A World in Motion for Brands
As motion design director at Mother Design, Iain Acton is fascinated by how humans perceive moving objects. His designs have always incorporated animation and interactivity, ever since he was a teenager, and he’s intimately acquainted with how more engaged people are with his moving design.
In the intervening years, he’s worked on a wide array of projects from broadcast (BBC, Fox Sports, Eurosport), to streaming (Hulu, All4, Pluto TV) and technology (Headspace, Facebook, IBM). Most recently, he built the motion for the global Jägermeister rebrand, which mimicked the way that the bottle refracts and reflects light.
LBB’s Alex Reeves chats with Iain to explore the philosophy behind his passion and the work that comes from it.
LBB> When did you first start taking an interest in design? And when did that specifically become a specialism in motion design?
Iain> I spent my teenage years using Adobe Flash, creating animations and interactive games, learning programming languages, and making websites. I wasn’t sure what to study at university, but knew I loved animation and problem solving. Luckily, there was a course just for that! It was called ‘Visual Effects and Motion Graphics’. One of the modules on this course was ‘Design in Context’, which introduced me to the history of graphic design and deepened my understanding of design's role in branding.
After graduating, I was offered an internship at BUCK in LA and spent a year sharpening my animation skills before freelancing for several years – working with companies like IBM and Headspace. But it wasn’t until I took a full-time position at DixonBaxi that I truly grasped the power of how motion design can be used as a key expression of a brand.
LBB> What are some ways in which you find motion's effect on the human psyche interesting?
Iain> The fact that the brain can look at a sequence of images, see movement, and be influenced on an emotional level is incredible. This visual continuity – where our brains fill in information – can be used to our advantage when animating in several different ways, and has the power to alter our perceptions and understanding of what we’re looking at. Motion is time-based, holds our attention for much longer, and is often more memorable than static visuals as it can help reinforce key messages and concepts, aiding in information retention.
LBB> How does the psychology of motion influence the way you design it?
Iain> We all have an innate understanding of motion. Even if it’s something that isn’t always immediately noticeable to us, we definitely feel it. We know how things in our world are meant to move, and the success of how a brand is brought to life through motion is dependent on this. If you’re designing for a kids brand, you would want the personality to feel fun and playful, so it would make sense to animate in a way that is light, super bouncy and full of character. However, this wouldn’t work for something like a bank that wants to communicate how secure and trusted they are to its audience. Instead, we would use heavier, slower, and more controlled movements.
LBB> What are some practical tips on how to do this?
Iain> For a long time in brand design, motion was often an afterthought, reserved for animating logos to go at the end of TVCs. However, in today's world, brands predominantly interact with their target audiences digitally. Through screens of all sizes; from phones to digital OOH applications, experiential art spaces, and in the near future, virtual worlds. With the amount of video content needing to be created across these touchpoints, it’s vital that the application of motion design is consistent. We’re naturally attuned to recognise patterns, and for a brand to earn trust and loyalty, it must feel familiar.
To successfully create this consistency, we design motion systems with a set of principles and unique behaviours that are meaningful and closely tied to the brand strategy. We then build a toolkit of assets for the brand to use. I think the most important tip would be to keep it simple. Motion should enrich the brand experience by adding value without becoming distracting or overwhelming to the viewer. Not everything needs to be animated. With this in mind, it’s also important to create a few best-in-class examples for the brand, so they can understand how to balance the number of assets per video and how to sequence the delivery information for the viewer to easily understand.
LBB> How did you apply this thought to the motion for the global Jägermeister rebrand? What were the most important decisions there?
Iain> For the Jägermeister project, motion was used to enhance the most important parts of the identity: the frame, pattern, and texture. We brought these to life in a way that complemented the overall design without distracting from the content. We introduced motion early in the project to explore its potential role in the overall system. However, as the identity took shape and proved to be visually bold enough, we opted to keep the motion simple and focused. The most important aspect of our motion language was the subtle, yet deliberate, movement of the texture. While it would have been easy to use a noise generator to animate the line thickness, we aimed to create a bespoke fluid, swirling effect reminiscent of the drink's mixing process.
LBB> What's next for motion design with the rise of new technologies? And how do you hope to use these to build more meaningful experiences?
Iain> Motion is still, for the most part, delivered as a video file, or as guidelines and toolkits. But with real-time rendering, we can create more complex motion systems that are adaptable, flexible, and personalised. Our attention spans are constantly getting shorter, so it's essential for brands to invent new and engaging ways to connect with their audience. Hopefully, we’ll see more interactive motion design as a way to increase the time consumers spend with a brand and forge deeper, more enjoyable relationships with them. I’m also looking forward to seeing how the field of spatial design develops, and how motion design will live in that space.
