The applications of motion design

1. Introducing a film

Unsurprisingly, film credits are the very first real application of motion design: involving the viewer right from the start of the film in an atmosphere, a story, with emotions, colors and text.

I personally have a soft spot for the credits of the film "Les désastreuses aventures des orphelins baudelaire", which, contrary to what one might imagine, was entirely filmed.

2. Dressing up the TV

TV station logo animations during commercial breaks are great examples of motion design.

But packaging doesn't stop at simply animating logos, as can be seen in this production by Julien Martorell for a Canal + program.

3. Tell short stories

There's a fine line between a short film and a motion design, but the former aims to evoke emotions, the latter to communicate (with the help of the emotions provoked).

This film, made by the Buck studio to raise its profile, used the emotional power of animation to promote the online bookseller Good Books. It's the best example of animation at the service of motion design.

Did it serve the bookseller's interests? One wonders, given that the site doesn't seem to exist any more, but in any case, it still delights the eyes of motion designers the world over.

4. Bringing buttons to life

Few people realize it, but virtually all interfaces are now animated. In fact, operating system designers have all updated their design guidelines to include animation: Google with Material, Microsoft with Fluent, Apple with Human Interface Guidelines. These are animations that serve the needs of users and are not intended to impress.

On the other hand, on the Internet, since the much-missed era of Flash (sigh), animation has expressed itself with complete freedom. To get an idea of the possibilities (impressive, by the way), check out Awwwards or The FWA.

5. Animating interfaces in video games and films

Animating interfaces in real life and in the movies are not the same thing. In the movies, they're all smarter, faster, prettier, better... So they manage to use interfaces that would be totally unusable in real life.

From Blade Runner in 1982, with the Esper, to Minority Report in 2002, with its interactive gloves, then Iron Man in 2008, inventor of the term HUD(Heads-Up Display), or Oblivion in 2013, the trend is towards interface complication. And I'm not talking about video games, which are having a field day.

So you see, we're a long way from Google Material...

6. Animating for augmented reality (AR)

There's still a lot to be done to enhance your reality, but you can still have fun by animating Instagram filters or putting up a virtual theater in your living room.

We're waiting to see what Iron Man's helmet can do in real life...

7. Animating in virtual reality (VR)

When you take modeling clay and animate it by changing its shape, you get films like Wallace and Grommit, from Aardman Studios.

Well, now you can do much the same thing, but with a virtual reality headset, sculpting with a joystick, as in Zeyu Ren's short film, Wired.

8. Live (video mapping, VJ, live TV)

Today, videos can be projected on opera stages, as in Sydney, at parties, with VJing or even on show stages.

Live TV requires not only a very special technique, but also a good preparation to be sufficiently reactive.

9. Billboards and social networks

Of course, all clips under 60 seconds in length end up on social networks or billboards. Pure motion design that can be produced by a single person.

And on instagram, there are plenty of talented artists too. Yes, motion design artists."Art is Work", as Milton Glaser, the most famous of graphic designers, wrote.

10. Crypto-Art

Which brings us to the final point, crypto-Art, the virtual art linked to crypto-currency.

This imaginary gold rush looks like an El Dorado, but it probably won't be any more so than art galleries. Although video art is easier to sell on the Internet than in real life!

The real art here is that of marketing and communication, the art that will sell your work! In my opinion, that's what every artist should master.

And the reason I'm talking about this in an article that's supposed to be about motion design is that the biggest crypto-art sale to date was conducted by... a motion designer at Christie's!

Conclusion

Video is everywhere, and will be even more so in the future with holograms, real-time 3D rendering for films, and perhaps it will be completely automated thanks to artificial intelligence, and eventually standardized.