Our Work with The BBC on the History of Ideas series

As one of the world’s most respected public broadcasters, ‘Aunty Beeb’ needs no introduction.

We’ve been working with the BBC for six years on a range of projects and in different animation styles including whiteboard (with the hairy hand). Our work has been used on Radio, Television and the BBC website to explain complex subjects – we even got to illustrate Professor Stephen Hawking’s Reith Lectures on the nature of black holes.

Cartoon image of a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, and a glass of water.

A History of Ideas

How did everything begin? What is love? How do I live a good life? These are just some of the questions that ‘A History of Ideas’ sets out to address. Our animations illustrate and complement the thought-provoking scripts delivered by the vocal talents of Stephen Fry, Gillian Anderson, Harry Shearer and Aidan Turner.

Question 1: What is freedom?

A birdcage with a bird flying out and a bird feather falling, overlaid with the text 'What is freedom?'

Question 2: What is beauty?

A person standing on a platform with their back to the viewer, holding their head with both hands. A ladder is positioned beside them. Overlaid text reads, 'What is beauty?' The background is minimalistic with geometric and mountain designs.

Question 3: How can I know right from wrong?

A collage with a large orange rectangle containing the text 'How can I know right from wrong?' above a vintage tram car. On top of the tram, there are six black-and-white vintage characters dressed in different costumes, and above them, a large axe and a piece of raw meat are shown.

Question 4: How did everything begin?

A silver pocket watch with a chain resting on a white surface, with a white lotus flower below and red text box in the middle stating, "How did everything begin?".
A graphic with a gear surrounding Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, a DNA double helix at the bottom, and the text "What makes me human?" in the center.

Question 6: How has technology changed us?

A woman with a hair bun and side profile, partially a human skull with a mechanical eye socket, with a caption 'How has technology changed us?'

Question 7: How do I live a good life?

A person relaxing on a lounge chair with the caption 'How do I live a good life?' above in a pink box, with three flying birds and a single eye icon in the background.

Question 8: What is justice?

A Guy Fawkes mask, a human eye, a scale, and a tooth with the text 'What is justice?'

Question 9: What does it mean to be me?

A vintage mirror with a fingerprint on it, theatrical masks representing comedy and tragedy, and the text "What does it mean to be me?" in black font on a light green background.

Question 10: How should we live together?

Black and white puppet theatre with two puppets on stage, and a blue text box with the question 'How should we live together?'


Question 5: What makes me human?

Question 11: What is love?

Black and white illustration of a heart with a crown of thorns around it, dripping with black liquid. Two birds are perched below, and a woman is inside the heart. There is text at the bottom that asks, 'What is love?'

Question 12:  How can I know anything at all?

A human head with a tree silhouette inside and birds flying out, with a blue overlay containing the question, 'How can I know anything at all?' Below are three compartments containing images of a beetle, a wheelchair, and a prehistoric reptile.