The Fits — A friendlier way to face your benefits

Digital graphic with colorful abstract shapes and a tablet displaying text about 2020 enrollment opening, featuring stylized illustrations of a bird and a humanoid figure.

Open Enrollment can be confusing, stressful, and—let’s face it—easy to ignore. In 2020, IDEO’s Talent team wanted to change that. With major updates to benefits on the horizon, they needed a way to clearly and creatively communicate what was new, while encouraging employees to actually read and engage with the materials.

The solution? The Fits—a motley band of illustrated monsters designed to help IDEOers navigate their “BeneFITs” with humor, warmth, and clarity. From digital comms to a printed booklet, this internal campaign used friendly weirdness to turn a typically dry process into something people actually looked forward to.

DISCIPLINES
Publication Design Illustration
Internal Communications
Writing

TOOLS
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Keynote

Background & Objectives

In a year of big policy shifts and global uncertainty, IDEO Talent needed Open Enrollment communications that were both clear and inviting. The objective wasn’t just comprehension—it was engagement. Our HMW: How might we make what’s typically a monstrous process more fun to go through?

The team knew that conventional HR messaging wouldn’t cut through the noise. Instead, the solution had to feel distinctly IDEO—human, humorous, and a little unexpected.

Early visual exploration focused on finding the right balance between playful and approachable.

Person holding a colorful festival program with abstract artwork, indicating the 16th Macao City Fringe Festival.
Colorful poster for the 17th Macao City Fringe Festival featuring abstract shapes and eye illustrations in red, blue, yellow, and orange.
Colorful poster with the word "FRINGE" at the top, featuring abstract shapes, bold colors like pink, green, orange, and blue, and text in multiple languages about the 16th Macao City Fringe Festival, including dates from January 13 to January 22, 2017.

Concept 1. Fringe Festival. The Fringe Festival concept related to the idea of “fringe benefits.”

Bright yellow background with a stylized smiley face with red and white eyes and an open mouth, holding a red lipstick. Bold black text reads "You Can All Kiss My Ass," and a cartoon face with flame-like features is in the top left corner.
Digital illustration of a human face with multiple eyes, lips, and facial features layered and distorted with vibrant colors on an orange background.
Colorful cartoon monster letters forming the number 195 on a black background.

Concept 2. Band of monsters. We started referring to IDEO’s benefits as FITS, which sounded like a grunge band. So we ran with it.

Concept Development

The core idea emerged early: personify the benefits system as a group of friendly monsters. Each creature would embody a different area of IDEO’s offerings (healthcare, retirement, wellness, etc.), making the complex ecosystem feel more approachable and less overwhelming.

Screenshot of Adobe Illustrator workspace featuring colorful monster characters, black-and-white monster design templates, and various toolbars.
Sketch of a bed frame, a mattress, and a large leaf, with a yellow sticky note that says 'Use in-situ plants' attached to the sketch.
Hand-drawn sketch of call sheet with sections for scene, shot, and notes. A yellow sticky note says "Medieval Panspread". Additional notes include location, camera angles, and equipment, with arrows pointing to different sections.
Sketch of a ribbon with handwritten text, including a yellow sticky note that says 'Proverb Sounds' covering part of the drawing.
Handwritten note on the right side of the page reads, 'WE THE' with an elaborate decorative border around the words. On the top left of the page, there is a note that says, 'HALF SHEET Booklet'.
Six rough, black line drawings on pink paper, each depicting a different cartoon-like creature or scene. Top left shows a dinosaur, top right an overflowing oil barrel with ducks and a speech bubble saying 'oh no!', bottom left a serpent-like creature with eyes and a tongue, bottom middle a monster with multiple eyes and arms, and bottom right a humanoid figure with a serious face, wearing a shirt and hat and emerging from a pot.
Five hand-drawn sketches on pink paper featuring various creatures and objects. Top left: a dinosaur with a large head, small arms, and tail. Top right: a small creature with two pointed ears and a big creature with wings and a tail. Bottom left: a chemical drum labeled 'Chemical' with also a warning symbol. Bottom center: a robot with segmented arms and a boxy torso. Bottom right: a humanoid figure with a mustache, bow tie, and top hat.
A hand-drawn sketch of a person with four yellow sticky notes on top of the sketch, containing handwritten text about travel, opinions, and various topics.

First sketches of the book blueprint. Starting to visualize the content layout, and some spreads.

There is no visible object or scene in this image, it appears to be completely black.
Colorful, cartoonish artwork of whimsical monsters with exaggerated features, accompanied by the stylized text "The Fitts" at the top.

We started off sketching monsters but quickly decided to come up with a “kit of parts” after tearing up and scanning paper.

Then we created early versions of The Fits.

Deliverables

The Fits appeared across internal channels, from Keynote presentations to digital reminders, but the booklet was our core communication piece. The consistent visual language made the experience cohesive and memorable—even (or especially) for those who don’t usually read HR emails.

Posters

Colorful poster for 2020 Enrollment Opening featuring abstract, whimsical creatures including a multi-eyed head, a small jumping creature, and a flower, with varying vibrant colors and textured background elements.
Colorful poster advertising the 2020 Enrolling Only event featuring 'The F it' from November 4 to 15. The illustration includes whimsical, abstract animals and faces with vibrant, textured patterns and bold colors.
A colorful, abstract illustration of a mountain landscape with playful, monster-like creatures. The top left corner features text that reads '2020 Enrolling Openly Featuring The Fitts' and the top right corner says 'Nov. 4-15.'

Booklet (selected spreads)

Open guidebook with colorful abstract artwork and the title '2020 Enrolling Openly' on the right page, and the text 'in IDEO Guidebook' on the left page.
An abstract colorful illustration of a figure with an exaggerated face, including a prominent eye and mouth, with various shapes and textures. The image contains text about open enrollment dates, emphasizing deadline information.
A colorful infographic comparing dental and vision insurance plans, including details on coverage, deductibles, premiums, and provider networks.
Colorful illustrated open magazine spread with a bird holding a flower and text about new health and financial benefits this year.
Open booklet showing insurance options and financial planning tips, with colorful abstract illustrations of hands reaching toward a small character in a wizard hat, featuring text about life insurance, flexible spending accounts, and other benefits.
Open brochure with sections on fertility assistance and backup childcare, featuring a colorful abstract flower and a cartoon moose on a purple background.
Colorful illustrated pamphlet displaying medical, dental, and vision insurance plan options with cartoon characters and text listing Cigna for California, Kaiser for California only, and Tufts for Massachusetts only.
Comparison chart of healthcare coverage options for Cigna, Kaiser, and TUFTS, detailing premiums, deductibles, maximums, and visits for different plans.
A colorful list of important financial and healthcare topics and dates, including life insurance, retirement, travel insurance, pet insurance, and healthcare advocacy, decorated with multicolored confetti.
Chart showing pay period contributions for different categories across Cigna, Kaiser, and Tufts insurance plans, with colorful illustrated characters including a robot on the left and a large striped bee on the right.
A two-page informational brochure. The left page discusses 401(k) retirement savings with a purple background and colorful abstract plant illustrations. The right page covers gym discounts, featuring a blue background with similar colorful plant graphics and text listing gym options and contact information.
Open booklet with colorful abstract cover on the left page and purple pages inside, featuring checklists and text in a professional layout.
A colorful promotional graphic with the title 'What's New This Year?' and information about new providers and services such as Cigna for medical, dental, vision, Kaiser/Tufts in CA/MA, Unum for insurance and disability, Ameriflex for flexible spending accounts, changes in plan designs for medical, and payroll deductions. The background features abstract shapes and illustrations of hands and animals.

Deck (selected slides)

A graphic with colorful abstract shapes and white text on a purple background, providing information about enrollment updates and changes, effective January 1, 2020.
Abstract illustration of creatures with text reading 'Medical Plans' and a vertical stack of spheres labeled 'Cigna', 'Kaiser', and 'Tufts'.
Colorful abstract background with the text 'Why Cigna?' in pink, explaining that Cigna is a national provider focusing on mental wellbeing through online tools, technology solutions, and integrated medical, dental, and vision care.
A colorful infographic about Cigna Standard health insurance plan featuring company name, plan details, costs, pros, and cons, with a cartoon monster illustration.
Information about Cigna HRA, including deductible amounts, office visit copays, prescription costs, and payroll deductions, with colorful graphics and a cartoon pig illustration.
A colorful graphic with abstract flower illustrations on the left and a message about active enrollment for insurance on the right, in bold white text.
A colorful infographic about Tufts University in Massachusetts, listing pros and cons, and various costs for office visits, prescriptions, and payroll deductions for in-network coverage.

Impact

While hard metrics were not the focus of this project, anecdotal feedback pointed to one clear outcome: people noticed. The Fits became a running joke in internal channels and helped make Open Enrollment a more visible—and less dreaded—event.

The campaign also modeled a new approach to internal communications at IDEO: one where clarity and creativity can coexist, even in the fine print.

Multiple colorful, stylized bird illustrations with exaggerated facial expressions and vibrant hues, layered on a black background.
Abstract colorful illustration of a bird with exaggerated features, standing on a red textured ground.
Colorful, whimsical creature with multiple eyes, horns, and limbs, standing on a purple and blue platform.

“This is the first year I actually sat down and read our Open Enrollment materials.”

— Ian

“You made HR look like rockstars.”

— Heather

“Can I get this one [three legged toucan] as a tattoo?”

— Grishma

Colorful drawing of a cute bee with striped orange and black body, wings, and smiling face, surrounded by three large, vibrant, multi-colored flowers.