Motion Design Animation Basics

I started my career as a designer. Sometimes, it was frustrating when a client kept changing directions. Or adding one change after another. I know that feeling wasn't one-sided. It affected us both. The pressure is real when you're responsible for deliverables. It's tough to recognise the challenges others face. It's rarely just one party's fault—it's a shared issue. At the core, it's about communication. Here’s how we solve it now: - Define the scope clearly - Conduct a kick-off meeting for alignment - Establish communication channels and frequency - Educate clients about the process and expectations - Focus on desired outcomes and goals, not just tasks - Use project management tools for effective planning - Involve clients at every step for their insights - Communicate often and seek feedback early - Use prototyping tools to facilitate collaboration - Set limits on revisions and changes upfront - Clarify the effort needed for extra requests Ultimately, design is neither for the designer nor the client. It's crafted for the audience. It must resonate deeply, driving the audience's actions and fulfilling strategic marketing objectives. Designers, have you been in a tough situation recently? Would love to hear some stories. 🔁 Repost this to support designers.

I don’t have to win the trust of my clients! That is not because I have lakhs of followers on my socials!  Honestly, even with 10-20k followers, clients used to trust me. Most designers struggle with constant revisions, endless feedback and clients who doubt their every design. At first, I was there too. The breaking point came during a brand identity project where the client had me create 15 different versions! That night, I rewrote my entire client process from the ground up. I understood their emotions and concerns at first because I knew that if I had to find a solution, I would have to understand the problem at its root cause. I understood that most clients fear the unknown. So, I started to present my creative process as a structured procedure with clear expectations to build trust. → I started explaining everything behind my decision-making. "I chose this typography because it communicates stability while maintaining approachability for brand building. Here's how it compares to your competitors..." → I established a concrete feedback framework. Instead of asking, "What do you think?" I asked, "Does this align with your core brand attribute of innovation?" & "On a scale of 1-10, how well does this communicate trustworthiness?" Today our service agreement clearly outlines the number of concept presentations and revision rounds. It is important to protect the integrity of the work. Trust is earned through confident expertise, transparent processes and consistent results, not with the number of followers you have. So, understand your clients because if you address their concerns and genuinely solve their problems, they will give you outstanding referrals. What do you focus on the most to improve client experience? #graphicdesigner

I haven't seen anyone talk about this. But the No.1 reason I have seen legal issues happen... It is because of a simple fact. Miscommunication. That's it. That's all there it is. -> Miscommunication leads to misunderstandings. -> Misunderstandings lead to disputes. -> Disputes lead to legal issues. I read a lot of case laws on the commercial/contract side. And they could all have been easily avoided had the parties communicated properly. Now you might be wondering, why does this happen? Couple of reasons: • Assumptions are made. One party assumes the other knows what they mean. But the other party might have a different interpretation. • Expectations aren't clear. One party expects certain features or services. But if it's not documented, it's just an expectation, not an agreement. • Deliverables aren't defined. What exactly is being delivered? Are the deliverables defined in detail? • Deadlines aren't realistic. Are the timelines realistic? What happens if deadlines aren't met? Now lucky for you, if you want to avoid this. There are a couple of steps I recommend. I normally share this with my clients. 1) Clearly define the scope of the project. Outline what is included and what is not. Example: "The website will include a homepage, about page, contact page, and blog section. E-commerce functionality is not included." 2) Specify each deliverable. Provide details for each one. Example: "The homepage will feature a hero image, a brief introduction, and links to the about and contact pages." 3) Set realistic deadlines. Include buffer time for revisions. Example: "The homepage design will be delivered by August 1st. The about and contact pages will follow by August 10th. The blog section will be completed by August 15th." 4) Be clear on how and when you'll communicate. Regular updates and check-ins. Example: "Weekly status calls every Monday at 10 AM. Daily progress updates via Slack." 5) Be clear about payment schedules. Include milestones and due dates. Example: "50% upfront, 25% upon delivery of the homepage, 25% upon final approval." 6) Define how changes will be handled. Include a process for approving and documenting changes. Example: "Any changes to the project scope must be submitted in writing and approved by both parties. Additional charges may apply." Once you start doing this, you remove a lot of "assumptions" from the contract. Point is - don't leave anything to chance. Because miscommunication can kill a project. I have seen it happen. Tldr: -> Assumptions can cost you. -> Clarity can save you. -> Document everything. That's all -- ✍️ Have you ever lost a project because of miscommunication? 📌 Web Agencies, if you need a good contract that properly communicates your offerings, then DM me the word "CONTRACT" and let's talk #Startups #Founders #Contract #Law #Business #website

💡How to design animated transitions Transition animations are key in product design because they guide users from one state to another. Meaningful transitions  ✔ Add animations only if they add meaning to interactions. Any movement, scaling, or motion in your product inherently suggests a direction. ✔ Animations should not distract from important tasks or information. Duration and speed of transition   ✔ Duration of the animation should be slow enough to give users the possibility to notice the change, but at the same time, quick enough not to cause waiting. ✔ Optimal speed for interface animation is between 100 and 500 ms. Transitions that are too slow (>500ms) can bore users, while overly fast transitions (<100ms) will be perceived as instantaneous and won’t be recognized at all. ✔ Duration of transition differs depending on the size of the object and distance. ✔ On mobile devices, Material Design suggests limiting the duration of animation to 200–300 ms.  ✔ For tablets, the duration should be longer by 30% — around 400–450 ms. The size of the screen is bigger, so objects travel longer distances when they change position. Easing curves  ✔ Easing helps to make the movement of the object more natural. For the animation not to look mechanical and artificial, the object should move with acceleration or deceleration. ✔ Ease-in makes animations start slowly and then accelerate towards the end, creating a sensation of gradually picking up speed. This curve should be used when the objects fly out of the screen at full speed. ✔ Ease-out starts animations at a quicker pace and slows down at the end, mimicking the natural deceleration of physical objects. This type of curve should be used when the element emerges on the screen. ✔ Ease-in-out is great for creating realistic movements. This curve makes the objects gain speed at the beginning and then slowly drop back to zero. Choreography ✔ When transitioning multiple elements, rank them by importance to help users focus on key interactions. Instead of transitioning all at once, sequence them by priority. ✔ Group similar items together, then rank these groups. Irrelevant groups can be hidden during the transition to maintain focus on crucial groups. Accessibility ✔ Provide an option to reduce motion effects for users sensitive to motion. ✔ Reduced motion doesn’t not mean mean no motion at all. ✔ Optimize animation for devices with a low refresh rate. 📖 Guides: ✔ The guide to proper use of animation in UI (by Taras Skytskyi)  https://lnkd.in/d4y4b7ds ✔ Transition animations: a practical guide (by Dongkyu Lee)  https://lnkd.in/diYNSFAR ✔ UX Motion + effective duration calculator (by Brainly) https://lnkd.in/eVH8dehQ ✔ Reduced motion for accessibility (by Eric Bailey)  https://lnkd.in/eH3y_Wnb #ui #animations

Feeling stuck as a motion designer? I have a study routine that helps me when I feel the same way. First of all, I find a good reference video, download it, and bring it into After Effects – that way, I can manipulate the video to understand it better and export some chunks of it if they are helpful as references. Then, I analyze these aspects: -Exposure, arcs, easing, and animation principles Everyone has a style, not only for illustration but for animation as well. We tend to use the same easing on our keyframes, the same exposure, timing, etc. The idea here is to observe how other motion designers use these animation elements in their art and try to incorporate them into our work to make it more flexible. -Types of movements The same concept applies to overall movements. I used to be attached to simple 2D movements, but I pushed myself to explore 3D environments, complex movements, and crazy effects in After Effects because I’ve noticed many artists doing these. Everyone starts with simple movements, but we should aim high and become bolder with our artwork, and that journey start with watching other people doing it. -Tools and techniques It's not just about wanting to improve; you must overcome technical barriers. How can I achieve this kind of movement? This requires studying tools and reverse engineering videos. In my case, I studied Blender, geometry nodes, After Effects expressions, etc. Often, reference videos don't have a WIP showing how they were made, so you have to figure it out on your own. But don't worry – you don't need to replicate exactly how the original artist did it; you just need to find your own way using logical thinking and hard work. Once you've done that, you'll own that movement and be able to incorporate it into your body of work. -Styleframes A video may have a cool aesthetic, but it didn't come out of nowhere. It’s usually a mix of various references put into the project's context. If you absorb enough references, you'll start recognizing this in every video and gain the confidence to follow the same workflow for your projects. Once you reach this level, you'll become a valuable artist. -Storyboard How does each composition reinforce the message – or not? You can’t just assume everything in your video is great. Sometimes, a circular composition might better convey the message than the trendy one used in the video. On the other hand, you might realize how genius it was to use a particular composition for a given message. You should develop a critical sense, because this will be the one you’re gonna use when creating your own storyboards. Remember, the point here is to closely examine HOW TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY FROM WHAT YOU’RE USED TO. Open your mind to new ways of doing things and try to incorporate them into your workflow. #motiondesign #studyroutine

Imitation, or simulation? I've been continuing to experiment with the concept of in-model practical effects, where visual effects aren’t just added in post but are generated alongside the main video—and can even interact with the subjects in it. Using a little prompt voodoo, these effects are moving closer to the characteristics traditional CGI, incorporating physics-based motion, object interactions, dynamic lighting, and camera positioning. Here are a few tricks to try in your video model of choice: 1. Prompt Traveling (for models that support it): Break your prompts into time-coded sections to choreograph actions or transitions across the video. Example: 00:00 Main Prompt - Defines the overall scene, character, lighting, and action. 00:03 Second Prompt - Activates at 3 seconds, transitioning the scene or repositioning elements and actions. 2. Action Words: Precision in language is key for dynamic outputs with video models. Words like "emitter" or "chain-reaction" carry weight, driving effects with a sense of physics. Descriptors like "flow" or "fluidity" applied to objects create fabric- or fluid-inspired dynamics. The possibilities here are endless—AI-generated effects that seamlessly blend interactivity and realism are going to open new avenues in the production processes. Excited to see how far this goes as the models continue to improve.

I recently spent time analysing text animation (links in Read More). This time, the goal wasn't flashy effects, but creating something simple, effective, and versatile—animations that seamlessly fit any style or genre. The key? Timing and movement that keeps text readable while emphasizing key words with subtle gradient shifts or individual animations. To make this workflow efficient, I built a custom preset/rig that lets me isolate and animate any word within a sentence with just a click. It keeps the creative control high while staying quick and easy. Check out the full tutorial here for all the details: https://lnkd.in/dmAbCqjj And here's a link to the preset should you like to try it out: https://lnkd.in/dCcpfrrE

## Unlock Seamless Client-Designer Collaboration! 🔥 Granting your clients access to Figma can revolutionize your design workflow by fostering collaboration and transparency. Clients can interact with the design in real-time, providing immediate feedback and enabling quick adjustments. 🛠️ This accelerates the iteration process and ensures the final product aligns perfectly with the client's vision. 🎨 ### Benefits: **Real-Time Feedback:** Clients can instantly share their thoughts, speeding up the iteration process. 💬 **Enhanced Transparency:** Clients can monitor progress and understand the rationale behind design decisions. 👀 **Improved Communication:** Direct comments on the design minimize misunderstandings and streamline discussions. 📣 ### Challenges: **Potential Over-Involvement:** Clients might make their own changes, potentially disrupting the design process. 🚫 **Learning Curve:** Some clients may need time to get accustomed to Figma, possibly slowing the initial phase. ⏳ **Boundary Setting:** Establishing clear guidelines is essential to prevent unintentional alterations that could lead to confusion. 🛑 Overall, providing clients access to Figma can be a game-changer. However, setting clear boundaries and conducting regular check-ins are crucial for a smooth and productive design journey. ✅ #ui

Building complex animations in #Webflow? Use #GSAP — here’s why There's no doubt that Webflow allows you to create amazing and advanced animations. If you don’t know how to code, Webflow is definitely the way to go. It’s simple: just select your elements, apply the interactions, and voila! But when it comes to 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, GSAP is the real game-changer. I use GSAP in 100% of my projects, and here’s why you should too: 1️⃣ 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹: GSAP significantly expands Webflow’s capabilities, offering granular control over every detail of your animations—such as timing, easing, delays, and even real-time dynamic adjustments. This enables you to create smoother, more complex, and highly responsive interactions. 2️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Unlike Webflow, where animations are limited to predefined viewports, GSAP lets you apply animations to custom viewports, giving you total flexibility. 3️⃣ 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: When it comes to performance, GSAP makes a real difference—especially when handling complex animations. 4️⃣ 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: GSAP allows you to incorporate accessibility features into your animations. You can add the CSS media feature “prefers-reduced-motion”, which detects if a user has enabled settings to minimize non-essential motion on their device. 5️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: You can store your animation settings in variables, making it easy to change and reuse them throughout your project. 6️⃣ 𝗣𝗹𝘂𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀: GSAP’s plugins take your animations to the next level. My favorites are ScrollTrigger and Flip. ScrollTrigger lets you set start and end points with pinpoint accuracy, while Flip allows smooth transitions when shifting elements around in the DOM. ➤ 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁? I suggest practicing with the GSAP Timeline. Transform one of your Webflow animations into GSAP. ➤ 𝗡𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲? No worries! Timothy Ricks has you covered. You can use his GPT tool to generate GSAP code: https://lnkd.in/gmY4U-P7 ➤ 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗦𝗔𝗣: - Check out Timothy’s GSAP & ScrollTrigger Crash Course for Webflow https://lnkd.in/g2Xp5CvU - Explore tutorials from Cassie Evans on the GreenSockLearning YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/gNxkQnkg — Both Webflow and GSAP are excellent for creating animations. However, if performance, complexity, and scalability are top priorities, GSAP is your best choice. Would you use GSAP in your next project? Will you combine it with Webflow interactions? Share your thoughts! — Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost if valuable and follow me for more Webflow content.

Easing & Duration in UX Motion Design Have you ever noticed how nothing stops or starts on a dime in the real world? It's all about the graceful dance of acceleration and deceleration. That's exactly what our digital experiences should mimic to feel natural and engaging. Here's a quick guide to getting it just right within UX Motion Design: ✦ The Role of Easing: Think of easing as your animation's personality. Without it, movements are robotic. With it, they embody grace and realism. It's what makes your design breathe and resonate with users. ✦ Duration Decoded: Timing is vital. Too fast, and your users miss the action. Too slow, and they're yawning. Aim for the Goldilocks zone where every transition feels just right. ✦ Sensible Defaults to the Rescue: Need help figuring out where to start? Begin with some tried-and-true settings. They're like your reliable old friends who never let you down. Perfect for most scenarios, they'll give you a solid foundation to build upon and tweak as needed. ( https://easings.net is the perfect cheat sheet for communicating default easy-to-achieve easing types in CSS) In the example below from the GM3 easing guidelines ( https://lnkd.in/gyiQSUhg ), you see a transition with (blue) and without easing (red) with the same timing applied (meaning go from A to B over the same amount of time) Mixing easing with the suitable duration isn't just about aesthetics; it's about crafting an intuitive and immersive experience that feels as natural as the world around us. So, let's not just animate. Let's animate with intention, empathy, and a touch of magic. ✨ What are your go-to strategies for nailing the perfect easing and duration? Please share your thoughts, and let's inspire each other! #ux #uxdesign #motiondesign #animation #easing