The role of a custody visitor – ICVA

The Brief

ICVA, the representative body for Independent Custody Visiting schemes across the UK, asked us to create an animation that explains the role of a custody visitor. 

The animation would be used by their members to help recruit new volunteers, provide light touch training to new volunteers, and also to explain to detainees who custody visitors are and what they are doing.

The Approach

The animation needed to be clear and accessible, and avoid sounding at all patronising, so we began work by developing a script with the team at ICVA that struck the right tone. 

The narrative opens by introducing the purpose and role of ICVs, before highlighting the rights and entitlements that all people in police custody have. We then follow a walk-through approach to explain what ICVs do on a custody visit.

We developed a visual style for the animation that centres on a diverse cast of characters, who are seen in realistic scenes and settings. The use of reference imagery provided by ICVA was essential in the design process, allowing us to easily ensure accuracy throughout.

Animated scenes are supported with key text, both to reinforce message delivery and to aid accessibility. The animation is subtitled in English, and we also created a version that is voiced and subtitled in Welsh.