Is Motion the Key to Not Being Ignored?

In the crowded media landscape, capturing viewers' attention is invaluable but increasingly challenging. How can one stand out amidst the endless sea of images and text? Savvy social media users, event attendees, and website visitors often disregard static content. This has driven creatives to seek better tools for drawing attention to their messaging.

Animation and motion graphics have become essential components for effective communication across all media. Sophisticated marketing and communications professionals use them to break through static content and boost engagement across everything from signage to social media.

Given enough time, animation offers limitless potential as a storytelling device. When quick attention is needed, animation makes a splash like a tidal wave. Motion captures viewers' attention in a fraction of a second, allowing you to showcase creativity, humor, compelling narratives, or even show-stopping abstract and emotive motion.

The accessibility of motion has been enhanced by technology. Traditional animation, keyframe 2D, 3D, stop motion, and more have made studio-quality animation capabilities available to anyone with an imagination. There are even AI applications that can deliver motion options. In the past two years, I have created animations and motion graphics for signage, kiosks, websites, social media, pre-roll, TV, trade show displays, and even augmented reality experiences.

For those who remember early websites, quality animation without extended download times was once impossible. Now, with adequate bandwidth and efficient formats for video and motion through CSS, HTML5, and JavaScript, even the simplest web presence can incorporate motion.

With screens everywhere, environmental design for events like commercial spaces or trade shows has become a significant stage for motion graphics. At trade shows, competing with massive booths, celebrity appearances, and the budgets of the largest players can be challenging. However, I have found that featuring motion graphics in booths, common areas, and specialty zones is very effective in capturing the attention of show-goers and is crucial for filling the sales funnel. Video signs, video spheres, and other dynamic displays within the booth can successfully compete with even the largest spectacles.

On social media, advertising strategies often focus on volume: throwing as much content as possible against the wall to see what sticks. Perhaps more budget should be spent on higher-quality ads. Motion graphics can make your message stand out, even if it's only for a second. In pre-roll ads, the general rule is that you have five seconds before viewers can, and most likely will, click the skip button. A compelling visual can quickly convey complex ideas, increasing the chances of your ad being watched and your call to action (CTA) followed.

Animation is being used in ways that previously seemed impractical. The proof of this change is that I am increasingly being asked to develop motion graphics for environmental design, PowerPoint presentations, online scrolling animations, and augmented reality. Motion has become one of the most sought-after and key tools in my toolkit.