problem solvers in different ways. Either side thinks in terms of physics simulations, creating and understanding why materials and environments look and move the way they do, and how light interacts. In sculpture and texturing, too, the team consistently find themselves analysing and referencing nature. In this curiosity, Unsaid Studio has found the parallel between digital artists and scientists, the former being the perfect illustrator of the discoveries of the latter.

Tom Alex Buch, founder and ECD at Unsaid Studio, comments: “At the forefront where science meets technology, revolutionary changes are happening; as an animation and design studio, these stories are more deserving of our craft than ever. Being digital artists, I see a lot of overlap in our fields. We’re often using complex 3D software, and we’re adept at blending art, science and maths to try and explain larger messages. When we use this to do such developments justice, we allow them to capture people’s imaginations and inspire them - as they should.”