Ohio taxes explained
Ohio taxes explained
As a designer, I like the challenge of transforming complex, often dry content into engaging and effective learning. What's a bigger challenge than making taxes accessible to the public? For this project, I was asked to work with tax experts to create a series of brief explainer videos about Ohio state taxes, especially those that impact small businesses.
Good visual storytelling must begin with a great script. However, creating stories about taxes, as one might imagine, was difficult for several reasons. First, the source content was mostly legal documents, which are rife with jargon, passive voice, and legalese. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) similarly thought in those terms, making it difficult for them to explain the concepts in layman's terms. I turned to Youtube to see how others did it and found - for the most part - that people didn't do it. I leaned on empathy for the small business owner and unabashed kindergartener-like questioning to unearth the stories I was looking for. Together, we found a way to humanize the content, making the Ohio Business owner the hero. Beyond having diverse names and looks, the heroes' businesses were set in real counties, and the business names reflected something notable from that area (e.g., industry, semi-pro team, university, etc.). I used Vyond, keeping to the Department of Taxation's secondary branding palette to give the videos a cohesive look and feel.
These videos were well-received by people both inside and outside of the Department of Taxation. Employees praised the simple explanations. Tax examiners in charge of auditing small businesses reported sending the videos to their clients to provide additional support. The business owners were grateful for the novel and helpful reminder of Ohio tax laws and procedures.