working from text

For the next two weeks we were tasked with working from a online news article. The news article I was given was the "Not black and White: are crossword puzzles really good for your brain?" article from the Guardian.  
My requirements are: 1 feature Illustration at 120mm x 120mm using CMYK and 1 illustrated feature animated GIF to be used for a (hypothetical) website. 
website link: Not black and white: are crossword puzzles really good for your brain? | Well actually | The Guardian 

Analysing the text

Before I started my ideas I began reading and highlighting the text. In summary, the text was trying to explain the idea that if you did a lot of crosswords your brain would become "stronger" and would have more resistance against your brain declining as you age. However the text says there isn't enough research to prove this. It suggests that by doing puzzles your brain might improve it's cognition and may help when it comes to daily tasks such as remembering to take medication. The article also mentioned that socialising might also improve your cognitive ability when you age, possibly more than crosswords or puzzles.

design ideas 

further development 

Research 

first final design 

feedback

My feedback was that I had overthought the idea and did not let the article speak for itself. I was to focused on trying to represent too much of the article into the drawing. To fix this I went back to one of my early designs and focused on that. Instead of worrying on if the image represents every point made in the article I focused on a few phrases instead. 

second final design

feedback: change the brain's face and not give him small arms 

after feedback