Sports Technology Institute
What happens when you head a football?
In football, questions around the long‑term effects of heading the ball have been asked for decades. At Loughborough University’s Sports Technology Institute, researcher Ieuan Phillips is focused on understanding what happens over time – not just in moments of obvious or acute injury.
Funded by the FA, the project examines the cumulative impact of repetitive, lower‑level head contacts: the kind experienced during routine heading rather than heavy collisions. The research tested balls used across different eras of the game against an advanced surrogate head model at match speeds. Using a specialist pressure sensor positioned inside the model, the team identified a previously unreported pressure wave that directs energy into the frontal region of the brain, adding a new layer to how heading impacts are understood.
We worked with the Sports Technology Institute team to create a series of ultra‑short animations – each between two and six seconds long – to support Ieuan as he presented these findings.
The subject matter was serious, nuanced and understandably sensitive. Research like this sits at the intersection of science, public concern and intense media attention. Our role was not to dramatise or oversimplify, but to communicate the findings clearly, accurately and responsibly to a non‑scientific audience.
Rather than producing a single explainer film, we developed a suite of simple, repeatable visual cues. The animation style was deliberately restrained: clean, flat graphics, limited colour palettes and abstracted forms rather than literal anatomy. Movement was subtle and purposeful, using gentle easing and looping actions to suggest impact, repetition and cumulative change without tipping into alarmism.
Each animation was designed to be instantly readable while Ieuan was speaking. They appeared briefly to reinforce a key idea, then stepped back out of view. No sound, no unnecessary detail – just enough motion to support understanding without distracting from the research.
Accuracy mattered at every stage. We worked closely with the Sports Technology Institute team to sense‑check every transition and implication, while stripping visuals back to their essentials. In a space where headlines can easily outpace evidence, these animations helped anchor the conversation, adding clarity, supporting nuance and keeping the science firmly at the centre of the story.
