Work / Nokia Network as Code × WaveXD

Fraud Prevention

Powered by Network APIs: WaveXD and Nokia NaC in Action

An animated product explainer about turning network capabilities into reusable application building blocks.

RoleArt direction, storyboarding, illustration and animation.

Client / brand
Nokia Network as Code × WaveXD
Project type
Animated product explainer
Year
2025
My role
Art direction, storyboarding, illustration, animation
Deliverables
Explainer film (1:42) and two intro animations
Timeline
10 weeks, 3 client reviews
Contents
  1. Snapshot
  2. Context
  3. Challenge
  4. Core idea
  5. Design thinking
  6. Narrative strategy
  7. Storyboard
  8. Visual language
  9. Assets
  10. Character
  11. Think in motion
  12. Use cases
  13. Takeaways

Project snapshot

The brief
Create an animated explainer showing how Nokia Network as Code works with WaveXD to help developers build network-aware applications faster, using reusable components rather than complex API integrations.
The ask
A new video, made as a joint collaboration between Nokia and WaveMaker — with time to approach it in detail and deliver high-quality animation.
The challenge
Make a technical developer-platform story understandable and engaging for an audience that may not have deep telecom expertise.
How the work moved
  1. Collaboration
  2. Build
  3. Review
  4. Refine
  5. Review
  6. Publish
Script-to-screen delivery timeline at a glance
W1W2W3W4W5W6W7W8W9W10 Discovery and briefWeeks 1–2, define phaseNarrative and scriptWeeks 2–3, define phaseArt direction, style framesWeeks 3–5, define phaseStoryboard and animaticWeeks 4–6, define phaseAssets, 3D and UI kitWeeks 5–8, produce phaseAnimation and soundWeeks 7–9, produce phaseCutdowns and deliveryWeeks 9–10, produce phase Review 1 after week 3Review 2 after week 5Review 3 after week 8

Define Produce

Signing off the brief in week 1 gave every later review a reference point, so feedback could be judged against agreed criteria instead of personal taste.

Film frame: a phone login screen running number validation, SIM swap and location checks
My role
Art direction, storyboarding, illustration and animation.
Deliverable
Animated explainer film, plus intro animations.
Approach
Clarify the product story, structure the narrative, build a connected visual language, develop reusable assets and use motion to explain the relationships between the technology and its applications.

The context

Network as Code exposes network capabilities through APIs. WaveXD turns those capabilities into reusable UI components and application templates that developers can configure and use in their applications.

The explainer needed to show how these parts connect — not just introduce two names independently.

The communication goal — help viewers understand the journey from network capability, to reusable component, to a working, network-aware application.

Stack diagram: Applications (Network as Code SDK) on top of Network as Code (developer portal, API engine) on top of communication service providers
From network capability to user experience
  1. ExposeNetwork as Code exposes 5G network capabilities through secure APIs.
  2. ConvertWaveXD converts APIs into reusable UI components, prefabs, journeys and template apps.
  3. BuildDevelopers use the components in the WaveMaker AI App Builder or embed them in their apps.
  4. CallAt runtime, apps securely call Network as Code APIs through WaveXD components.
  5. ExperienceReal-time 5G capabilities work automatically.

The challenge

Advanced 5G network capabilities can be powerful, but the APIs that expose them can be difficult to understand and integrate. Integration can require significant development effort, and building real-time applications can take time.

How could I explain the value of the platform without forcing the audience to first understand the underlying complexity of telecom APIs?

The design challenge

The core idea

I structured the explanation around a clear sequence: network capabilities become accessible through APIs; WaveXD turns those capabilities into reusable components; developers assemble those components into applications; and those applications can use real-time network intelligence.

The guiding idea — turn an abstract technical ecosystem into a visual system of connected building blocks.

The central diagram
  1. Network capability
  2. API
  3. Reusable component
  4. Application
  5. User experience

Design thinking

Decoding the script helped decide what was ready to move into production. After several discussions with the owner of the video, I learnt it was for business people — citizen developers, CEOs, stakeholders and business owners — as well as developers who want to build applications faster, not from scratch.

Extracting words from the script and mapping them individually helped move the work a few steps ahead.

Narrative strategy

  1. Introduce the problem

    Establish the main challenge in real life: fraud, and the risk it brings.

  2. Reveal the capability

    Introduce Network as Code as the way network capabilities are exposed through APIs.

  3. Make it tangible

    Show how WaveXD represents those capabilities as reusable components and templates.

  4. Build the application

    Illustrate how developers configure and combine components.

  5. Show the value

    Connect the workflow to practical, network-aware experiences.

Visual strategy
This was not meant to be a technical video — it was mainly for citizen developers. So I designed visuals that speak for themselves: even if someone misses the voiceover or watches on mute, the visuals still carry the idea.
Language of motion
The film would be published across every channel. Animation had to be seamless and fast, and each scene had to connect to the next so viewers could understand and remember it easily.

Story strategy & storyboard

  • Connection

    How network, APIs, components and apps link together.

  • Value of the product

    Fraud prevention.

  • Real-world scenarios

    Industries where it makes a difference.

I used the storyboard to organise the narrative and map the relationship between the technical information and the visual sequence. It acted as a blueprint for scene order, pacing and transitions, and helped identify where a visual could explain an idea more clearly than additional text.

What the storyboard needed to do — keep the story understandable, maintain continuity between scenes and make sure every sequence contributed to the central message.

Nine-panel line storyboard: isometric city, rising chart, fraudster with coins, banks and businesses, fraudster targeting a card, fraudster and financial institutions, “What if”, telco network connections, telco network capability hub
Storyboard — from the problem to the “What if” turn and the telco network

Scene planning helped measure the goal and the production time — especially important for a long-form video. At this stage we decided on the transactions and the connections to build.

Moodboard & visual language

A visual language designed to make technical ideas tangible.

The visual direction needed to make a technical subject feel clear and approachable, while staying consistent with the identities of Nokia and WaveXD. I worked with existing brand assets and adapted them where needed to support the story, rather than rebuilding every element from scratch.

Mood at a glance: colour chips, a green-to-black phone scene with the fraudster icon, payment cards, number verification tiles, WaveXD branding and fingerprint icons
Mood at a glance — colour, cards, icons and UI pieces as one system

Consistency helps viewers recognise recurring objects and understand how the parts of the system relate to one another.

Design principle

Assets creation

Nokia and WaveXD already had established brand assets. To work efficiently with time and resources, I incorporated existing design elements and adapted them.

Where appropriate, I also reused artwork from the film with small adjustments, so the visual language stayed consistent across scenes.

Why it mattered — reusing and adapting assets helped maintain continuity while avoiding unnecessary duplication of work.

Line icons on a construction grid: shield with check, group, location pin, verified person, bank and briefcase

Character development

The character was developed through a series of visual explorations, moving from sketches to digital refinement and a more defined final treatment. The process let me test the character’s tone, contrast and level of detail against the surrounding visual system.

Design question — what visual treatment would make the character read clearly and match the tone of the story?

The character in motion

Think in motion

Building a modular visual system. I organised the visual elements into groups — reusable character or hero elements, application and use-case elements, and supporting assets — so they could be compared and combined consistently. The goal was not simply to create individual illustrations, but to make the elements work together as one visual system.

Modular UI pieces animating into a streamlined package
Motion principles
  1. Animate the scene
  2. Don’t stop
  3. Transitions
  4. Stitch scenes with match cuts
  5. Keep the connection
Icon movement test

Visualising the use cases

From idea to final scene — the film shows how the same building blocks apply across industries.

  • Financial services

    Fraud prevention using SIM-swap detection and device location.

  • Live events and gaming

    Enhanced streaming and low-latency experiences using Quality on Demand.

  • Industrial applications

    Worker safety, drones and autonomous systems supported by real-time network intelligence.

Key takeaways

Good motion design
is not just about beautiful visuals — it’s about clear communication.
Understanding
the product and its user base helped me design animations that are not just nice to watch, but purpose-driven.
This project deepened
my ability to collaborate cross-functionally and create assets that support marketing, product and sales teams alike.

Thank you!

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