What is motion design and why does it matter for marketing? [With examples]
In today's crowded online space it has grown increasingly difficult to grab people's attention, this has led to marketers resorting to resort to video marketing as a means to engage and communicate with their audiences.
87% of video marketers say that video has increased traffic to their website. (Wyzowl, 2020) it's safe to say that having great video matters when it comes to educating your audience.
And where there is video, there sure is to be motion design, being used to only to enhance traditional live video production but also to provide a creative alternative to live video through the use of branded graphics and more.
In 2022's competitive market, it's important to stand out from the crowd and be clear in our messaging, especially if you are in a fast-moving industry like SaaS or technology.
But what exactly is motion design? In this post, we will define motion design, show a few examples of how it's used in business today, and provide some tips to help wrap your head around the concept next time you encounter the term.
What is Motion Design?
Motion Design is the practice of visually communicating concepts through video by implementing graphic design, animation, sound & video production principles.
Traditionally known as motion graphics, motion design has evolved into a multi-disciplinary practice, that combines different disciplines to create a final piece of audiovisual content.
This can go from simple animated advertisements on Facebook to 360 videos, VR & AR metaverse-like experiences, and even flying drones with lights on the sky.
Why is motion design important?
Not only can motion design bring to life complex or boring concepts through engaging animation, but it can do so in a lot of different styles, depending on your brand & audience, all done completely remotely.
In most cases you don't need to invest the money and logistics to hire a videography team to shoot video physically in your location, nowadays a single motion designer can design, animate, and edit a complete brand film for your company without leaving their bedroom all by themselves.
84% of people say that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video. (Wyzowl, 2020) if you are a SaaS or tech company, you want to convey the value of your offering and explain how it works in an easily digestible format, which motion design is especially effective at doing
4 Real Examples of Motion Design
Microsoft Sharepoint | Product Film
A great example of how graphic design and film come together to bring excitement to a tech product that would normally be perceived as boring & dull.
It's not just full of great animation, but the camera movements, lens, lighting it's all influenced by proven film production techniques.
And it works, read this article on how this piece changed the perception around Microsoft products in general.
COZYJUICYREAL Explainer Video
How about an animated step-by-step to educate your customers? This is what we were requested to do for Jed & Sophia, founders of an online networking game for events.
To improve the efficiency of their networking game nights, they created a couple of explainer videos like this to help educate the participants, saving them lots of time in their business managing, check the case study for more information
Logo Animation for Impact with influence’s rebrand
Motion design is not here to just replace live video but also to support it, implementing branded graphic animations to your videos can help increase their perceived production value and earn your audience's familiarity and brand recognition through repetition.
In this case, we created a logo animation to be used for live streams for a successful business consulting brand, alongside some animated backgrounds & transitions, check out more in the full case study.
Gold Shango Animated Promo
How much can you convey in less than 30 seconds? Motion design can be a great way to show your unique style in a short amount of time.
You can grab people's attention through your unique Art direction, which helps your advertisements stand out from the crowd. Check this case study for more details on the art direction behind this piece
A few reminders & tips
Motion Design is not necessarily reliant on text
Some people define motion design based on if it is text-heavy or not, this is a leftover of how motion graphics are traditionally associated with news and sports broadcasts.
But nowadays motion design can apply to traditional animation as well as VR experiences or just commercials that rely on voiceover and sound, not just text animation.
Motion Design can be done by both individuals and agencies
You don't need to work with a massive production company to get started with motion design, freelancers can also offer all-in-one solutions by themselves which can be a budget-friendly approach when getting started.
Even creating bigger projects can be convenient, with some amazing pieces being made by teams of less than 10 people, all working remotely
Motion design refers to the practice, not a particular style
Although most people relate motion design to animated vector graphics or 3D abstract videos, it is not limited to these or any style, but it is defined by using visual communication in video form.
The most popular motion design software is Adobe After Effects.
As of now, the overwhelming majority of motion designers work with After Effects as their main software, using other tools depending on the project and the role they fulfill, Like Illustrator and Photoshop for design, Cinema 4D for 3D, and Premiere Pro for editing and audio production.
Summary
From tiny animations in our phone's UI to the intro CG title sequence of our favorite Netflix show, motion design is everywhere, communicating with us constantly in new and engaging ways.
Thanks to our new technology, we no longer have to be restrained to the physical world when it comes to creating engaging videos and commercials, motion designers can create short animated promos or entire virtual worlds in VR.
Keep an eye out for opportunities to put a video into your business pipeline, and once you find one, consider motion design to bring that extra touch of uniqueness to your marketing.
Are you interested in implementing motion design in your marketing but aren't sure where to start? Check out this piece where I go over examples on how to use motion design to achieve your marketing goals.
Additionally, you can get in touch with me directly and we can figure out if it makes sense to create some animated content for you depending on your needs.
