How Colour Can Affect An Audience's Mood with Erika Florin
Erika believes that every brand has a story to tell. Using her skills as a graphic and motion designer, she plays a huge role in telling that story.
Graphic and motion design is a crucial part of brand marketing. If one was to think about some of the biggest brands globally, you wouldn’t picture names but rather their logos. The design of their stores, products, and the feeling of their advertising.
McDonald’s has the golden arches, Nike has a tick and Apple has, well, an apple. Each incredibly simple in their design by nature, and yet they tell the story of the brand perfectly.
The arches can be seen as a beacon in the back of a car by a child on a family road trip. The Nike tick is motivating, and encouraging to get up and move. The apple is slim, sleek and minimalistic showcasing the easy to use and yet groundbreaking technology that Apple sells.
Erika has been a graphic and motion designer for 15 years and during her time she has worked on countless brands. Today, she finds herself as a motion designer at Producible.
LBB’s Casey Martin spoke with Erika about how she fosters her creativity, and that time she worked on the Masked Singer.
LBB> When did you first start taking an interest in design? When did that become a specialism in motion design?
Erika> I developed an interest in design during high school, where I took a Multimedia course and spent most of my spare time using Photoshop and experimenting with HTML. Although I pursued a fitness course after school, I consistently found myself drawn back to design. This led me to enroll in a visual communication degree at university, where I discovered motion design. Since then, my passion for it has only grown.
LBB> How do you hone and foster your creativity?
Erika> I foster my creativity by taking breaks from client work to create personal projects and explore different mediums. This includes drawing, coming up with my own personal projects on Adobe, or taking photos with my camera. I also spend a lot of time relaxing outdoors and going camping. Being in nature and away from screens significantly boosts my creativity.
LBB> What are some ways in which you find motion's effect on the human psyche interesting?
Erika> I find that bringing an emotional connection to a viewer’s mind is quite interesting when it comes to motion designing. The fact that a viewer can get so immersed in all the animation if done right. Whether that be setting the pace from a calm visual to a sense of urgency, to all the use of colours to create a sense of mood in a viewer’s mind. This and the combination of storytelling power you really can create such a profound and lasting connection with your targeted audience.
Tailoring the mood and colour scheme to match diverse target audiences and subjects is essential to designing. For the Sleep Ninja app animation which we collaborated with Black Dog Institute targeted young teens. We opted for a less cartoonish approach, incorporating characters and designs that resonated with their age group. This involved crafting multiple characters who grapple with sleep issues, finding it challenging to focus on their daily tasks across various scenarios. This strategy aims to captivate their interest in the storyline effectively, in hopes that this will draw them to the phone app.
LBB> How does the psychology of motion influence the way you design it?
Erika> The way that psychology of motion influences my work is that it ensures that I am being very intentional with what I do. From crafting movement dynamics, to selecting colours to set the tone and mood, to strategically setting the hierarchy in what is communicated to the viewer. I feel that these are pivotal in setting the desired tone and effectively conveying information.
As an example, our team frequently collaborates on Harvey Norman advertisements, which adhere to strictly 15 and 30 second formats. Ensuring effective communication is clear within these time frames and there isn’t too much excessive information that will overwhelm our audience. Each element, including graphics and motion design is meticulously crafted to promptly and clearly draw their attention. Such as strategically animating key messages such as prices being highlighted on audio cues and a clear visual of all the showcased products.
LBB> What is a secret about the industry that not many people know?
Erika> I think the amount of experimentation and iteration that goes into creating animation or visual sequences is not well known to many people. Behind a polished product there are countless hours of trial and error, exploration of different techniques and fine-tuning to achieve the desired result.
Having worked on The Masked Singer required extensive interpretation of the brief, prompting me to explore various design angles to effectively address its complexities. I invested significant time in experimentation on what worked and what did not. Given the ample spatial context on the large stage and flooring, every animation and graphic element demanded thoughtful consideration given the space available.
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?
Erika> I believe the next step for motion design involves the increasing relevance and integration of AI in our creative workflows. Rather than replacing human creativity, AI acts as a collaborative and supportive tool. It provides us with more resources to enhance efficiency and helps us explore new ideas and expand our creativity.
The introduction of new AI tools in Photoshop, like Generative Fill, streamlines our workflow by facilitating image manipulation and creation. This capability aids in visualising designs effortlessly and sparks creativity with fresh ideas which in turn ignites creativity and contributes to more of a streamlined workflow.
LBB> What advice would you give yourself if you could travel back in time?
Erika> The advice I would give myself is to keep learning and growing. In an ever-changing world where technology constantly evolves, it's more important than ever to stay up to date, embrace new challenges, and explore new possibilities.
