DECEMBER 2013 MOTION DESIGN GOOGLE
SPECIAL REPORT DECEMBER 2013 From 2007 to the present day, dozens bring you happiness: It will make you sexy. Exactly how will this product make me sexy? – and now thousands – of so-called ‘explainer It will make you strong. It will make you rich. How will it bring me happiness? Answering videos’ started popping up online. Many With only 30 seconds of airtime or a slice those questions takes more time than a of these, like Jarvis’ work, were aimed at of a magazine spread, broadcast advertising television spot can allow. Thankfully, on informing the public and benefiting the has no time to waste. It must create a problem the web, there are no time limits. A spot greater good. But a growing number yearned by dramatising some (often imaginary) can be as long as needed, provided it holds for a different goal: to sell stuff. Companies inadequacy in you, the consumer, and ‘solve’ the viewer’s attention. with names like Demo Duck, Explanify and it with a product, service or brand. Planet Nutshell sprang up to help companies Consumers today are still very much INFORMATION VERSUS ENTERTAINMENT launch products and services using the susceptible to this approach. It remains the “I remember a project briefing at Google language of motion design. dominant form of advertising. But, much to Creative Lab, where one of the art directors Asked if explainer video production the consternation of advertisers, the internet drew a Cartesian diagram with ‘Information’ is still a growth market today, Demo Duck’s has inserted itself between advertisement on the X-axis and ‘Entertainment’ on the Founder and CEO Andrew Follett said, and purchase. The web, with its vast trove Y-axis,” explains Orion Tait, executive “Absolutely. And that’s not just a feeling, of product reviews, social media updates creative director at animation studio Buck. it’s from the increased demand we’ve seen and shopping tools, has encouraged people “He then plotted a point in the from all different industries looking for to pause for an instant before hitting the upper-right quadrant to help explain where marketing videos.” ‘buy’ button or approaching the register. on the scale that particular project fell. Television, print and radio ads have In short, the web makes it possible For example, the piece we made for ‘Google almost always focused on why a product will to ask one simple but pointed question: How? Offers’ would be higher in entertainment COMPUTERARTS
DECEMBER 2013 MOTION DESIGN THE
SPECIAL REPORT DECEMBER 2013 than information, whereas ‘Google eBooks’ “The distilled visuals serve as anchors vaguely formulaic. The reason for these visual is more didactic.” that take the heavy descriptive lifting off commonalities, though, might be attributable In a video created for the launch the narration’s shoulders, freeing it up to to something more than just the mindless of Google eBooks, Buck exploited motion focus on the big picture,” says Jarvis, who is echoing of the latest trends. Over the past design’s ability to tell stories across media. coincindentally now a designer at Google. several years, simplicity of visuals has been Handcrafted stop-action commingles “The narration describes some of the less persistent in explainer videos, suggesting that with slick CG animation as the narrator tangible concepts that are difcult to visualise there might be some deeper justification. explains the key value points of Google’s and prevents the visuals from having One concept from the field of eBooks platform. Each vignette in the video to illustrate absolutely everything.” multimedia learning might explain why. revolves around a visual metaphor inspired Current trends in the world of Cognitive Load Theory is the idea that by the voice-over script. The result is explainer videos include the use of iconic every learner can process only a limited a deepening – both on an emotional and imagery, bold palettes and fluid 2D animation amount of information over a given period intellectual level – of the video’s message. to create seamless transitions between of time. There’s a sweet spot of visual and This freedom to explore the possibilities visuals. Certain tropes – circular animation auditory information that doesn’t overload in the space between the voice-over and motifs, grey or off-white backgrounds, or ‘underload’ the learner’s capacity to process visuals is one of motion design’s most UI-inspired graphical elements – surface and store new ideas. In motion design, appealing strengths. so often that the entire genre starts to feel stripping back the visuals to their simplest COMPUTERARTS
DECEMBER 2013 MOTION DESIGN ERICSSON
SPECIAL REPORT DECEMBER 2013 In addition to helping to raise funding, solve design problems but also as an internal Society’ – a new vision not just for Ericsson explainer videos for non-existent products pitch tool. “You can spend an hour in After but for the entire ecosystem of consumer can raise opinions of a brand. Design firm Effects and get a good set of screens to take technologies connected to Ericsson: from Ideo sought to examine the experience of you through a product,” explains senior online gaming to mobile filmmaking. reading by introducing imagined products designer Umyot Boonmarlart. “That doesn’t He couldn’t just present facts, he in a motion design-laden video entitled just help you envision what’s going to happen needed to inspire his audience. So, for the The Future of the Book. In the video, three in the product, it’s also a pitch. It creates a lot centrepiece of his talk, Ericsson turned to concepts for reading apps are introduced, of impact in a short period of time.” brand agency Jack Morton Worldwide and each with a different spin on the activity of Dutch motion design studio Onesize. reading. While the film does an excellent job FROM BRAND DNA TO MOTION Together, they crafted a tour de force of of explaining each notion, there’s a secondary Sometimes, companies need to do more than motion design. In three minutes, the video benefit – by presenting thoughtful, forward- simply launch a new product. Sometimes, retells the history of Ericsson, recasts the looking concepts for something so universal they need to relaunch themselves. When present state of mobile technology and hints as reading, the video paints a portrait of Ideo Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg took to the at a revolution just over the horizon. as a thoughtful, forward-looking company. stage to deliver his first keynote address at Unlike the relatively Spartan explainer Motion design is also often the fastest, the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, he had videos, this type of motion design takes cheapest way to test a product’s viability. At no small task before him. In 60 minutes, he a maximalist approach. Here, narrative and Frog Design, motion is used not only to help had to explain what he called ‘The Networked visual spectacle are the primary vehicles of COMPUTERARTS
DECEMBER 2013 MOTION DESIGN G-STAR
SPECIAL REPORT DECEMBER 2013 Q&A: ORION TAIT Production company Buck’s creative director shares his view on Buck
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DECEMBER 2013 NA KIM ART AND SEOUL A new creative energy is crackling across the South Korean capital. It’s catching the world’s attention, and has attracted rising star Na Kim back to her homeland – but will it keep her? NA
DECEMBER 2013 NA KIM “MORE
IN CONVERSATION DECEMBER 2013 Before moving into graphic design, Kim started out in product design. She believes that her creative background helps her to think about printed materials from a different perspective MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE SEPARATING one-theme-one-issue structure, and Every issue has one theme WORK FROM LIFE this makes it very effective for me to that contributors can represent in work independently as a designer and their own way. It’s like curating a Exciting new creative projects might concept-provider. 16-page exhibition on the recto and get you out of bed in the morning, A very small group of people verso. In the latest issue, around 13 but sometimes you just need to switch is involved in making the magazine, people were invited to describe their off – as Na Kim knows only too well so most of the decisions are open collaborative processes. The exact to all of us. This means that I can amount of contributors I’ve invited How
DECEMBER 2013 NA KIM For
DECEMBER 2013 IN-HOUSE INSPIRATION GET AHEAD IN-HOUSE Working
INDUSTRY ISSUES DECEMBER 2013 no
DECEMBER 2013 IN-HOUSE INSPIRATION self-motivated
INDUSTRY ISSUES DECEMBER 2013 guidelines
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DECEMBER 2013 L2M3 KOMMUNIKATIONSDESIGN PROJECT FOCUS RUHR MUSEUM A museum wayfinding project required
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DECEMBER 2013 L2M3 KOMMUNIKATIONSDESIGN PROJECT FOCUS MUNCHNER TECHNOLOGIE ZENTRUM Inspired
DECEMBER 2013 L2M3 KOMMUNIKATIONSDESIGN PROJECT FOCUS STAATLICHE MODESCHULE STUTTGART The identity for a fashion school hinged on a flexible typeface that is reminiscent of fabric During the summer
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DECEMBER 2013 INTRO PROJECTS Computer Arts goes behind the scenes with world-leading designers as they reveal their working processes… EXCLUSIVE VIDEO! Get great access to top studios with The Designer Series Page 10 FAMILY-FRIENDLY TECH HUDL TABLET BRANDING: The launch of Tesco’s Hudl family tablet into an expensive and intimidating market required some smart thinking from SomeOne 84 DOUBLE B BRANDING: MOVING MOUNTAINS AÏZONE AD CAMPAIGN: FACING UP TO FASHION How two Russian illustrators teamed up to brand a new tea Sagmeister & Walsh takes body art and coffee company 91 to a whole new level, painting flat designs onto models’ faces 94 COMPUTERARTS
PROJECTS DECEMBER 2013 PROJECT FACTFILE HUDL TABLET BRANDING: BRIEF SomeOne
DECEMBER 2013 DIARY˚1: SOMEONE PROJECT AT A GLANCE GaryHoltoutlineshowSomeOnetookTesco’stabletfromresearchtolaunch 1 Learning the market 2 Forming a strategy 3 The naming process Tablet
PROJECTS DECEMBER 2013 LAURA
DECEMBER 2013 DIARY˚1: SOMEONE KARL
PROJECTS DECEMBER 2013 TOFFEE
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DECEMBER 2013 DIARY˚2: ILLARION GORDON & MAXIM GOUDIN PROJECT FACTFILE DOUBLE B BRANDING: BRIEF Double
PROJECTS DECEMBER 2013 MAXIM
DECEMBER 2013 DIARY˚2: ILLARION GORDON & MAXIM GOUDIN HOW I WORK MAXIM
PROJECTS DECEMBER 2013 AÏZONE AD CAMPAIGN: FACING UP TO FASHION Sagmeister & Walsh’s advertising campaigns for luxury brand Aïzone have explored body art before, but painting letters that look totally flat on a face was a new challenge PROJECT FACTFILE BRIEF The
DECEMBER 2013 DIARY˚3: SAGMEISTER & WALSH JESSICA
PROJECTS DECEMBER 2013 HENRY
NEXT MONTH the new breed of illustrator INDUSTRY ISSUES Make more of your downtime with rewarding personal projects and new sources of inspiration STUDIO LIFE Why Montreal set design master Julien Vallée joined forces with Eve Duhamel to form a new studio Plus: inspiring work, current issues and expert analysis from the global design scene ON SALE 12 DEC COMPUTERARTS
CREATIVE INSPIRATIONS DECEMBER 2013 Jenifer Bulcock When designing a travel-inspired infographic, this graphic designer set about creating a colourful ‘earth sandwich’ esigner
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