If you’ve decided to include motion design elements in your digital strategy, then you have already taken the first step towards crafting a powerful, eye-catching campaign that will connect with your audience and drive brand engagement. 

Motion graphics are some of the most versatile tools available to any brand and are capable of delivering even the most complex, inaccessible messages through captivating visuals and creative images. However, if you’re going to make the most of this powerful tool, you will need to partner with an experienced motion graphics designer who is able to bring your vision to life. 

Choosing a Motion Graphics Designer

Don’t just search ‘graphic designers in my local area’ and contact the first business that pops up. The right partner for your project will depend upon their specialisms, their experience, and their client testimonials, so let’s take a look at everything you need to consider when choosing a motion design specialist. 

Your Project Objectives 

It will be hard to find the right motion graphics specialist for your project if you don’t have a good idea of your own requirements. For example, are you looking to focus upon: 

• Social Media Content to make a lasting impression and turn mindless scrolling into long-term engagement. 
• Website Content that guides the user journey through the platform and offers engaging touchpoints. 
• Mobile-Friendly Content and graphics that can easily be transferred into mobile-friendly formats for social media. 
• Custom Gifs that indicate emotions and are quick and easy to share via direct messaging. 
• Long-Form Videos to deliver complex or detailed information in simple, animated segments that prevent boredom or confusion. 
• Short-Form Ads that allow users to see exactly how products work in just a few seconds. 

Knowing exactly what services you’re interested in will help both you and the designer to clearly define project outcomes and will ensure you get the most out of the collaboration. 

Their Portfolio

Once you’ve decided upon the services that you want, it’s time to start searching for the best of the best who can provide you with the animated assets that you want. 

Hiring graphic designers is slightly different from hiring any other contractors, as you are not contracting them based solely on reviews or recommendations. Since graphic design is such a visual medium, you are instead engaging their services based on the creativity and technical execution that is evident in their previous works. 

Even newer agencies will have a track record of projects, and most designers will have a portfolio on their website, so make sure that you familiarise yourself with their case studies before making your final choice. A diverse portfolio, including examples from across different industries and sectors, is a testament to a designer’s versatility and adaptability, whilst a distinct visual style ensures cohesion across assets. 

It is also important to consider how well their creative style aligns with your own brand identity and campaign goals and whether they will be able to deliver the assets that you want. 

Extensive Experience

Whilst you want a specialist rather than a generalist, it is still important to choose a designer that has demonstrable experience across a range of design services, especially if you are looking for a complete package rather than just a one-off design. 

Choosing a multi-skilled designer gives you the assurance that they will be able to manage all the different elements of your campaign and that a consistent creative identity will be maintained across all the assets. Whether you’re looking for a single short-form video or a network of motion graphics to drive engagement, this cohesion ensures that your brand identity is immediately recognisable across multiple touchpoints to solidify recognition and trust. 

This broader skillset also extends beyond creative ability, as experienced designers will be able to advise you on the best ways to distribute your assets for maximum impact. So, even if you do not yet know which channels will have the most impact, partnering with an experienced agency will deliver a blend of creative talent and distribution insight that will position your visual assets in front of an audience that is ready to engage with them. 

Technical Skills 

Motion design is a balance of artistic skill and technical abilities, so if you are impressed with the creativity and innovation displayed by your shortlisted agencies, it’s time to narrow it down even further by checking that they have all the necessary technical skills. 

As the name suggests, this artistic medium is all about movements, and realistic movements are hard to achieve. These complex simulations require specialised software and design expertise to produce them, so look for examples of moving elements in all the portfolios to build up an understanding of each designers’ technical abilities. 

These moving graphics should be seamless and the texture and lighting of each one should enhance the high-quality 3D effect. They should also include great transitions between the different sections of a video, or a barely noticeable loop that keeps a GIF playing, as you will need this level of technical proficiency and attention to detail for your assets. 

Communication Skills

Whilst researching what other businesses have said about their collaborations with your preferred designer, keep an eye out for any insights into their communication skills. 

A consistent two-way communication between yourself and your chosen agency is integral to the success of your project, but their communication skills will need to go much further than this over the course of your collaboration. For example, how often do they deliver project updates? How do they respond to feedback? Are they responsive to client requests? 

Even the most experienced designers will occasionally need to adjust their work to meet changing requirements whilst keeping the project on-track. They should have a set process for providing regular updates at key stages and offering plenty of opportunities for client feedback, and a willingness to adapt also signals their overall reliability and quality of service. 

These insights are just as important as a positive track record for meeting deadlines and delivering exceptional results, so dig deep for any negative feedback to build up a full picture of what it is like to work with them. 

Creative Motion Design Services

Ready to bring your brand to life with dynamic visual assets? 

Bluechilli is a specialist design agency that operates on the very cutting edge of creative design. Their multidisciplinary expertise and specialist technologies push boundaries and simplify complex processes for an integrated approach that has become Bluechilli’s trademark, so reach out to them today to get started.