Animation can be a great addition for branding due to its unique ability to enhance the identity of the brand, its capacity to engage with audiences, as well as to communicate messages clearly. 

Think of movement - it always draws more attention to our human eyes. Motion design attracts and holds the viewer's attention more than any static image or text. When you develop your branding, you choose a font, color palette and shapes - all of which would then speak to your audience. Well, animation does that too - with more efficiency. 

Motion design brings brands to life.

By adding movement and visual storytelling to the elements such as logos, typography, and color schemes, animation has the power to evoke emotions, creating a deeper connection with the audience. 

Engaging animations in marketing materials, social media posts and website elements can create a more immersive and memorable experience for the user, leading to increased engagement with the brand.

Motion will allow for the consistent application of branding elements across various platforms and marketing channels.

By using animation in the brand's identity, businesses can maintain a cohesive look and feel in 360º communication channels, reinforcing brand recognition. 

Overall, motion design will add depth and elevate branding and design identity. By incorporating motion elements that align with the brand's values and personality, brands can convey their message in a more emotionally impactful way, promoting brand loyalty and affinity. 

Motion design provides an excellent medium for storytelling.

Brands can use animated videos or motion graphics to narrate their brand story, showcasing product features, or explaining complex concepts in an appealing and accessible manner. This approach helps in delivering brand messages more effectively and making them catchy and shareable.

Let’s get more personal here. 

For CARTEL’s branding, we decided to go black and white. Why? Most of our work is colorful and somewhat playful. We thought if we added more colors we couldn’t go too bold on either forms or animation. Something had to give, so we decided for a total B&W approach. 

We wanted our logo to show what the studio was all about!

We had the pleasure of working with an amazing graphic designer (Marcelo) and he came up with a concept we loved - since CARTEL is a combination of different people with various skills, it reminded him of playing cards. He then translated the typical suits to graphic elements and incorporated them in our branding. 

The first version of the logo we got was bold but still very… tight. We told the designer to redo the logo but after having a few drinks, while listening to some samba & pagode (very uplifting Brazilian music) - and that’s how our logo was born! 

Then it was the fun part for us: animating the logo. We choose a very fun, playful way to animate, using the graphic forms as secondary animation and animating each letter with a different animation. 

We think of ourselves as nice and approachable and fun to work with, so we wanted to translate that to our studio branding. Of course we understand this might not be the path for every business, but as an animation studio it was important for us to push the animation to the edge as well as to show what we are about.  

And how do you make your brand’s motion stand out?

Nailing the nuances. Focusing on the smaller details and fine tuning what most people won’t even notice. These subtle choices will shape the character of your motion and consequently, your branding. 

For that, you should spend time defining how you work with motion. It’s also important to have some time for R&D (research and development). This will allow the motion design studio to find creative solutions that might not be so obvious at first sight, and it will help your brand stand out with clarity as well as to shape your brand’s personality. 

A Modular approach.

Also important to notice that a modular, systematic approach could work. That way the studio can develop multiple animations based on the animating parameters - for example just working with opacity, then working just position and after combining them both. This systematic approach will lead you to new ideas and at the same time you can discard what you don’t like (and come to the conclusion why certain animation doesn’t fit).

Like to find out more? Feel free to contact us at hello@wearecartel.co 

About the author: CARTEL is a motion design studio. A collection of bold creatives with diverse backgrounds that combine all the elements of design + animation under one name.

It is widely recognized that video is one of the most effective ways to engage audiences. 

For banking and Fintech companies, motion design can simplify the explanation of complex processes.

This medium also enables you to tailor your message and tone to your target audience. For instance, a video intended for stakeholders will differ from one created for young millennial clients.

Moreover, animation allows you to scale up your video for a series or even a 360º campaign. 

However, in today's sea of content, how can you make your video content stand out? The answer lies in investing in high-quality design and animation. 

Here are four types of motion design videos that will particularly benefit banking and Fintech companies in their marketing strategy for the Web3 era:

Manifesto videos for banking and fintech 

Inspirational pieces have been trendy for a while, and a manifesto video aims to inspire the audience by showcasing what your company stands for. The script for this type of video is central to declaring your company's values, unique selling proposition, and how you differentiate from the competition.

Manifesto videos typically feature abstract imagery based on your branding, such as colors, shapes, and existing material. They are usually utilized for new companies or as part of rebranding strategies.

Explainer videos for Banking and Fintech 

For banking and fintech companies, explainer videos are an effective tool to communicate how your product works to your audience. These videos typically follow a "hero's journey" where the main character overcomes a challenge using your product.

The character in your explainer video can be inspired by your buyer persona while still considering a broader audience if the video is intended for social media channels. Including a brief explanation of how your product solves the pain points of your audience can help convert leads into loyal customers

Motion Tutorials for Banking and Fintech 

Video tutorials are a more straightforward option for demonstrating how to use an app or website. These can also be called UX videos since they showcase the user experience intended for your website or app. 

These are effective tools that can help guide your users and showcase to stakeholders the possibilities of prototypes. By providing step-by-step instructions on how to use your app, they can increase user engagement and lead to better customer relationships.

Infographic Videos for Banking and Fintech 

Infographic videos use graphics to visually present complex data in an easy-to-understand way. This can be particularly effective for all sorts of reports, including financial reports. Infographic videos require careful thought in selecting the data to be presented.

It's important to strike a balance between the amount of information presented and the design elements used in order to keep the audience engaged. Voiceovers (VO) can also be used to provide additional information and context. 

The design and animation should always drive the understanding of the data presented, making it an effective tool for conveying important information in a visually compelling way.

And of course we know that in any of these type of videos, the message should comply with legal rules, so let’s keep in mind to have a few extra days of revision (specially on the script writing phase) for legal to approve the message. This steps will affect storyboard, design and even the animation - but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

In short, the motion graphics world offers many options to explore depending on your goals and needs.

If you're still unsure about which direction to take or need further clarification, feel free to reach out to us at hello@wearecartel.co - we're happy to help.

About the author: CARTEL is a motion design studio. A collection of bold creatives with diverse backgrounds that combine all the elements of design + animation under one name.

Storytelling: why use Motion Design?

We humans have always been natural storytellers. Cave paintings are some of the earliest records we have of this. And if you’re into animation, one fascinating example can be found in the Chauvet Cave in France.

25,000 years ago, Paleolithic people drew the animals they saw around them in overlapping sequences that seem to show their movement. In this way, archaeologists theorize, storytellers back then used the flicker from the flames of their torches to achieve a kind of rudimentary animation.

And here we are, 20 000 years later, still telling stories through live-action and animation. 

It is a well known fact that video is far and away one of the most successful ways of engaging audiences, as our mind is naturally drawn towards moving figures.

But is there a reason to use animation instead of live-action?

Simply put, animation allows for a lot more flexibility than live action. Through design, motion and tone, existing brand guidelines can be represented effectively and in a way that feels natural. 

Animation and design also allow for a huge variety in the types of stories we can tell. Basically, if you can dream it, it's possible with animation. 

But as with any dream, you need a plan. And that’s where the workflow comes into the picture.

The Animation workflow

When we talk about workflow, we mean the process by which we build and organize a project. Animation is a labor intensive pursuit. A 1 minute animated video can take around 6 weeks to produce – or even longer, depending on the complexity level of the design and the animation techniques used. 

Efficiency is the goal of a good workflow. Every stage of the production should be timed correctly and serve a purpose. Feedback is given at the right times to prevent any wasted time, effort and cost.

Here is an overview of the process for making a great animation video for your company. 

1 - Project discovery & existing research

The first baby step of the motion design video is to ask some key questions:

• What is the core function of the video? 

• Which tone is appropriate? 

• Which KPIs are you wanting to tackle? 

• Is the video part of an existing campaign? 

• Are there any design or animation references that you feel would fit well to your video?

Ideally, studios will also conduct their own research with you. This can involve exploring existing core brand elements and concepts and finding a design that reflects this.

One thing we love to add at this stage in the process is a Moodboard. This is a collection of visual references that showcase the design style we have in mind, based on our project discovery with the client.

There is no right or wrong here - it's about open communication and the studio should help you to navigate these unknown waters.

Studios should help you navigate these unknown waters.

2 - Script development

The script is the foundation of any film. Focusing on the core communication is really important here and helps to keep things engaging and punchy. 

Once we know what you want to say, we need to decide how to say it.

Motion design allows for a variety of options in tone – playful, serious, dramatic, emotional, inspiring and so on. Sometimes it even makes sense to have no voiceover and rather communicate ideas through text and forms. Broadly speaking, we’d call this an "infographic video". 

For our Shillington Manifesto film we made sure to use an approachable and optimistic tone that would inspire and motivate prospective students to discover more about Shillington’s design courses. 

Writing a script can take anywhere  from 2-4  weeks, depending on the complexity and timing of the video. Some things you should try to stay away from are:

• Overly technical lingo

• Long sentences 

• Constant exclamations that will disrupt the pacing and feel of the film

• Repetitive wording
  
  

3 - Storyboarding for Motion Graphics

If you have narration (Voice Over or VO), the storyboard only starts after approval of the script.

Broadly speaking, the storyboard should show all shots in sketched form and give an idea of the animation as well as inform the design. 

Once our storyboard has been approved, we take those sketches and edit them together into a video called an Animatic. The animatic just has some simple animation on important assets and the main camera movements. This really helps to visualize how the pacing and storytelling will work in the final film. 

4 - Design for Motion

Form follows function! Getting the right design approach is essential to making your video shine.

Design usually dictates the animation technique. But the good thing about having rules is that every now and then we get to break or bend them.  A good rule of thumb, regardless of technique is: the more complex the design, the more complex the animation will be.

A close collaboration from your team and the creative motion design studio is essential to ensure the brand image and campaign messaging are on point. So if you have visual or design references in mind, it's important to send them early on during your project discovery with the studio. This will ensure design starts with the right foot forward. 

All design considerations like color palettes, forms, character design, font use and so on should come at this stage as implementing these will be harder in the later stages of production.

Once the creative studio has an idea what design look you want, they will develop Style Frames. These are designed scenes selected from the storyboard that show what the final design will look like. 

Our Styleframes for Shillington Manifesto project

It's only after revision and approval of the Style Frames that the rest of the design universe is developed.

5 - Animation

Now that you’ve defined your design style, it's time to start the fun part: Animation!

Once we have the design fully approved, we move onto animation. There are usually 2 or 3 WIPs (Work in Progress) during animation and in each version animation gets more complex and refined. There should be client feedback and approval at each WIP stage to make sure there is always alignment between the client and studio. 

In our experience this is really where the magic happens.

Because you've been kept up to speed with how the animation should progress since the storyboard phase, there shouldn’t be any major surprises during animation WIPs.  WIPs are also handed to the client with a series of notes, explaining what can be expected in future versions. It’s all about keeping our eyes wide open during production!

Animation: where the magic happens

6 - Sound Design for Animation

Sound, when given as much care as the visuals, will amplify the tone and compliment the animations. So once animation is approved and all our animation timing is locked, we move on to sound design. 

Sound should be approved in stages too - first Voice Over (at the storyboard stage) then music selection (at the Animatic or first WIP stage) and finally sound effects.

Customized music can elevate your piece to a higher level, but it does increase the budget of the project. However, a lot of good music libraries are available if your budget here is limited. 

After all the sound elements are in place, it's time to master the sound. This means mixing the audio levels of the VO, music and sound effects so that they are all balanced perfectly and work in harmony. 

7 - Going live

Congrats, you have a perfectly crafted video asset! But what now?

Strategy and promotion are the next steps to make sure you get the right eyeballs on your asset. This is normally provided by an agency. Here at CARTEL though, we offer consultancy on this for direct clients.

After all these stages are reviewed and approved it's time to set your video free! Going live with your video can be such an exciting moment - we always get butterflies in our stomach!

Conclusion:

A collaborative studio can be a massive benefit for clients to help them navigate the process of creating an animated video. They can offer a wide range of expertise that will result in a high quality asset without unnecessary costs.

Feeling more confident on how to do an animation video? We sure hope so!

About the author:

CARTEL is a motion design studio. A collection of bold creatives with diverse backgrounds that combine all the elements of design + animation under one name.

Feel we could be a good fit? Reach out to us at hello@wearecartel.co