{"id":20079,"date":"2022-10-27T09:35:39","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T13:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=20079"},"modified":"2022-10-27T13:26:35","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T17:26:35","slug":"designers-learn-animation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/designers-learn-animation\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Designers Really Need to Learn Animation?"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Amid calls to patent his then-state-of-the-art technique, animation legend Winsor McCay once joked<\/a>, \u201cAny idiot that wants to make a couple of thousand drawings for a hundred feet of film is welcome to join the club.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s true: the animation industry was built on obscene levels of monotony and detail. For much of the 20th century, it took as many as 1,500 drawings to produce just two minutes of colorful movie magic. Because of the eye-popping effort required, an animator was an animator, full stop; you couldn\u2019t fault someone for saying that animation just might not be for them<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By now, we\u2019ve come a long way from the stop-motion era. New technologies make animation and motion graphic development accessible to designers from across disciplines. Best of all, the work is light-years faster and far less labor intensive than in McCay\u2019s day. And the timing couldn\u2019t be better; the market for motion graphics is expected to see<\/a> a compound annual growth rate of 12.5% by 2031.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So there, you don\u2019t have to dedicate your life to animation to become proficient at it. Does that mean it\u2019s time for you to give it a try? Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The design business is moving <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today motion and animation are a crucial part of a brand\u2019s toolkit, creating human connections<\/a> that speak to audiences and communicate messages simply.  \u201cMotion design is not only about moving objects but expressing emotions,\u201d says<\/a> Sean Dong, a Baltimore-based motion designer <\/a>whose work helps bring New York Times<\/em> features to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to providing that intangible human element, animation design is a big business, high on many clients\u2019 wishlists. Leading brands<\/a> \u2014Spotify, Amazon, PayPal and Mastercard\u2014 are doubling down on motion<\/a>. There\u2019s even a growing trend to trademark animated logos<\/a> (read: don\u2019t go recreating the roar of MGM\u2019s Lion unless you want to take on a cadre of corporate lawyers).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does this popularity mean for designers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnimation used to be seen as a \u2018nice-to-have,\u2019 but these days, it\u2019s a fixture of project briefs,\u201d says Mat Voyce<\/a>, UK-based freelance motion designer who has worked with Disney+, Google, and Nike. \u201cIf a design concept doesn\u2019t include animation, clients now often ask, \u2018How can we add it in?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After getting his start as a graphic designer, Voyce shifted his focus to animated typography. As motion and video have continued to gain steam, shifting and up-leveling his skills paid off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n