CHALLENGE
The Archdiocese of Veszprém asked us to help bring the figure of Mária Magdolna Bódi – or “Magdi,” as everyone called her – closer to the public. Together with our client, we believed that to achieve this, we needed to step beyond the traditional toolkit of ecclesiastical communication.
SOLUTION
Our collaboration began with designing the visual identity and creating a website that introduces Magdi’s life, her memory, and the steps of the beatification process.
When designing the logo, we reinterpreted the traditional attributes associated with depictions of saints in a contemporary way. Since recollections about Magdi frequently mention the bicycle she received from her father and her love of flowers, these two elements became her symbols in the visual identity.
Next, we produced an eight-episode animated short-film series whose innovative visual solutions help make Magdi’s story more accessible for younger audiences. The first episode focused on the question of what it takes for someone to be beatified or canonised, while the second offered an overview of Magdi’s life. The following six episodes each highlighted one of Magdi’s traits, always connected to a specific story to support emotional engagement.
Throughout the 2–3 minute episodes we used collage techniques, a form that allows abstract concepts, thoughts, and emotions to be represented through symbolic motifs—while also weaving in small gags and touches of humour to enrich the visual experience.
RESULT
The visual identity is now used by the Archdiocese of Veszprém across numerous online and offline platforms, and it played an integral role throughout the beatification.
The animated series likewise reached several hundred thousand people: each episode was viewed by 10–20 thousand viewers on YouTube and Facebook, while in Veszprém the films were screened before an audience of ten thousand pilgrims and guests, and shown simultaneously on outdoor screens throughout the castle district.