Trish Fischer-SEO content writer and printed projects copywriter

It’s funny how tools, such as Google Reader, can inadvertently deliver to us fascinating bits of information that we never actively pursued. Such is the case with the YouTube video below. It was posted on the blog of the creative firm who produced the video. I found the video, not on my Google Reader feeds for "design," "illustration" and "video." Instead, it came through on my feed titled “happiness.” It is a 10-minute video that illustrates a speech by renowned Psychologist Philip Zimbardo.

Three Reasons Why I Devoted a Blog Post to this Video

I love the above video for three distinct reasons that I never knew mattered to me until today:

It introduces me to the UK design studio Cognitive Media. This firm produces videos utilizing the most compelling and effective use of illustration I have ever seen. Period.
It introduces me to the fascinating Psychologist Philip Zimbardo. He is one of the true original and compelling voices in psychology today. His career spans more than 50 years (and I’ve just now discovered him). The video above conveys Zimbardo’s concept of The Secret Powers of Time. He shows how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. Truly amazing stuff that is relevant to each and every one of us in our lives at home, in the community and at the office.
It introduces me to RSA Animates. The RSA (UK's Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) has been “a cradle of enlightenment thinking and a force for social progress for over 250 years.” According to the organization’s website, they deliver more than 150 free lectures, talks, screenings and debates a year. Just about all of these events can be viewed online in various formats. But the RSA Animates from Cognitive Media are by far the most engaging, stimulating and memorable. I plan to watch every RSA Animate that is online (and, will most likely, watch them each more than once). If you haven't done so already, just click on the fascinating Philip Zimbardo video above to find out why I am so captivated by this method of communication.

What Do You Think?

What are your impressions of the Philip Zimbardo video? Do you know of firms in the U.S. that are producing this type of animated illustrative narrative? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.