Siemens Healthineers
Magnetic Stories transforms the mechanical sounds of MRI scans into audio stories created for children. Our task was to give those sounds a visual form, building a 3D language in which waves, light and movement could extend the narrative. The result was a family of three imaginative worlds built around a train, a robot and a spaceship.
MRI scanners produce intense, repetitive sounds that can make an unfamiliar medical environment feel even more intimidating. The visual layer needed to support the project’s central idea: reframing those sounds as elements of a story while keeping the imagery clear, warm and consistent across three different narratives.
The team treated sound as spatial material. Animated waveforms moved through three-dimensional environments, meeting simplified characters and objects designed around each story. Shared rules for movement, colour, light and composition connected the three worlds, while allowing each one to keep its own character.
The sounds were already there. The idea was to change what they could mean.
Magnetic Stories uses real MRI sounds as part of children’s audiobooks synchronised with the stages of a scan. Mechanical pulses, knocks and rhythms become events inside each narrative. The visual work extended that transformation, giving the sound a shape and placing it inside a world the viewer could enter.
The CGI needed to make an invisible idea immediately visible.
During development, the team explored different ways of representing the sound, including particle-based animation and more complex 3D simulations. The final direction placed luminous waveforms inside a dark, atmospheric space. This gave the sound volume, movement and presence without making the image feel technical or clinical.
A train, a robot and a spaceship gave each story its own visual anchor.
The models were deliberately simplified, leaving space for movement, light and sound to carry the atmosphere. Across all three worlds, the same visual principles created continuity: luminous waves travelled through space, forms floated and vibrated, and colour marked changes in energy and rhythm. The system stayed recognisable while adapting to the character of each story.
The imagery had to feel magical without losing the precision of the underlying system.
Simplified models provided a clear foundation for the simulations. Floating and vibrating elements added energy around the central forms, while lighting introduced depth and atmosphere during compositing. The final images brought these layers together into a visual language that felt playful, coherent and closely connected to the rhythm of the stories.
The final system connects three distinct worlds through one visual response to sound.
Across the campaign film and individual animations, the CGI turns mechanical pulses into movement, atmosphere and character. The visual layer supports the audio-led idea without competing with it, helping the transition from clinical reality to imagination feel immediate.
Magnetic Stories received international recognition across healthcare, creative data, audio, experience and visual craft.
The campaign’s recognition included the Pharma Grand Prix at Cannes Lions, alongside Gold in Creative Data, Silver in Pharma and Bronze awards across Creative B2B, Entertainment, Brand Experience & Activation, and Audio & Radio.
It was subsequently recognised by The One Show, Clio Awards, Clio Health, D&AD, London International Awards, ADC Europe, The Drum Awards and The ANDYs.
Magnetic Stories received 61 awards across major international festivals.
Cannes Lions