How to Make a Motion Graphic – A Detailed Guide

Video marketing is a powerful means of attracting and engaging an audience. In fact, 92% of consumers are influenced to make their final purchase decision through online videos. This tells you that video content captures more attention than any other type of content.

However, how can you stand out in a sea of many other videos online?

The rise of digital motion graphics has allowed brands to create more outstanding and aesthetically pleasing video content where they can tell compelling stories and drive more traffic, engagement, and sales.

Although you’ll always find motion graphics in most TV advertising videos, they’re also becoming increasingly popular on social media as most marketing videos now use motion animation styles.

In this article, you will learn the importance of motion graphics to your brand and how to make your own motion graphics.

What Is a Motion Graphic?

Essentially, motion graphics can be defined as Graphics in Motion. Motion graphics animation is common in TV shows, movies, video Ads, and explainer videos.

The term “motion graphics” is often used interchangeably with Animation or animated graphics. However, they’re technically different. Motion graphics is a type of animation; you can consider it the marriage of graphic design and animation. Animation is a broader term describing graphics and characters in live-action videos. Unlike other forms of animation, motion graphics use graphics and type.

Motion graphics involve creating and moving in time and space using data visualization, kinetic text, and geometric shapes to tell a story or create intriguing content. You should note at this point that motion design isn’t the same as video editing.

How Do Motion Graphics Help Brands?

Visual content, especially videos, are effective means of advertisement and marketing as it combines audio and visuals, making it easier for the audience to process the message. Interestingly, making a motion graphics video is less costly than a live-action video.

For their affordability, motion graphics videos can generate higher ROI and complement other visual content to induce higher retention value and a captivating brand image.

Here are some quick facts:

• A marketing video can attract up to 300% more traffic and leads.
• A video on your landing page can boost conversions by 80%.
• Video-based social media posts generate 48% more views.
• Emails with video have a 300% higher click rate.

Beyond that, here are some of the ways motion graphics can help your business.

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1. Motion graphics make your content more engaging and comprehensible

Creating content that strikes your audience as unique is the best way to stand out in a digital world filled with white noise. Motion graphics can be the answer.

Since storytelling is essential for compelling content, infusing your stories in motion graphics can be a powerful way to outshine your competitors. Motion graphics offer elements such as stunning visuals, emotive music, and captivating voiceover that can be combined to create a striking and powerful piece of content.

Interestingly, if you’re an introvert, you don’t have to bother about putting yourself out there or professional actors, location, or equipment. You can simply animate any real life you want to see.

Furthermore, the human brain processes visual information faster than any other type of content. That’s why you understand things easier if you can see them. So, motion graphics are excellent for tutorials, process videos, data visualization, and abstract concepts.

For example, an expert breakdown will appear as the sane option if you’re a SaaS company offering a complex product that needs a technical explanation for your audience to get your selling point. However, a motion graphics video can be a better way. While a technical expert might be nerdy with words, motion graphics will water down the concepts into easily digestible bites and will be more interesting to watch since the audience can visualize themselves using the product.

2. It helps communicate a lot in a short amount of time

Usually, between 30 seconds to 3 minutes, motion graphics videos are concise and captivating. In a fast-paced digital environment like social media platforms, they can be incredibly helpful in communicating complex or detailed information in real time.

You can break down a long-form article into a simple 1-minute video and still make the desired impact. This makes motion graphics flexible and suitable for use in different situations – on a busy trade show floor, digital billboards, promo videos, culture marketing videos, TV ads, social videos, or as sales collateral.

3. Create and increase brand awareness

You can create a positive brand image through professional animated videos. Although most consumers are overwhelmed by content saturation on social media, they are still smart enough to distinguish between the pretenders and the authorities in the game. One of the ways people make distinctions is through the quality and value of visual content.

Professionally-designed motion graphics videos can help your audience recognize that you are someone to follow. Interestingly, they can easily spread the gospel once they get hooked on your content.

4. Motion graphics are efficient and cost-effective

As we’ve mentioned earlier, motion graphics help to break down complex content and present them in easily comprehensible bits. Through this process, you’re cutting expenses and time on other things like a crew, studio, shooting time, editing, and other processes involved in live-action video production.

Furthermore, you can create motion graphics based on animated texts, making it easy to see your messages rather than just read them with more concentrated effort, like in a live-action video with subtitles. So, even if a viewer chooses to watch your video on mute, they can easily understand and still find it engaging.

Now, let’s get into the steps to making motion graphics.

How to Create Motion Graphics

Step 1: Define your ideal audience

The first step to creating winning motion graphics is identifying your target audience. You want to know what your audience loves, how long they can stay watching a single video, what kind of device they use, what social platforms they use, and what an interesting video means to them.

You can assess your marketing data using analytics tools or create surveys for more focused results. These details will help you craft your message and material in a way that appeals to your target audience.

Step 2: Create realistic goals

Essentially, you would have taken the first with your team. However, if they weren’t there when you created your audience persona, it’s time to bring them on board.

You have to set goals for your motion graphics with everyone on your team. Why are you doing this? You want to make sure your goals are realistic and measurable.

Go through this process to nail your goals:

• Brainstorm ideas: Encircle the world with your imagination with everyone on your team. Collect ideas from everyone and everywhere on how best to appeal to your audience. Here, you’re not overthinking, you’re just letting things flow. Set a time for a brainstorming session, welcome new ideas dropped on the table, and write them down. Once you’ve used up the set time, go over the ideas again. Usually, most ideas you come up with won’t make the final cut. You want to narrow down the ideas to the one the whole team agrees on.
• Write a detailed creative brief: Once you’ve narrowed down the perfect idea, it’s time to create a strong creative brief. This helps to keep the team on the same page. It will contact pertinent information such as title, overview, purpose, target audience, central message, content length, style guide, timeline, tone, success metric, and references.
• Have a marketing and distribution plan: A detailed marketing and distribution plan comes in addition to your creative. This will include your campaign strategies and tactics, social media outreach, expectations, and budget.
• Get approval: Getting every hand on deck is important to save the project from derailing. At each stage of the design process, you need to ensure everyone gives the OK before moving to the next stage.

While brainstorming ideas, you should be aware that there are numerous styles of motion graphics that you can explore depending on your goals. Check out motion graphic trends for inspiration.

Step 3: Write a script

Part of your creative process is the script. Your script doesn’t have to be a detailed dialogue with a plot, twists, or actor cues. It can be a single paragraph of explanatory text that needs to be voiced. Essentially, the script provides creative direction to the team.

Often, the script will be included in the creative brief if you have the right hands to compose a compelling guide, explainer, or story. You can also leave out the full script and include only a direction.

When creating your script, consider the following:

• The audience
• The platform
• The purpose
• The message

These factors will help you choose the right length for your motion graphics video. While there is no ideal video length, you should consider the following guidelines:

• 0-30 seconds: Motion graphics of the length are always great for brand awareness. You can deliver messages quickly and efficiently with a video of this length. You can consider this for social media ads, welcome videos, sales presentations, and tradeshow presentations.
• 30 seconds – 2 minutes: Most motion graphics videos fall in this range because it is the optimal range for engagement. Videos of the length are perfect for explainer videos, product announcements, tutorials, product demos, and ads.
• 2 mins+: While some people might a 5-minute video less engaging, it is established that great storytelling can help you keep people glued to your content. This video length is great for behind-the-scenes, narrative storytelling, entertainment, docuseries, extended YouTube videos, and educational content.

Furthermore, while creating your script, you should consider parts of your content that’ll be communicated through the following:

• Onscreen text: Also known as kinetic text, your motion graphics can be text-only, or you can make parts of your motion graphics. Either way, texts are great options in situations where sound isn’t an option. Although texts can be great, you still need to accompany texts with graphics.
• Voiceover: A voiceover in on-screen animation is a great opportunity to capture your brand’s voice and create a strong brand identity. However, you should note that you don’t have to voice everything in your script. You will need visuals for things like data visualization.
• Visuals: Although not as common, text-only motion graphics videos can be a great idea in loud places.

Sometimes, these options can work as a standalone. But they’re much better when you combine them together.

Step 4: Create the storyboard

A storyboard is a visualization of your script. It is the stage where you combine all visual elements and the script. If you’re not a motion designer, here’s the time to find one. All Time Design has a team of professional motion designers.

Ideally, a storyboarding session begins with a brainstorming session with members of your design and production team. Usually, this will include creative directors, producers, video editors, art directors, producers, and animators.

At All Time Design, we have seasoned team members and an astute creative director to help oversee the project. The director speaks to you to understand your goals and needs, then guides the team to complete your project successfully.

Step 5: Take your storyboards into design

Style and color as essential parts of any visual project. They are just as important as the story itself. So, you must be conscientious when choosing the simplest design element- sketches, colors, and brand style.

Remember, you’re now closer to your final design. Once you have all the visual notes ready. You need to review them before finally animating.

Step 6: Animate your final design

Here’s where everything comes together. At this point, you should have gotten every team member’s approval for the final phase.

While animating, you should consider the following:

• Timing: The pace of your motion graphics is a crucial aspect of the video. You must keep the pace at an optimal level to engage your audience. A hurried animated video will make your message incomprehensible. Also, a slow video isn’t the best for keeping attention. The right pace creates excitement, keeps your audience engaged, and makes your message accessible.
• Music: Animators add music for flair in motion graphics. It induces a mood, enhances your story, and helps to set the tone. You have to ensure you choose the right music that enhances the tone and mood of your video. If not, you’re destroying the message.
• Sound effects: Similar to music creations, sound effects also help to build momentum in your video animation.

Every element you use in your motion graphics adds depth to your overall design. That means you must be intentional to get the best out of your final design.

Need to Make a Motion graphics video?

All Time Design is one of the best motion graphics makers in the industry. Our team of professional animators and creative writers can help you create compelling motion graphics videos that fit your business needs, capture your brand message clearly, and connect with your audience on a personal level.

Enjoy a 50% discount if you design your motion graphics with us today!

The interesting part? We do more than just motion graphics videos. We can handle all your design needs, from web banners to flyers, logo designs, brochures, magazine ads, and many more. We’ll create as many as possible designs for you within a month at a flat rate.

Sounds too good to be true? Learn more!

Let’s explore some fantastic tools to help you create motion graphics videos. We’ve included tools that can help both designers and non-designers.

Best Motion Graphics Software

If you have the design skills and experience, the following tools can come in handy when creating animated graphics and videos.

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is a household tool in the design world. Its use is so popular it has become a verb. When people want to imply that an image has been altered in some way, they say, “it has been Photoshopped.” For motion graphics creators, the tool is versatile too that can help to:

• Edit texture
• Create design boards
• Stitch images together
• Create matte paintings
• Create a GIF
• Layout Cel animations

Adobe Illustrator

Although similar to Photoshop, Illustrator functions differently. While Photoshop deals with pixel-based images, Illustrator deals with more mathematical vector images. You can use this software to design shapes, backgrounds, and logos that go into your motion graphics storyboard.

Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is the go-to software for creating animated videos. While other tools can help you create incredible designs After Effect is the primary software to create 2.5D animation. With this tool, you can string the storyboard together and animate it before sending it to video editing software.

You can use Adobe AE for:

• Logo Reveals
• Title Animation
• 3D Compositing
• Motion Tracking
• Object Removal
• Simulation Effects
• Template Creation
• Slideshow Design
• UX/UI Design Mockups
• Web Design Mockups
• Explainer Videos
• Kinetic Typography
• VFX

Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D is the go-to animation software for most Motion designers. It is very user-friendly and widely recognized as the most accessible motion graphics software. It can be used for modeling, animation, and simulation effects. Whether you’re working alone or in a team, Cinema 4D is the perfect tool to use for modeling and rendering your motion graphics.

Autodesk Maya

Maya is a professional animation tool for creating industry-standard visual effects (VFX), 3D animated design, modeling, simulation, and rendering. With Maya, you can create blockbuster motion graphics videos. This tool is popular among designers and animators that create animated and live-action footage, TV shows, and video games.

Blender

Blender is a free and open-source 2D and 3D graphics software for creating motion graphics, visual effects, art, interactive 3D, and many more. With this tool, you can achieve the following:

• Sound synchronization
• Character animation
• Video editing
• Motion Paths
• Sculpting
• Compositing
• Rendering

Mocha AE

This is another fantastic software for motion designers who are interested in performing screen replacements, object removals, or rotoscoping. You can also integrate this tool into After Effects to help track motion.

Moho

If you’re a fan of character animation, Moho can be your ideal tool. The possibilities are endless with its freehand drawing capabilities, bone-rigging systems, keyframing and brush tools, and vector animation tools.

Adobe Animate

In the hands of a motion graphics designer, Adobe Animate is a powerful tool to create incredible 2D stories.

With this motion graphics software, you can:

• Design interactive animations for games, TV shows, and the web
• Bring cartoons and banner ads to life
• Create animated doodles and avatars
• Add action to eLearning content and infographics.
• Perform lip-syncing

Motion Graphics video maker

Instead of starting your motion graphic video from scratch with any of the software mentioned above, you can save hours when you start animating with motion graphics video makers. These tools come with predesigned motion graphics templates that help you transform static designs into incredible motion graphics videos.

• Powtoon

With zero design skills, you can create stunning animated graphics with Powtoon. You’ll need to choose a template and then customize it with music, colors, fonts, icons, and characters to add a personal touch.

• Vista

Like Powtoon, Vista also quickly helps you make motion designs online. The possibilities are endless, with over 10,000 templated available to explore.

Envato

You’ll find thousands of digital footage and animations to help you create an illusion of movement and captivate your audience. If you’re looking for stock videos to add to your animation project, Envato is the place to be.

Motion Array

Like Envato, Motion Array is a go-to store for video creators. You’ll find tons of terrific stock media to help you create eye-catching videos there.

Premium Beat

This is where you’ll find royalty-free music tracks and sound effects to use in your own videos.

Conclusion

Video content is currently taking the lead as the best traffic generator. And now that you’ve seen how powerful motion graphics can be and how you can make one, you should increase your attention to video marketing.

You can enjoy a 50% discount if you design your motion graphics with us today!