FCB Chicago

Brand: Rakish Entertainment / Chicago Hearing Society

Year: 2025

“Caption with Intention” is a groundbreaking new caption design system that transforms how Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences experience film and television. Unlike traditional captions which have remained largely unchanged since the 1970s, this system uses animation, color, and variable typography to convey not just dialogue, but emotion, tone, and pacing.

Over the course of a year, we collaborated with the Chicago Hearing Society (CHS) and Rakish Entertainment to research, prototype, and test dozens of caption variations from iconic and critically acclaimed films. Through in-person sessions, remote feedback, and real-time design refinements, the system was built with, and for, the Deaf community — addressing key shortcomings like speaker attribution, synchronization, and intonation in a way that’s never been done before.

Following this community-led development phase, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized “Caption with Intention” in support of a new industry standard. Reaching a wider audience at the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards on April 29 2025, the work and contributing individuals were recognized with an Award of Merit — an Oscar® statuette — among those “who have developed and supported captioning technology, whether open or closed, for film.” The Award was accepted by Marlee Matlin, who joined us at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June 2025 to present the work to the Titanium Jury, who awarded us with a Titanium Lion, one of the highest accolades at the Festival. It was also awarded three Grands Prix, making it the most awarded idea of the year at Cannes 2025.

This open-source system is now available for adoption by studios, production companies, and streaming platforms worldwide — representing a major step forward in inclusive storytelling and cinematic expression.