Custom iOS 14 widgets have become a TikTok flex

Customizing the iPhone home screen is now an art form

By Julia Alexander

The most exciting part of iOS 14 isn’t picture-in-picture video display or the app library — it’s widgets.

Instead of once-boring app icons for your calendar or clock that might get placed in a utilities folder, the new wave of widgets let you spice up your homepage with anything from custom notes to astronomy and weather reports. Those options have existed on Android devices for years, but their sudden arrival on the iPhone has created a kind of gold rush, with users combining them into custom layouts that can be tweaked, shared, and even sold.

The new options have also turned a small utility called Widgetsmith into a surprise success, garnering more than 2 million downloads since it launched on September 16th, according to CNBC. Widgetsmith isn’t necessary for layouts, but its wide-ranging custom widget options give users more control. Most importantly, it’s become the preferred tool for most layout tutorial videos, which has put it at the center of the growing scene. Even with Widgetsmith, designing the perfect layout can take several hours — but it’s worth it for users who are trying to make a splash on Instagram or TikTok.

With those tools in place, the layouts are as eager, intricate, and fannish as could be expected. One user focused on Club Penguin-themed layout, using Widgetsmith and Apple’s Shortcuts tool to make a home screen look and feel exactly like the now-defunct social gaming app. In another case, a TikTok creator used an orange, red, and brown color palette to coincide with the aesthetics of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and the fall season. There are also viral Star Wars and Marvel home screens and others designed with minimalist aesthetics in mind.

Gia, a 15-year-old Twilight fan, spent five hours making her Twilight-dedicated home screen, which includes a GIF lock screen image, characters from the Twilight films as app icons, and Widgetsmith boxes used to display Twilight dialogue. Her video quickly amassed thousands of views. Part of the inspiration for her home screen came from being a devout Twilight fan, but Gia also told The Verge that it “would be very cozy especially since we’re transitioning into fall.”

Some layouts are appealing enough to pay for. Katarina Mogus, owner and creative director of En Flique Creative, a social media marketing agency, runs an Etsy shop that has started selling iOS 14 packs for $4.99. They’re designed with “aesthetic AF” in mind, something Mogus believes is key to understanding why iOS 14 designs have taken off in the last week. Mogus told The Verge that after her TikTok video demonstrating how to use Widgetsmith to make cool home screens was seen more than 25 million times, she decided to sell some of her designs on Etsy for people (like me) who might not be as artistically inclined.

“I really wanted to make it easier for people,” Mogus said. “I put out a price point where I’m like, ‘Ok, for one Starbucks drink, would someone be willing to buy the widget that I’m creating?’ I’ve been getting a lot of sales on it, and I’m continuously making more because I’m getting a lot of requests for different ones.”

Sharing those designs — and the skills it takes to create them — has become a sensation on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. There are new accounts entirely dedicated to tutorials, asking people what they want to learn and showing them how to do it in a minute or less. The #ios14tutorial hashtag on TikTok has already garnered close to 20 million views.

Christian Parrotte, a freshman at the University of Florida, is an iPhone owner who spent a few hours working on his own iOS 14 layout that incorporated different characters and elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Most of the time was spent hunting down photos that he liked that would work functionally against the dark backdrop he was using as wallpaper. The more views his video collects, the more people ask Parrotte in the comments to drop a tutorial. They want to make it their iPhone backgrounds, too.

It made Parrotte realize that there’s a huge market for developers to make it easier for people to customize their own phones — something that may only continue growing as more people buy and receive Apple products during the holiday season.

“I definitely think that as app developers start to see how impactful iOS 14 is, and how we use our phones, they’re going to start making adjustments,” Parrotte told The Verge. “Right now, it’s really only Widgetsmith. I think we’ll start seeing a lot of other apps purely aesthetic widget apps really soon.”

It’s hard to say how long the fad will last, or how long users will keep their intricate home screens. Parrotte and Gia think part of it is simply creating the designs for clout. (“I think it’s a way for people to flex,” Gia says.) But with form factors and operating systems settling into a dull sameness, there’s a powerful appeal to having a home screen that looks different from everyone else’s.

“Since the iPhone has always looked the same and there’s no ability for customization, it’s so exciting as a creator and as just a regular iPhone user that you can change things,” Mogus said. “I’d love to see more customizable aspects to the iPhone in the future, and even other Apple devices. I have every Apple product, so anyway to change them up a bit more is really exciting.”

This article was taken from The Verge website.

The Best Resources and Tips for Customizing Your iOS 14 Home Screen

 By Amber Neely

Whether you want to create your own icons or are looking to find some ready-made ones, we've got some tips and tricks to help you customize your iOS 14 Home Screen.

On Monday, we showed you how to customize your iOS 14 Home Screen. But, the rabbit hole goes much deeper.

If you're looking for a little inspiration, the iOS 14 subreddit is currently filled to bursting with people showing off their custom home screen designs. We're also really digging this gorgeous Animal Crossing theme that Twitter user Okpng has made.

i understand that people are financially struggling at the moment – i'd appreciate if you bought it outright
but by chance you cannot, use code: acnhoff at the checkout :)
— gen ̖́ - @ ginkgo island ★彡 (@okpng) September 19, 2020

Creating your own iOS app icons

Creating your own app icons is easy enough, provided you have access to graphic design or photo-editing software of some sort. You can use whatever you prefer— Pixelmator Pro, Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, Affinity Design.

And there are advantages to making your own icons, too. After all, it doesn't get more one-of-a-kind than handmade icons and wallpapers. We've seen vintage iPhone, Windows 3.1, and even Playstation memory card themed iPhone home screens.

Whenever you design your icon, you'll need to make sure the image is a square. Apple suggests that a 180px by 180px icon for the iPhone. Don't forget that Apple icons have rounded corners as well, so you'll need to be mindful of where you place your design.

Additionally, you can't use transparent icons for your app, either. In the event that you'd like your background to show through — such as a retro Windows 98 layout — you'll need to match the color of the icon to your iPhone's wallpaper to fake it.

When saving icons, we suggest saving as a PNG, though a JPG will work, too — it may just come with some unwanted compression. Once your icons are saved, get them to your iPhone's Camera Roll.

After you save your icon set to your iPhone's Camera Roll, you can use the Shortcuts app to set them to whatever app you'd like.

Important: Because you're executing an app through a shortcut rather than directly, there will be a slight delay — especially on older iPhones. However, this is currently the only Apple-approved way to set your own custom icons.

How to set custom icons for apps in iOS 14 (it should also work in iOS 13!)

Open Shortcuts
Tap +
Tap Add Action
Tap Scripting
Tap Open App
Tap the app you wish to customize
Name the app
Tap Done
Tap ...
Tap ... (again)
Tap Add to Home Screen
Tap the icon under Home Screen Name and Icon
Select the image from your camera roll
Tap Add

Creating your own widgets

As we'd discussed in How to customize your Home Screen on iOS 14, you can use an app called Widgetsmith to make your own widgets. This includes setting custom photographs on your home screen, which can provide some interesting layout elements.

Finding ready-made icons

Of course, you don't need to make your own icons, either. The internet is flush with plenty of icons that you can download to use. Here are a few of our favorite places.

Important: You'll likely still need access to an image editor of some sort to resize the icons to fit on your iPhone. You may also need to add an opaque background, as the iPhone will render transparent portions of images as black pixels.

FiatIcon

FiatIcon is a great resource for those who are looking for themed icons. Most icons available here are free for personal use, too.

The Noun Project

If you're looking for bold, minimalism-inspired icons, The Noun Project is the place for you. Free for personal use, The Noun Project has hundreds of thousands of icons you can download and begin using immediately.

Icon8

Another huge repository for icons, Icon8 boasts tons of icons with a wide variety of themes to choose from.

IconRewind

If you love the look of old Apple icons and you don't want to fuss with the Shortcuts app, you can visit iconrewind.co via Safari on your iPhone to set shortcuts with one tap. They have plenty of icons available, as well.

This article was taken from AppleInsider website.

How to make your iOS 14 home screen aesthetic AF

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BY JENNIMAI NGUYEN

The TikTok teens took the internet by storm and convinced me that my home screen needs a major upgrade. As in: matching color schemes, aesthetically pleasing icons, and an overall theme that conveys my personality, all made possible by the latest iOS 14 update.

Creating the perfect home screen isn't easy, though. The teens claim that creations like this Mean Girls masterpiece can take hours to complete.

did a lot of effort doing my homescreen than doing my homework 💆🏻‍♀️ #ios14homescreen pic.twitter.com/gUE418ESym
— jem (@lzldjem) September 21, 2020

I decided to try it for myself, and time each step to give you an idea of how long this really takes.

Step 1: Update your phone

Before you can tap into your inner designer, make sure you have iOS 14 installed on your phone. The software update is only available on the iPhone 6S and up, so if you have an iPhone 6 or below, you’re stuck with your generic home screen for now.

Time spent: 45 minutes (OK, this is a big time killer, but that’s not my fault.)

Step 2: Pick your preferred widget app

The big new thing with iOS 14 is the ability to support widgets. Yes, we know Android has had this for ages, but just let us enjoy the moment, OK?

While the update supports widgets, not all apps have native widgets. Definitely annoying.

But you can download an app that lets you create widgets. There are a ton out there, including Widgetsmith, Widget Wizard, and Glimpse 2. Widgetsmith seems to be the most popular option, so that’s what we’ll be using here.

Time spent: 1 minute

Step 3: Figure out your aesthetic

Easily the most stressful step (for me), the photos you choose decide your phone’s entire vibe. Panic!

While some widgets are designed for functionality (think pinning your most used apps to your home screen, like weather and the clock), the rest of the space is up to you. Scroll through Pinterest or Twitter for some inspo, and then download photos that match your desired look. Make sure to change your wallpaper to match, which you can do by going into Settings and clicking Wallpaper and choosing from your photo album.

Time spent: Infinite

Step 4: Design some widgets!

Some iPhone apps already have iOS widgets. To pin them to your screen, long-press your screen until the apps get all wiggly. Then press the plus sign on the upper right-hand corner of the screen and add your preferred widgets. I use my weather app all the time, so that definitely made the cut.

Otherwise, go into Widgetsmith and start designing widgets. When you open the app, you’re greeted with three size options. Pick which one you want, and then click Default Widget. Under Style, scroll to Photo, then click Selected Photo to pick the image you want.

Once set, make sure you click Save. Repeat this process with as many widgets as you want and then add them to your home screen.

Time spent: 10 minutes

Step 5: Shortcuts

OK, so you have your big feature photos up, but how do you make your apps look cohesive and cute? This part is actually not new: to change your app icons, we’ll be using the Shortcuts app already on your phone.

You’ll need to download the photos that you want for your app icons. I kept it simple and made all of my apps shades of blue.

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Go to Shortcuts, and then hit “+” on the upper right. Select Add Action and then search “open app.” You’ll see Open App under Actions. Tap on Choose, and then choose the app.

Click the three dots in the top right corner and enter your shortcut name, usually the name of the app, and click Add to Home Screen. Once there, click the image icon and select Choose Photo.

Then rename the app to whatever you’d like, click Add, and it will appear on your home screen.

Rinse and repeat… and repeat and repeat and repeat, depending on how many apps you have. This is definitely the most time-consuming step, as most people have a ton of apps.

Time spent: 15 minutes for one page

Step 6: Hide your old apps

So here’s where the lazy part kicks in. Say you finish designing one page and realize you have about 27 apps too many. I get it. Press and hold anywhere on the home screen, and click the dots at the bottom that indicate how many pages you have.

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Click on any of the un-aesthetic pages left over, and they’ll get bundled together in your App Library, which appears at the end of your home screen scroll.

Time spent: 3 minutes

Step 7: Admire your hard work

You’ve done it! Now it’s time to reflect on whether it was worth it. In total, I spent about an hour and a half designing just one page. If I was really gonna stick with the theme, I can totally see how this could take hours, as the process of creating Shortcuts for each app is pretty tedious.

It also comes with a minor inconvenience. Since you’re using the Shortcuts app, every time you open one of your nice new icons, it takes you to the Shortcuts screen for a split second before sending you to your desired app. You also don’t get notification bubbles on these apps showing how many unread messages, snaps, etc. you have. This doesn’t change the usability of the app, but if you think it’ll annoy you, the aesthetic home screen life might not be for you.

Source: Mashable website

Animated Videos: The Business Trend You Shouldn’t Miss in the New Normal

By Dana Kachan

For those who’re seeking how to gain customer loyalty, make a business stand out in the digital space, and build a powerful brand regardless of a recession. Here I’m sharing just a few helpful tips and ideas on how animated marketing videos can help do it.

Businesses all over the world ask the same questions: How to revive and survive in the new, more digital normal? How to engage customers and gain their loyalty? How to grow conversion rates regardless of the challenges caused by a post-pandemic period? In this article, I’m going to help you answer these and many other questions about business survival and customer engagement in the new market conditions dictated by an economic downturn.

Have you thought that cartoons are just for kids? No, we, adults, adore them too. Animated videos have become a popular digital marketing trend, particularly now, when customers need more help, support, and empathy. Many forward-thinking brands across the globe have already unlocked the sales and marketing power of animated explainer videos for business. Some business and marketing experts even say that an animated explainer video is essential to a product marketing strategy. Let’s consider here why.

Animation for Bolt by Fireart Studio — Animation for Bolt by Fireart Studio

Explainer Videos Support a Customer Support Team

Explanatory videos can help unload your customer service team. Instead of long explanations on how to complete particular action with your product or service, your support team representative may redirect the customer to an appropriate short animated video in the FAQ section on your website.

Have you already investigated the most common cases and challenges consumers may face when using your software or product? Probably, it’s difficulties during account registration or product set up. Your company can produce animated explainer videos to answer all the most frequently asked questions.

You may think that’s quite expensive. It’s actually not, particularly when it comes to animated videos that are much cheaper than live-motion video production. Plus, you should consider how much time and effort of your customer help team you may save investing in animated video-explainers. They may help “support” your support team, improve customer service, increase customer satisfaction, and retention.

For instance, LinkedIn created an animated video to explain to users how they can report on content.

Mobile App Demos Attract New Users Even Before App Launch

If you’re going to launch a mobile application, you may look for ways to tell your target audience about it. Today, developers start testing animated videos for pre- and post-launch marketing campaigns and see amazing results. Animated mobile app demos attract new users and help keep the buzz around a new app before and after its launch.

In an animated video, you can demonstrate your mobile app features, functionalities, and competitive advantages. Tell the public why your digital product is better than dozens of alternatives available in the app store in a stylish and fun animated video, and you’ll be amazed by the fast-increasing number of downloads.

An excellent example is an animated mobile app demo video produced by Explain Ninja for Boostation, a mobile clean master app.

Animated Commercials as an Unsalesy Way to Promote a Brand

Wouldn’t like to look too salesy when promoting your brand or new products to the audience? Then an animated commercial is likely the most optimal option. It engages people, provides visual satisfaction, gives them fun, and… promotes your brand unobtrusively.

The animation makes people listen to what your brand says because it keeps their attention, sticks to the memory, and creates a lasting impression. It allows transferring your company’s ideas and concepts more effectively. And animation does it more effectively than any other means of promotion because it interacts with customer perception at the visual and audio levels simultaneously.

Just look at how Spotify has implemented it.

Animated Product Demo Videos Can Help Startups Enter the Market

Startups may wonder how to introduce a new product in the most engaging and creative way possible. When reading this article, you may already guess the answer. Yes, that’s product explainer videos. You can demonstrate your product features, zoom almost invisible components, show contexts in which your product can help people, and (what’s most important) reveal your brand style and remarkable personality in an animated video.

A product demo video is an excellent way to intrigue an audience before a product launch, evoke their interest in your brand and acquire new customers. Today, many animated video production companies offer plenty of amazing visual effects that can emphasize your product’s uniqueness.

Especially, I liked how PayPal has implemented it. This incredible mix of live-motion and animation made me enjoy PayPal’s introduction.

Customer Onboarding Videos Improve Customer Experience

You may significantly increase customer loyalty to your brand and make a positive first impression by greeting customers with an animated onboarding video on your digital product user interface, homepage, welcome email, or adding it to a UI tooltip.

Customers may expect the brand to help them navigate through a complex and unfamiliar product interface. A fun and engaging animated video may be exactly what you’ve been looking to level up your customer onboarding experience. Empathize with your customers, show that your company isn’t indifferent to their challenges, and is always combat-ready to assist them. A good example of an onboarding video is Slack’s quick start guide for new users.

Animated Explainer Videos Make Learning Entertaining

Moreover, an animated explainer video is an excellent way to transfer complex concepts and ideas in an easy-to-understand form. Companies can use animated videos to educate customers on how to use new products or features and train employees. Thanks to its fun and cartoony format, animated educational videos make learning entertaining, enjoyable, and more effective. When we learn something and have fun at the same time, we consume and remember information much faster and more efficiently, don’t we?

It seems that the Tech Insider team was aware of these secrets and produced a series of animated educational videos for its readers. You can see one of them below.

An Animated Video: a Helpful Component of a Strong Marketing Strategy

Animation gives more fresh air to a digital marketing strategy and brand presentation in the online world. Startups, small businesses, and even large corporations like Microsoft have leveraged animated marketing videos in their marketing campaigns and seen incredible results in terms of brand awareness and conversions, so why shouldn’t you? An animated explainer video may help your brand acquire an outstanding style and voice.

Source: Business 2 Community

Video Marketing Benefits That Every Small Business Owner Should Know

BY HANNAH SKENTELBERY ON  17TH SEPTEMBER 2020

If you are the owner of a small business, your primary concern at every step of your business is to market your product or services. Out of all the different marketing channels of business, video marketing is one of the most powerful ones.

Video marketing is not a new concept. It has been around for decades – since the inception of television. But today, with the digital world exploding all around us, it has become more relevant, and this especially applies to small business owners.

But wait! That sounds almost too good to be true. Launching a video marketing campaign is the simplest thing. The trick is to know how to create video content by using the multiple benefits that video marketing can offer.

How Video Marketing Can Boost Your Business

A majority of people prefer to get information from a two-minute video rather than reading written content for 10 to 15 minutes. A person can learn about a product rapidly by watching a video, and there is more scope to make a bigger impact.

Video Plays a Key Role in Marketing Strategies

The best part of incorporating video into your marketing process is that you can convert your existing content into video. Using a good online video editor will help you create engaging videos and develop brand awareness at the same time.

Video Boosts Conversions and Sales

If you have been looking to boost sales, videos can do that for you. An increase in conversions by up to 80% was observed by some companies that added product videos to their landing pages. Such videos can be directly responsible for sales.

Videos Contribute to Trust Building

A well-made marketing video can instill trust in your customers and potential buyers. Trust is hard to build, but once present, it can work wonders in promoting goodwill for your brand.

Marketing videos offer the scope of conducting employee interviews, live customer testimonials, and behind-the-scenes information about your product. You can incorporate tips and tricks on how to use your product and its benefits.

After viewing a marketing video that gives the potential buyer a clear view of how the product works, they may muster enough confidence to buy it.

Get the Marketing Video Advantage

The advantage of using video marketing right now is that all companies aren’t doing it. A recent survey revealed that only about 26% of businesses put top priority on video marketing. Hence, you can come out on top.

If you make an early start and launch a robust video marketing campaign as part of your strategy, you can steal a march over your competitors. Ensure to use suitable video editing tools like an image to video software to create more compelling videos.

The Scope of Social Shares

One useful aspect of video marketing is the ease at which your videos can be shared on social media. You can put out your videos on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram and benefit from the features offered.

A YouTube video is like inserting your content directly into search results. If you do it right, people will search for videos like yours, and when they find them, they will not hesitate to share them because it’s so easy to do.

When you create videos for social media, don’t forget the entertainment factor. People seek entertainment when they surf YouTube, and even Facebook, for that matter. Keep your videos lively and entertaining for maximum engagement.

Huge Viewership

If you are creating YouTube videos, you have a ready-made audience, just waiting to watch your videos. Just ensure that you make your videos engaging enough, and you can have access to the estimated almost 2 billion viewers on YouTube.

Of course, everyone is not going to watch your videos, but imagine the potential! Hence, you need to take advantage of the fact that there are over a billion viewers out there, and you can get enough of them to get interested in you.

Video Marketing Increases Your SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a powerful technique in digital marketing today. If you have videos embedded on your website, you have a much higher chance of ranking high in the Google search results.

There are many techniques that you can use while creating videos to ensure that they are optimized for SEO. You may have to spend a bit of time and money to ensure this, but you will reap huge benefits in the long run.

Better Access to Mobile Viewers

There are millions of smartphone users today, most of whom spend a major part of their mobile usage time watching videos. YouTube videos occupy most of the video viewing time of mobile phone users, so your videos will get viewed.

When you launch your video marketing campaign, you need to be sensitive to the viewers’ user video watching experience. If you can create videos that appeal to your audience, you will have a huge following from mobile users.

Using Video is Good for Your Image

As a company, you want to project your business as one that keeps up with the times. Customers look for companies that keep themselves abreast with the latest technology and who are in sync with modern culture.

Take Advantage of Innovative Technologies

You can use the latest video technology like Facebook and Instagram’s “Stories” and a host of other features offered by social media sites. You no longer have to be restricted to conventional videos with restrictive formats.

For instance, you can create live streaming videos on Facebook and Instagram that are interactive to attract more audiences. It is a powerful tool if you are looking for a sudden boost to your audience for a special event or a new product launch.

Recently, Instagram launched IGTV, which allows videos of up to an hour, against the one-minute Instagram Stories. It gives you a great opportunity to provide detailed educational and promotional content to your viewers on the go.

Video Marketing is a Powerful Tool That Needs to Be Harnessed

A video is so much more effective than the best-written content. The advantages listed here highlight video as an important tool for marketing strategies. The written form can also be effective, but you need to seriously consider video marketing.

The best thing that you can do as a small business owner is to include video marketing as the major thrust to promote your brand. Your business will grow, and with a bit of careful planning, you can beat your competitors to the bank!

Source: Warrington Worldwide

HOW CAN 2D ANIMATION HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW IN 2020?

Ask yourself this, “how much video content do you consume every month, across various channels such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Websites, and Ads?”

For most people out there, the amount of video content they consume severely outweigh the amount of textual content they consume. This is true because of specific reasons that make video content more consumable than text-based content. These reasons are as such:

2D animation based video content is much more engaging
2D animated videos are much more entertaining to watch
2D animation styles, such as explainer videos can provide dense information in a digestible way.
It is easier to watch things than to read words.

As a result of this, businesses today are leveraging 2D animation services and video content as a tool within their marketing strategy.

A medium that is easy to consume and share, 2d animated videos are everywhere on social media, with brands making use of it for various purposes. These include:

Whiteboard Animation Video to exhibit their work process
Explainer videos for product/service launch
Teaser video as a pre-launch strategy for a new product or service.

But the rise of 2D animation as a marketing strategy is a result of more than just its various applications. These videos drive engagement, website traffic, and more conversions – giving brands an ROI that makes investing in 2D animation an excellent business decision.

According to Oberlo, 88% of video marketers are satisfied with the ROI of their video marketing strategy and come 2022. It is predicted that 82% of all consumer internet traffic will come from videos. Based on these statistics, the future of businesses in the digital eco-system looks to be in favor of 2D animation and video-based marketing.

As such, we’re presenting 5 ways through which 2D animation and video marketing can help your business grow if used correctly in its various functions.

Answering Consumer Demand On Social Media

The consumer demand from brands on social media is to generate more video content. Based on the findings of Hubspot’s research, 54% of consumers are demanding video content from the brands they associate with.

Since social media has now become the primary channel for interaction with a brand’s target audience, businesses today should be responding to this shift in demand by implementing video marketing strategies.

If you don’t have in-house animators and video specialists, then you can always hire a 2D animation studio to help you execute this social media marketing strategy.

For brands its essential to recognize that video content is the most preferred content type on social media these days, and since 73% of consumers claim that a brand’s social media presence and activity affected their purchasing decision, leveraging 2D animation for social media is a step in the right direction for businesses.

Any business owner would understand why it is vital to respond to consumer demand, and in the age of globalization where consumers have unlimited choices and alternatives, businesses that respond the quickest to these trends can make the most out of them.

As a business operating in the digital world, from a standalone business point of view, this can help you increase your social media penetration, engagement, and conversions. The game on social media is all about how much noise your content makes, and video content is much more shareable and is much more optimized to make the buzz that takes your business towards growth.

Making Your Website SEO-Friendly

Search Engine Optimization is one of the essential strategies that businesses today leverage to attract organic traffic and activity on their websites.

But Search Engine Optimization is more than just placing keywords in the right place and creating backlinks to establish authority.

If you look at how Google explains its SEO metrics, it becomes increasingly apparent that content that is “human-first” is likelier to rank in SERPs.

So What Does That Mean For Video Content?

Well, video content is much more human-centric than text-based content. This is because of its various qualities of being easier to understand and more engaging.

According to a report, websites with video content generates 41% more web traffic from searches on Google, when compared to sites that don’t have Video content on them.

But If you look at just the growth numbers, they are even more staggering. Brightcove’s research suggests that video content is driving a 157% increase in organic traffic from SERPs for businesses.

As businesses look to increase their profits, video content has risen as a behemoth in the marketing world, and companies should be aligning their marketing strategy to accommodate this trend.

What Does That Mean For Your Business?

Creative concept banner. Vector illustration for video marketing, social media, entertainment, video tutorials and training, apps, online advertising, and presentation.

This means that based on your industry’s most searched queries and keywords, Google will push your website to its top page, helping your website increase its traffic. The more traffic comes to your website, the higher the chances of you generating revenue from it.

According to Unbounce, video content on a website or landing page can increase a brand’s conversion rate by 80%.

As a result of that, your web pages become much more shareable and can generate a lot more inbounds links than it would if it were only text-based.

To understand the magnitude of difference 2D animation can have on your website’s performance, take a look at this stat from advanced web ranking. Videos are 45 times more likely to rank on the top SERP when compared to text results.

This is because the more inbound links you have, the more authoritative your site appears to Google. It helps establish your website as an expert and trustworthy platform within your industry and as a result, Google prefers your website to be ranked higher for relevant search queries.

Therefore, your business generates more traffic, engages more potential clients, and increase your conversion rate drastically for increased revenue and profit.

Increasing Your Website’s Consumer Engagement

Getting more traffic on your website is one thing, but 2D animation and videos on sites are also helping brands increase the amount of time consumers spend on their websites.

Figures suggest that consumer spending a whopping 88% more time on websites with videos than on those without them.

This helps brand reduce their bounce rate and increase their brand engagement. The longer the user spends on your website, the more information they are gathering, and this means that your “hook” strategy is working.

But What Kind Of Videos Help Withs Increase Brand Engagement?

Well, there are a few options you can choose from. Here are some of them.

Infotainment videos to answer potential consumer questions.
Explainer videos that outline your products and services.
Product demo video to exhibit your unique solutions.

These videos help not just introduce your company to your visitors but also showcase your branding, unique selling point, and establish a brand persona.

If your target audience is everyday consumers from a variety of backgrounds, adding an element of humor can improve your engagement. This engagement establishes a strong relationship between a brand and its consumers.

As a hook, this strategy can improve your client retention rate, conversion rate, and the overall number of sales.

Creating A More Informed Consumer Base

Brands today have to focus on creating an informed consumer base. This means that the information you provide has to stick with your target audience.

This information has to be memorable and understandable, but most importantly, it has to be consumable. If your consumers don’t understand your services or products and their unique benefits, then convincing them to spend money becomes an excruciating task.

This where 2d animated videos come into the mix. If we look at data from a user’s point of view, the human brain can process visual data about 60,000 times faster than it processes text-based data.

The amount of information you can extend to your target audience in one minute using a video is significantly more than what you would be able to extend if they were to read for one minute.

This means that in the eyes of a viewer who usually didn’t come to your website to read, a video helps solve both their problem of not wanting to put in a lot of energy to reading, and it helps your problem of not having consumers understand what your services or products do.

At the end of the day, all viewers, users, and visitors are humans. The way we use the internet is incredibly casual and videos help aid the process of casual internet surfing by condensing the information into a video that is both enjoyable and easy to watch.

By creating a more informed consumer base, you can improve your brand’s financial performance and increase your engagement substantially.

Conclusion

For businesses to succeed in 2020 and beyond, optimizing their marketing strategy to answer consumer demand and improve their visibility and engagement on digital platforms such as social media and websites is vital.

At the end of the day, if you’re a business owner, then your aspiration should be to be a part of the 85% of small business owners who are happy with the ROI on their 2D animation videos. There is enormous potential within video content, and you have to make sure you’re not too late to join this bandwagon towards digital success.

This article was taken from BuzzFlick blog.

How to Boost Your Strategy with B2B Video Marketing

by Wendy Marx / September 21, 2020

B2B video marketing has raised a few eyebrows in recent years. Some find it hard to picture B2B CEOs scrolling through video on social media or surfing YouTube, especially to view business-related content.

So we have to ask the question: Is video B2B marketing a viable tactic for your strategy?

We 100% believe it is — and we’re not alone. There is a growing number of B2B businesses that successfully use video marketing in their strategy.

Why should you consider video in your strategy? Let’s look at a few hard facts that indicate that video is the future of marketing.

Why Focus on Video Marketing for B2B

There are so many proven strategies for B2B marketing, including blogs, ebooks, and white papers — why invest in a new content format, especially one that is such a departure from the “norm” that we’ve grown accustomed to?
Because it works.

How can we be so confident? Because numbers don’t lie. Consider just a few studies that back up video marketing as the next big thing in B2B…

According to one survey, all businesses who were using video in their strategy plan to continue using it. And 65% plan to increase their video content.
80% of marketers found that video marketing had directly helped to increase sales.
83% of video marketers say that video has helped them with lead generation.

There’s no way around it — video is one of the fastest growing content formats across the board. But how you pursue video marketing can make a big difference in your success.

Let’s consider several ways that you can ensure your strategy’s success and remain most relevant to your audience throughout your video marketing strategy.

How to Use B2B Video Marketing in Your Strategy

1. Do Your Research

Deciding to create video content is just one step in your strategy. Once you decide to create videos. you will need to make some decisions, all of which will include some research on your part.

Consider the following questions…

What platforms are going to be best for your brand? YouTube? Instagram? TikTok? Do your research to find out where your audience consumes its video content and what platforms have the tools you need.

What topics will make good video content? Create a plan of what topics you want to discuss in video format and your process. Are you going to video yourself or use an animated format? What topics and video formats are trending right now?
What tools best fit your budget and goals? There are a number of video editing and production tools to choose from, at a variety of price points (including free). Look at what each tool does and what you need to be able to do to create the videos you want.

This is just a sample of questions that you need to ask yourself before you dive into video marketing. Doing so will save you a lot of frustration along the way.

2. Use What You Got

When you’re just starting out in video marketing, it can seem daunting. A good way to take some of the pressure off is to use what you already have in your content archives.

Look at your most popular blog posts, for example. What topics could easily be repurposed into a video format? Since you have the content already, it will be easy to reformat it into a video-style script.

Slideshares and infographics can also be easily transitioned into video, especially since they’re already visual by nature.

If you have a library of past blog posts, a great tool that can help you turn them into video is Lumen5. This handy tool pulls straight from your blog post to create a video within moments. Then all you need to do is edit, add music, choose a size depending on the social network you’re using, and voila — a ready-to-share video!

3. Leverage Animation

Shy about getting in front of the camera? The great news is you don’t necessarily have to. There are a number of tools that will help you turn your content into lively and engaging animation. There are a number of user-friendly, top-quality animation software packages, including Toonly and Doodly, to name a couple.

While animation may seem like a the furthest thing from your B2B strategy, many brands have found it to be incredibly effective at reaching their audience. Granted, animation wouldn’t be a good fit in every situation. But, for instance, in explainer videos, where you want to describe a complicated subject in an approachable way, animation is a very effective tool.

4. Caption Your Video

Video captions are increasingly popular in video marketing. And this goes beyond an issue of accessibility. On many social media platforms, researchers have noted that the majority of viewers prefer to watch without sound, in which case video captions are the only way to get your message across.

Captioning your videos isn’t just about ease of use. It is also a great way to improve your SEO. This helps your content gain organic traction and attract views.

There are a number of AI-powered tools that will create fast and accurate captioning for your videos. It’s a relatively small step in your video creation process, but will pay off big with your audience.

5. Make It Short and Sweet

Short-form video content is rapidly gaining in popularity. The most popular example of this is the TikTok social media platform, where users post videos of one minute or less. While the platform started out featuring youths, it has grown to include educational and B2B content as well.

With the rise in TikTok’s popularity, we’ve seen other popular platforms following suit. For example, YouTube’s Shorts feature (with videos of 15 seconds or less) is currently being tested in limited markets but is expected to hit global YouTube accounts very soon. And Instagram Reels has recently come out, in which users can enjoy short, 15-second videos on a range of subjects.

Whether you believe your brand is a good fit for TikTok or not, short-form video content is a trend that you would do well to keep your eye on. It might be, with the right content and topics, that short-form video content is just what B2B audiences need right now.

6. Do a Live Stream

It’s been a few years now since live streaming was first introduced to social networks. Now it is virtually ubiquitous, with almost every social network offering this feature.

It can be daunting to do a live stream, with no chance to pause or go back and re-record something. But audiences have come to love the open nature of live streaming and the authenticity that it brings to the table.

How can you get started in live streaming? Look for areas where your audience would appreciate being involved in real-time. Perhaps a special company announcement, an interview, or a behind-the-scenes tour.

Live streaming does require more preparation before you sit down in front of the camera. You should have general notes to guide the conversation, but you don’t want to be tied to a word-for-word script. You may even want to do a practice run to work out any pre-stream jitters. Make it as extemporaneous and genuine as possible.

3 Examples of Companies Who Rock Their Video B2B Marketing

1. Adobe

Adobe has been at the leading edge of video marketing for a while now — and the company continues to lead the way. With hashtags like #creativityforall and #createyourstory, Adobe built brand awareness while also addressing key issues its audience cares about.

There’s even a section of their playlist called Adobe Think Tank, where they feature trending issues like artificial intelligence, digital workplaces, and the role of the latest technology.

Its latest video campaign, #HonorHeroes, speaks to what is happening in the world right now due to COVID-19. The video is short-form, totaling 1 minute in length, and features artists’ portraits of everyday people doing extraordinary things to keep life going during pandemic — including healthcare workers, first responders, and sanitation workers, to name a few. This video has received almost 3.5 million views and is a creative way to use Adobe’s voice to help the community.

2. Constant Contact

This company impressed us with the size of its video efforts. As soon as you enter its YouTube page, you are met with videos on every subject. You’ll see videos on customer questions, tutorials, and webinars. Pretty much any question that a customer has, there’s a video that answers it.

Constant Contact is not only rocking its video content. It is leveraging every aspect of the YouTube platform for its brand. Every video description has links to its website for more information, as well as social media links. And all the video content is neatly organized for easy browsing.

There’s even an ongoing series called Power Hour, in which they feature pros who share their expert advice on marketing. The most recent one, shown below, features Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank, as he shares his perspective on recent marketing and business challenges, including those of the pandemic.

3. Deloitte

Deloitte has been at the forefront of video B2B marketing for a while now — and its latest campaign is no different. It promotes its latest survey which looked at the effects of the ongoing pandemic on the millennial and Gen Z populations.

As part of this campaign, Deloitte created a video entitled, A World Reimagined: The 2020 Global Millennial Survey. The video was masterfully produced to highlight the key takeaways of the survey and build people’s desire to read it for themselves.. Not only was it well created, but it also includes links to a microsite where people can get more information and download the survey.

This is just one small example from Deloitte’s video marketing strategy. Another ongoing video series that we enjoy is their Life at Deloitte series, where Deloitte introduces its audience to its company culture. This includes interviews of team members as well as previews of new programs. It’s an excellent example of how to include storytelling in your video marketing strategy.

In review…

Video marketing is the fastest growing content format for B2B companies. Don’t let it pass you by. We know it can be daunting in the beginning, but we promise that it is well worth the effort!

Article source: B2C (Business to Community) website

8 of the Best Animated Logos

By Joseph Foley

Animated logos work as movement gets attention. We look at 8 of the most underrated examples.

Animated logos are becoming a huge trend, and with good reason. The main purpose of a logo is to create brand awareness, and movement gets attention. A logo that moves has more chance of getting noticed, can keep the viewer's attention for longer, and can be more memorable since it needs fewer interactions to be recalled. As our logo design guide states, logos also need to live and evolve. Adding movement is a clear way to bring a logo to life and can make even a staid logo seem more fun and whimsical.

Animation can range from subtle movements to complex 3D effects, and moving logos are being placed in the intros and outros of videos, in social media posts, email campaigns, presentations, and in place of regular logos on websites. Some brands are even using several animated logos for different uses, following the trend of developing temporary logos for individual campaigns and products. Here we look at 10 of the best examples of moving logos to inspire your work.

01. WWF

There are many ways to animate a logo but sometimes a very subtle movement is best. Even the smallest of movements is enough to draw the eye and create a pleasing effect that keeps the viewer watching a second longer. While there are a lot of animated logos out there with both the mark and logotype forming and disappearing, an animation that lasts too long can detract from the logo itself. Jenny Leibundgut’s 1986 WWF logo is a well-known classic. When Brien Hopkins animated it for a Planet Nutshell-produced animated film for a campaign to prevent arctic drilling (below), he added just enough movement to the mark in the logo lockup to make us smile, and add extra emotional engagement and interest.

The design was for one single use. Bringing the panda to life with movement of the paws and head to make it look like it's walking fits with the mood of the animation in the film that precedes it.

02. Designtorget

A more elaborate take on animating a logo can involve using the movement to tell us more about what the brand does than the static logo alone. This animated logo created by Stockholm design agency Kurppa Hosk for Scandinavian interior design store Designtorget tells us more about the brand, and about its logo. The 'D' and 'T' are used to create various products that the store sells – furniture, tableware – in a way that also highlights the brand's stylish, often minimalist Scandinavian aesthetic. It's a great example of how animating a logo can contribute to the story behind a brand.

03. Allvit

Another use of animated logos is to draw attention to something we may not have noticed in the original logo. Many logos carry meaning through symbols used in place of letters or hidden in the negative space in their designs, but sometimes people take some time to notice – think the famous FedEx logo (or the more recent Multiply logo). These features can be exploited and made more apparent in moving versions. This animated logo by Nikita Melnikov for Norwegian online book search depository Alvit makes the magnifying glass in the negative space of the 'a' explicit, telling a story that highlights the website’s searchability.

04. Feral Sphere

Animation can also emphasise the personality of a logo, and of the brand itself. UK fashion label Feral Sphere makes clothing made from organic cotton using 100 per cent renewable solar and wind energy. Its logo, devised by Mind Design and illustrator Lenia Hauser, was inspired by Japanese Shinto spirits. It is quite literally a feral sphere, and the animation highlights its feral personality even more.

The movement of the lines brings to mind the wind in trees, flocking birds and swarming bees, all connections to nature that seem appropriate for a brand with a commitment to sustainability. The movement emphasises the brand's organic feel by highlighting the wild sense of freedom in the logo's hand-drawn design. It feels distinctive, personal and hand-crafted.

05. Fox

Animating logos can also be useful when making a transition to a new brand identity. If a rebrand is particularly radical, animation can be used to show a recognised logo transition into a new design to communicate the change. Last year, Fox Entertainment launched an additional logo to complement its main identity, with radically different chunky letterforms.

The abstract treatment for animations and digital use, designed by Trollbäck + Company, has a satisfying weight to it and aims to show a company taking risks and leading the way. But used alone it may have confused viewers, particularly since the 'F' looks more than a little like a 'V', meaning the logo could be read as Vox. Using it in animations showing a transition from the regular logo help to ease the new identity on board.

06. Eat

Black and white is a classic combination for logos and there's no reason to stray from that when animating them either. Black and white logos are among the most enduring and can potentially never go out of style. They can be simple and classy, they can call attention without distracting, and they can be applied to a wide range of designs. This simplicity also allows motion designers to play with concepts when animating them, like in this logo for EAT, an exhibition on food in Singapore. Designed by Fable, it plays with beefing up the logotype as it eats, and becomes "FAT".

07. Yokohama

For additional impact that creates a memorable logo, movement can be combined with sound. A logo with its own soundmark can even become a meme – the Intel logo chime anyone? (See our best audio logos for more examples.) Television and film companies have long used moving logos accompanied by sound at the intro or outro of productions to generate strong brand awareness.

In 2018, Japanese rubber company Yokohama took a novel approach when it animated its red lines logo by recording the sound of the wind passing through the leaves of trees in the company's own forest, to show its greater commitment to the environment. It even made the above video about the making of the sound. The video of course closes with the logo in question.

08. Boro

When it comes to logotypes, animation is a great way to bring out the character of the type, whether that involves rigid geometry, sharp angles or rounded curves. This animated logo designed by UI design agency Boro for itself accentuates the rounded shapes of the type, showing the letters rolling out of each other. The finishing touch is the little surprise of the full stop that pops out of the curve of the 'r' after a slight hesitation. It makes the agency seem modern, fun and approachable.

Source: Creative Bloq

7 Tips For a Great Logo

Why are logos so important? First impressions are essential in today's business world. A brand's perception is critical because it can help you connect to your target audience. Visuals go a long way when it comes to creating a brand impression and turning audiences into fans.

Change is a constant in all areas, and design isn't an exception. This article is the result of a quest to find the best recent tips for logo design.

Let us start by understanding the importance of creating a unique feel for your brand. How do people feel when they come across your brand, what vibe does your brand give off to audiences?

Right from the tone of your brand's voice to the way your logo or ads are designed, or to develop your content on (social) media. These are just some of the factors that determine how people perceive brands. This process is natural, and it is up to each brand to unlock that connection with all aspects of its branding.

In this article, we will go through 7 tips that can help you to create a great logo;

Pay Attention to Colors

Colors are not "just colors"; there is a connection between the human brain and specific colors. Colors can say a lot about people, places, and ideas. This is why you need to pay attention to the message that your brand's colors pass across with the colors on your logo. What are your primary colors saying about your brand? (we previously posted an article about this). You can also use colors to grab the attention of a select type of people and project a brand personality.

Leverage Simplicity

The most powerful designs are the ones that tell stories about the brand with a memorable logo. This is why the designer must know the brand inside out. You don't have to deplore all the design elements on a single logo to make it work. At first glance, a great logo should communicate something. Whether your logo is a color or an illustration, your target audience needs to understand the design.

Scalability Too!

A great logo is one that is impressive in all sizes and variety. Your logo's quality should remain the same, whether it is scaled on a giant billboard or inscribed on a face mask. Also, your logo has to be impressive with or without colors. Great logos are great logos, even in black and white. There are many instances where your logo will appear in black and white (faxed documents, newspaper ads, or on any black and white screen).

Shape It If You Like

Do you know that you can use shapes to think outside the box? You have loads of options to choose from to create your magic. When combined with gradients (we wrote an article about gradients earlier) or textures, shapes can produce great logos.

Fonts are also crucial as they help you to create a mental connection with your audience.

Evolve

Change is a constant, and you either have to find a way or fade away. It is important to understand general changes and discoveries in the design world. This will guide you to make the needed changes to your logo when you need to.

The iconic logos on the market today have mostly morphed into what they are today. For example, the Nike "swoosh" design is iconic and simple. However, the logo went through several modifications to become what it is today.

It would help if you didn't rush to make changes to your design. Remember, your logo should evolve as your brand adjusts to changes through the times.

Avoid Cliche

Although you must stay updated with the latest design trends, you also need to avoid jumping on bandwagons. It is best to get inspiration from these trends and then create something unique. It gets boring when too many designers over flog the same idea.

Therefore, it is best to know the latest trends and various. This way, you can find what's best for your brand.

One of the more recent development with design is the use of software. Several excellent software have been developed over the years to make the design process more straightforward and quicker. Today, you can create unique designs and a bunch of other intangible brand assets on the go.

There are many of these templates and tools on vdeesign.com. Let us examine one of them;

3D Wireframe Logo Reveal Bundle.

The 3D Wireframe Logo Reveal Bundle is an After Effects template, where you can use your logo to create thematic logo animations in seconds.

This is a great way to display your logo in a different light. To make it work, you need to drop your logo into the placeholder, and the software will do the magic for you!

You can use any logo with transparency (such as .png .ai .eps etc). This template also works with all fonts and formats.

With this tool, you can;

customize your logo animation

change colors sizes, photos,
and lots more!

All music tracks and graphics are included for free with this package. The 3D wireframe looking bundle is the ideal, user-friendly design tool that can be used by both beginners and professionals.

If you are looking to improve the quality of your brand and online presence, then this 3D Wireframe Logo Bundle is the best deal on the market.

Bring your logo to life with these truly delightful and photo-realistic animations today!

Other features of this template include;

10 Unique logo animated themes
4K Quality / Mobile Vertical / Square versions included
Music and SFX are included for FREE
Backgrounds and graphic elements are included for FREE
100% After Effects project (You can change all aspects independently)
Drop & Drag your logo and the effect is automatically applied
Fully customizable colors, fonts, and layouts
User-friendly After Effects template structure
Easy to adjust length and size
No plugins or third-part scripts required
Step by step video walkthrough tutorial included
Works with After Effects in all languages
Dedicated customer support
Free regular updates

Rounding Up…

These days, visuals are essential to brands' overall personality, and it starts with a great logo. Your logo should tell your story, from the colors to the fonts and the rest of the design.

Effective communication is a crucial aspect of the modern-day business as it ensures sales through proper brand positioning. A logo is your brand's Identity card; make it cool.

Using Explainer Videos to Promote Brand Permanence

In the hectic world we live in, we are surrounded by brands trying to catch our interest in many different ways. They offer us plenty of things to do, to see, to hear… In short, there’s a lot of content out there competing for our limited attention.

So, when you see so many businesses going for explainer videos as key pieces of their marketing strategy, it doesn’t take a genius to know there’s something valuable there.

Now, not every explainer is created equal. Variety and adaptability are staples of the style. But one thing all great explainer videos have in common can be reduced to two words: effective branding.

Yes. Your brand’s character should shine through every element on the screen. Making your video unique while distinguishing it from every other piece of content out there.

So today, you’ll learn what aspects to tweak to make the most out of branding and create an explainer that’s hard to forget.

Ready?

Display Your Logo Organically

We can’t talk about effective video branding without mentioning your logo since it plays an essential part in your brand recognition. The thing is, it can be hard to know how to include it in your video.

You see, explainer videos shouldn’t be too “salesy.” The viewers should engage with the narrative and be immersed in it, almost forgetting they are watching a piece of advertisement.

Now, if you deploy the logo without context that justifies its presence, it can take the viewers out of the story. So, here are two methods to display your logo organically and efficiently.

As you might know, an explainer video often starts by focusing on the customer’s pain-points. It’s only later that the company’s product is introduced as a way of dealing with them. That is the ideal moment to present your logo: paired with the first mention of your brand or product.

It should take the stage for a brief instant before moving on. Then, near the end, you can reinforce your branding by also displaying it as the video draws to a close.

Between those two tentpole moments, though, your logo should appear only subtly. That way, you can showcase it without affecting the story’s natural pace and development.

A common practice is to try to display it on some objects on the screen, as part of the setting. Even better if those elements are somewhat related to your brand! For instance, if your company’s building appears in the video, your logo can be shown as a sign at the door.

However, don’t get too carried away with this technique, or you’ll be back with the problem of being too much “in your viewer’s faces.”

Implementing Your Color Palette

First impressions matter and few things have as much influence on first impressions as color!

In fact, between 62% and 90% of the initial judgment a person makes about someone or something is purely based on color. Quite a lot, isn’t it? But when you think about it, it comes as no surprise.

You may have already noticed that the overall impression of any visual piece varies depending on its predominant colors. Take the video below as an example. The company went for a color palette that conveyed professionalism and innovation. Do you think it would express the same vibe if it was made in green tones and had a white background?

Probably not.

Anyway, the company didn’t so much choose that color palette just because it reflects innovation, but because those are the colors that represent their brand! You can find the same colors scattered throughout their logo, their webpage, their social media accounts, and their other pieces of content.

And no, it’s no coincidence. It is the sort of tactic that helps people receive a cohesive message from a brand across all of its channels.

So, when deciding your video’s palette, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Stick to those colors that already represent your brand and reflect its identity. Or take the opportunity to define the colors that should represent it! Then, implement those colors in the aesthetic elements of your video: the clothing, the setting, the objects, etc.

You will, of course, use other colors as well. However, keep in mind those should only appear as a complement to the rest of the videos’ aesthetics, without prevailing as the protagonists of the piece.

Underline Your Brand’s Presence with Animation

Few things benefit video branding more than animation.

For starters, animated video companies can deal more easily with the mentioned branding aspects ―the logo’s placement and the color palette. The logo can be incorporated more smoothly in the scene, and your brand’s color scheme can be applied in greater detail.

But branding your video also requires adapting many other features to fit the company’s identity.

That’s easy to do with animation, as the medium allows you to create your video’s characters, location, and objects from scratch to reflect your brand’s identity through them.

You can even make a green beaver ride a rocket if that’s what it takes to get your message across!

Live-action videos, on the other hand, require you to be much more retrained with your ideas. Decisions about the story and the elements on the screen are limited to the possibilities and realities of your budget in a much more stringent way.

Use Powerful Storytelling

Branding isn’t limited to your videos’ aesthetics either. It should also be taken into account when creating the script itself.

Shoot for a story with your brand’s “personal” touch in it. Making sure you are weaving a message that can transmit its values and essence.

Take the video below, for example. It tells the story of the company and highlights the importance they give to their ancient methods of treating cinnamon.

However, an explainer video is truly memorable when branding is paired with emotion-driven storytelling.

We remember best those things that genuinely strike a chord with us, making us laugh, cry, or feel empowered. Basically, it becomes much easier to remember something if it expresses a powerful emotion.

That emotion should be related to your brand’s distinctive attitude. For instance, if your company comes across as modern and fun, then you probably shouldn’t go for nostalgia or FOMO.

In a nutshell, try to touch your viewer’s heart while being faithful to your brand’s unique tone.

Parting Thoughts

What use is an explainer video if once seen, people can’t tell where it came from?

Let me answer for you: none! That’s why branding your video shouldn’t be treated as “an option,” but a priority.

Every major element in your video should convey your brand’s identity in some way. Otherwise, your resources and efforts might fail to pan out.

That said, don’t get carried away with it! It’s not like the more branding; the more memorable your company will be. In fact, too much brand references can become evident to the viewers, and take them out of the message your video wants to convey. It’s better to go for a subtle branding that’s subconsciously perceptible but doesn’t call too much the attention.

By Victor Blasco / August 31, 2020

Source: Business 2 Community

ANIMATED LOGO DESIGN — Motion is to Branding What Salt is to Food

Animated logo design rocks. There. I said it.

Motion is a tool of branding used by the best brands in the world. (Much like salt is one of the staples used by the finest chefs in the world, yes, salt. In fact, Kosher salt is known for its bigger crystals and flavor.)

Motion. Animation. Design. Color.

Each of these (like salt) add another dimension and, more importantly, amplify the meaning of the brand.

ANIMATED LOGO DESIGN

So recently, I created a compilation of some recent brands I’d designed showcasing how motion added to their meaning and how “motion is to branding what salt is to food: used wisely, it amplifies what it’s applied to.”

But first, let’s see some of these by themselves in action:

TO SEE THE FULL STORY OF THIS REBRAND OF THE UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY OF PHILADELPHIA, CLICK HERE.

TO SEE HOW THIS ANIMATION OF THE WORD, COURAGE, CAME TO LIFE, CLICK HERE.

TO SEE HOW THIS WAS USED TO CONVEY THE EMOTIONAL SIDE OF NYC’S PREMIER LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, CLICK HERE.

As you can see, motion “brings out the flavor” of these brands.

THE MAIN COURSE (VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED)

Here’s the compiled video showcasing these brands. But be warned, the music is catchy and may result in involuntary motion, dancing and a sense of feeling cooler than usual.

OK, I turn the dance floor over to you.

This article was taken from DBD International.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN TRENDS OF GRAPHIC DESIGN TODAY?

By Anuja Lath 25/08/2020

Graphic design has mainly been influenced by pop culture trends and technological developments lately.

All design elements, tools, and working processes are impacted by preferences most likely derived from famous movies, photographers, artists, or technological changes specific to this industry.

These trends are very important because they make this art sophisticated and have a modern or futuristic appearance. They are also crucial for business owners that would like to build a brand identity appealing to the masses.

To remain competitive as a graphic designer, it is essential to know these trends and keep up with them. What are the main trends that have impacted graphic design today? Here is the top selection of latest trends that have been adopted by designers:

Isometric Illustrations

Isometric illustrations are one of the strongest trends today because of their stunning visual design. These types of visuals are quite different because they bring a 2D surface to life. They do not necessarily include a 3D background and a different foreground but the entire design is one thing.

For example, certain elements might be making up text that would overlay the design in traditional visuals. With isometric illustrations, the background and foreground are unified and that brings that design to life. This has been commonly seen on website designs and infographics.

3D and Realism

3D and realistic images have yet to reach their peak because this trend is still going strong nowadays. Regardless of what kind of design is being created, lifelike visuals are starting to become commonplace. Designers might also choose to use 2D elements and compose them with 3D realistic visuals.

The digital marketing head at best essay writing service UK says that short videos or GIFs have been powered by using these types of visuals and they have worked well in a variety of applications. Even website pages are starting to incorporate 3D effects that are either animated or realistic. For example, some have moving images or videos on the background and that experience is quite immersive.

Stock Photos with an Authentic Appeal

Graphic designers do not only work with vectors, geometric patterns, and color palettes only anymore. They are evolving and starting to use images more efficiently to produce great visuals loved by a lot of people. Not all kinds of images make the cut for sophisticated and modern designs. Stock photos with an authentic appeal are a popular choice amongst designers.

These images are then mashed with other visualizations and turned into collages or added text appealingly. Some designers do not even go to stock images and ask photographers for specific kinds of images or even take them when they have the required skills and equipment.

Nike has manifested this on their Just Do It social media marketing campaign, they have used images and mashed them with text and other design elements.

Image & Text Masking

Image & text masking are exemplary ways to make a design stand out and also fulfill its purpose of passing a certain message. There are a lot of ways designers have used to implement this design element.

For example, a ripped page with text written in the missing piece or a splash of water with wording conforming to that element. These are just a few methods depicting how this design aspect has been used effectively.

Target audiences have accepted these types of designs quite well and that is why this trend has grown strong lately. This world is based on information but lengthy text can be boring and result in a small audience engaging meaningfully with that content. Beautiful image & text masking elements help spread that particular message much more efficiently.

Artistic Typography

Fonts found on Word and other computer productivity tools are gradually phasing out when it comes to a graphic design perspective. Today, designers are playing around with a variety of elements and styles to create artistic typography for their designs.

For example, designers might use patterns or objects used daily to create a letter of the alphabet or number. Other elements of artistic typography include inverted letters or numbers or even using the latter to represent a certain letter in a word.

In some cases, artistic typography has been used by writing an incomplete letter such as an "i" that has not been dotted or using heavy fonts.

Zendesk uses a simplistic typeface that is very appealing and eye-grabbing at the same moment. That is what some designers have been building towards but others let their creativity drive them to more eccentric designs.

Monochromatic Effects

Monochromatic effectsare quite captivating and graphic designers have used them on a variety of images. In most cases, this effect has widely been seen on images with promotional wording or other typography.

Some images just have a portion of them with this monochromatic effect. A lot of individuals doing design have used this effect because of how it supports communication using images as well as visual cohesion.

Also, throwing text on top of a monochromatic image can be a relatively easy task than writing on a normal picture. Choosing perfect colors that do not contradict or become hard to see due to image background and element palettes is a hard task.

Whereas a monochromatic effect gives you greater flexibility when choosing font type, size, and coloring. Spotify is a perfect example of using monochromatic effects on videos and images and their application of this design element indicates how efficient it is.

Muted Colors

Choosing a perfect color palette for design is very important and graphic designers are starting to be very selective about this aspect. Instead of sticking to regular colors that are bright and common to most people, graphic designers are opting for muted colors.

These types of colors are not bright and true like commonly known palettes instead they are either overly exposed to brightness or lack thereof.

Sometimes they are diluted with another color. In some cases, muted colors look like they are more opaque or have a darker shade.

For example, LinkedIn's branding color is muted and it makes this company stand out from other sites. Designers have started shifting their focus on these types of colors and because of this, they are trending today.

Abstract Illustrations

You have got to admit, art is much more interesting when it is abstract and requires a second look to try and understand it. That second look is all graphic designers need to get their art recognized and loved by more individuals.

If designs are generic and just like any other, the audience’s perception will be diluted by similar visuals. To stand out, graphic designers use abstract illustrations when creating stunning visuals like infographics or carousel social media posts.

This type of art is also used on standard images and sometimes might be presented as a comical series of pictures. Whereas, other designers are creating abstract illusions for business marketing purposes. For example, Mailchimp uses abstract illusions on their website and emails to market all product offerings and have evidently succeeded.

Brand-Specific GIFs

GIFs are very popular amongst everyday digital chats between friends, family, or colleagues and even on social media posts. For a long time, these GIFs were based on popular figures such as movie stars or famous musicians. Graphic designers are reinventing the wheel on this aspect because they are designing brand-specific designs for businesses.

Those GIFs might be related to a certain event currently taking place or an upcoming holiday. For example, Google has used GIFs to announce certain important events such as their science fair or mini-golf day.

GIFs are trending because of their ability to captivate attention from the targeted audience and relay important information in a fun visually aesthetic way. Designers either use authentic images or complete animations when creating GIFs but the latter takes precedence.

Dystopian Aesthetic

There is definitely something about a post-apocalyptic world and graphic designers have harnessed this intriguing theme on a variety of designs.

From visuals of albums to novel covers and even business posters, the dystopian aesthetic has worked wonderfully for designers. Hence, this trend will grow stronger especially due to advanced sci-fi or post-apocalyptic movies that have permeated throughout pop-culture.

Dystopian aesthetic influenced designers makes the target audience pause a bit and try to understand what is going on. Some designs influenced by this trend have a one survivor or some kind of silver-lining which brings back hope to viewers.

For example, Tesla has used this design element when marketing its new concept car which looks like it just made it out of a mad max movie.

The Bottom Line

Graphic design has evolved greatly over the years and all these changes have contributed to enhanced creativity and beautiful designs being outputted. The latest technologies have been used by designers to make this come true and as time goes on, you should expect these trends to grow strong with some advancements. Designers should adapt to these design trends to keep up with the latest consumer perceptions influenced by pop culture or other preferences.

Source: BBN Times

Why Animation and Explainer Videos Are So Effective in Digital Advertising

By Dana Kachan / May 27, 2020

Brands are seeking ways to tell their stories to customers and engage them within several minutes. In the modern digital world, you have even less than a minute to catch attention, stick to memory, and awake an unforgettable spectrum of emotions associated with your brand. No need to look for anything better for audience engagement than a video. I don’t claim it’s a holy truth, but just a very subjective opinion and personal digital marketing finding.

Video is probably the most powerful narrative form in digital advertising. The first thirty seconds define whether the potential customer is interested in your offering and will continue listening to your brand message. Thirty seconds of an engaging video can be packed with more value to a target audience than any other type of content. The brand’s main challenge is to leverage this time as effectively as possible.

There is one more hint that can help your business stand out with a recognizable style. Animation. It is hard to repeat, plagiarize, or copy. It’s a very original and unique product itself. What can be better than introducing your company to an audience by employing the shape that is literally screaming about your brand’s uniqueness and unusual approach to things? Extraordinary, memorable, entertaining, and easy-to-understand. This fun and unobtrusive cartoon can do more for your business success and popularity than any sales pitch or digital advert. There are a lot of ways marketing can benefit from the animated video.

Animation by Fireart Studio — Animation by Fireart Studio

Of course, these are just words, so, let’s take a look at data taken from real-life stories.

Once, Crazy Egg hired Demo Duck to produce an explainer video that helped them earn $21,000 of additional revenue per month. Not bad for a single animated video that cost around $5,000-15,000.
Work.com increased conversions by 20% thanks to an explainer video produced by Switch Video.
Dropbox created the video that grew conversions by 10%. Viewed more than 750,000 times in a month, this video resulted in several thousand extra sign-ups for their service per day

Here is one more excellent example of an animated commercial that really multiplies conversions.

Why Animation Is So Powerful

We love to listen to stories. And we love to watch them even more!

Do you remember yourself being a child? I bet you have liked watching cartoons, probably even more than ice-cream. They are entertaining, adventurous, and featuring exciting stories. Although we are adults, we still love to listen to engaging stories! And your customers too. Try to investigate your target audience and tell a story that would resonate with them. It would be particularly useful if you told your brand’s story in a short animated video.

Animation creates a lasting impression

It’s not easy to find anything more memorable than a fun animated character, acting in an adventurous story. The hero alone can evoke a whole range of associations and emotions, not mention an extraordinary plot and additional visual effects featured in an animated video.

Most often, we perceive information through a prism of associations and our own system of concepts. What I see is a red flower, someone else will see it as a purple rose of a rare species, while another person can see it as a simple plant and nothing more. Our views of the world are so different. But, there are things that unite all of us — basic emotions and strong associations instilled by society. An animation video is a perfect medium for encoding particular feelings and positive associations related to a brand. Visualized in the form of a cartoon, they are especially sticky and powerful.

Increase brand awareness with a branded animation

In an animated video, you can use branding colors, logos, or other elements of a brand identity to emphasize your company’s distinctive style. There are many examples in which famous companies use color palettes commonly associated with their brands in animated commercials to raise brand awareness and recognizability.

Just look at these fun pals with green hair in the video produced by Explain Ninja for Pipedrive. Green is one of Pipedrive’s primary branding colors, so the company intentionally applied it in a video to build specific color associations with a brand.

An animated video sells while being unsalesy

We are more about to make a purchase when this decision is natural and driven by our conclusions about a brand and its products (or services). People don’t like sales pitches or too obvious promotion because it automatically implies some pressure and intentional influence on their decision-making process.

On the contrary, animation allows you to introduce your product or service to the public as unobtrusively as possible. The video may include a slight hint at your product as the best solution to the customer’s problem, however, it’s not necessary. Anyway, your main goal is to entertain the customer, grab their attention, and evoke interest in a brand. All the rest will happen organically when a potential customer enters your website to learn more about a brand, staying behind the video.

Animation builds an emotional connection with the customer

Animation triggers a lot of emotions if to compare with other types of content. Entertaining the viewer, and providing visual satisfaction, it helps also set emotional bonds with a person, communicating at a more personal and intuitive level. It allows a brand to transfer information more effectively and anchor the company’s ideas in the customer’s heart and mind. A more emotional type of communication helps set long-term relationships between a company and its customers.

Conclusion

The digital space, marketing messages, and advertising are saturated with repeating messages and visuals. Stand up and stand out! The digital advertising, as well as marketing communication with your customers, is the Art. Your brand can lead in it by leveraging the power of an explainer video or animated commercial. Hopefully, my insights will be useful for your business and help you come up with fresh ideas for your marketing and advertising.

This article was written for Business 2 Community by Dana Kachan.

Source: Business 2 Community website.

10 Helpful Types of Video for Business

Using video for business is no longer an upcoming trend–it’s the norm. Business Insider reports that consumers will spend 84 minutes each day watching online video in 2020. And according to Forbes, viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to just 10% retention when they read the text alone.

These numbers show that people are watching videos and it’s an impactful medium for communication.

The good news is that if you aren’t making videos yet, it’s not too late to start. Whether you work for a big brand or a small business, video content is a great tool for building trust with potential customers.

We’ve compiled a list of ten types of video for your business to inspire you as you plan your first (or your next) video project.
Let’s dive in!

1. Screencast video

A screencast video is simply a recording of your computer screen. It often includes audio, though the sound is not a need. Screencast videos can be used internally or externally, and they can stand alone or be used within another video.

There are many use cases for screencasts:

Create quick, disposable videos for colleagues and clients
Record meetings
Provide clear feedback
and more

2. Social media video

Social media video can be presented in a variety of formats or styles. These types of video are designed to share on a social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Each platform has specific requirements and norms, so be mindful as you plan your video and where you plan to share it. One feature all social media videos should have in common, though, is captions (if your video features someone talking). Captions are critical, as many users will view the content without sound.

3. Content marketing video

Video is now a must for your marketing strategy.

Andy Crestodina, renowned speaker, author, and Co-founder of Orbit Media Studios, says a good content marketing video is one is one that’s full of “helpful stuff that gives your audience value in exchange for their attention.”

He shares that video marketing can help with search engine optimization. If your video topics address answers to questions your audience is searching for on the web you have a good chance of getting found.

4. Explainer video

An explainer video is exactly what it sounds like—a video that explains something. It should communicate a specific concept or idea in a concise and focused way.

Many businesses use explainers as promotional videos to communicate the value of their product or service.

5. Demo video

A demo video illustrates how your product works by showing off its functionality in action. The key here is showing rather than telling. If your product or service is in the software or technology category, it can be effective to record your screen directly for your demo.

6. Customer story video (aka testimonial video)

With a customer story video or testimonial video, you allow your customer to talk about their experience with your product or service. You’ll want to film these as an interview, then edit them to tell the story. They highlight problems or pain points and then illustrate how your company’s solution can solve them. These videos are easy for your potential customers to identify with and they prove the value of your product or service.

7. Training video

A training video is one that instructs the audience how to complete a specific task. These can be used both internally and externally and can be created to teach the audience how to do just about anything. These instructional videos show everything from how to log in to a program, to how to make a training video (meta, right?!).

8. Tutorial or how-to video

Similarly to a training video, a tutorial video is one that teaches the audience how to do something. The terms tutorial video, training video, and how-to video are often interchangeable. All should teach their audience.

9. Presentation video

A presentation video, also sometimes referred to as lecture capture, is a recording of a presentation to make it available after the fact. This style can range from simply combining audio narration with a slide deck, to a more formal recording, such as an in-person presentation like a TED talk.

10. Microvideo

Microvideos are short, instructional videos that focus on teaching a single, narrow topic. According to eLearning and Development Consultant Josh Cavalier, a good length for a microvideo is between six and sixty seconds.
When you create a microvideo, it’s important you show only what is essential in order to understand the concept.

Time to make the videos!

There you have it—ten types of video for business, some of which you can start making today! If you’re looking for a tool to help you get started, we recommend checking out Camtasia.

Camtasia is built with training videos in mind and is perfect for businesses and entrepreneurs to create learning video content.

If you’re interested in learning more about creating videos, be sure to visit the TechSmith Academy for additional helpful resources and downloadable templates.

By Allison Boatman
Source: TechSmith

How Digital Illustration and Motion Graphics Can Boost Your Sales & Marketing

by Dana Kachan

Illustration by Julia Hanke for Fireart Studio — *Illustration by* *Julia Hanke* *for* *Fireart Studio*

The powers of digital illustration and motion design are equally impressive. Both of them work as influential customer decision-drivers and brand image-creators when it comes to interaction with a company in the digital space. The modern marketing landscape is crowded with tones of annoying ads with a quite straightforward and repeatable design. The online audience is thirsty for fresh air in what they see and interacts with.

Today, we’d like to talk about how you can boost your online business using digital illustration trends and motion design. While considering some digital marketing practices, we will also uncover how digital art illustration and the latest digital marketing hackstion can affect your customer minds and psyche, creating a positive brand image and doing it really unobtrusively. Fasten your belts because we start a short but exciting drive throughout the jungle of digital art and the latest digital marketing hacks.

Some Impressive Data

Here is some statistics that will reveal the power of digital illustration and animation in for your marketing:

1) According to molecular biologist John Medina, vision is our most dominant sense, taking up half of our brain’s resources. (Brain Rules)
2) When people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later. (Brain Rules)
3) 70% of companies invest in content marketing, which could include visual marketing strategies. (HubSpot)
4) Animated walkthroughs are much more engaging than a static one (since animation is excellent at grabbing attention). (Shopify)
5) Including video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80%. (Dream Grow)

Are you still thinking about whether to invest or not in creating branded digital illustrations and animated videos? Let’s take a deeper look at how digital art can bring benefits to your business.

The Emotional Appeal to Customers

Animation by Aslan Almukhambetov for Explain Ninja — *Animation by Aslan Almukhambetov for* *Explain Ninja*

We love beautiful things. That’s simple, like 123. But, what if to try to maximize the beauty of your digital presence with astonishing digital illustrations and motion graphics? It must have an even more amazing effect on your marketing, right?

Humans are humans. They experience a whole palette of emotions. When interacting with a beautiful illustration on the company’s website or social media, we often feel more loyal to a brand. Why does it happen? Because digital illustration has the power to instill positive associations with a brand and stick these images to specific pleasant emotions. While pictures may be forgettable, strong emotions (both positive and negative) aren’t.

If we see the image and feel specific positive vibes, we will surely recognize it among thousands of others. We get a dose of fun and pleasure when looking at a masterful illustration or motion graphics and we willingly share it with our friends on social media.

Illustration by DAN Gartman — *Illustration by* *DAN Gartman*

It’s what we call the emotional appeal. While people are enjoying your digital illustrations, they start perceiving them as attributes of your brand. They associate these digital illustration styles with your company and its products or services.

So, the first step to creating a perfect illustration for your brand is to formulate what feelings, concepts, and ideas you want to encode in the image and share your vision with a digital artist. The illustration should reflect the inner world of your brand and its customers, including conceptions, values, and interests.

The desirable effect is when people see your brand name, they should start feeling a recognizable specter of positive feelings, which they are used to experience when seeing eye-catching illustrations accompanying your company everywhere on the web. It significantly contributes to a positive brand image.

The Brand Voice Empowerment & Increased Brand Awareness

Moreover, digital illustrations (as well as its sibling, motion graphics) are a perfect way to empower your brand image. You can design eye-catching and memorable heroes that can become mascots in the future. They introduce a brand and interact with users during a whole customer journey. For example, you can apply them to create an engaging user onboarding experience in a mobile app or website.

Illustration in App User Onboarding by Valeria Rimkevich — *Illustration in App User Onboarding by* *Valeria Rimkevich*

You can also use them during the checkout process, at the “Contact Us” page, or when making announcements on your social media profile. Mascots can become a part of your branding.

Now, imagine that you can breathe life into these flat images. Animated logos, animated mascots, GIFs, onboarding animation, animated explainer videos, and more – these are miracles created thanks to the fast evolution in motion design. You can even use the same brand color palette for your illustrations to emphasize your company’s unique style. It will help you raise brand awareness and recognition.

More Eye-Catching Digital Advertising

Animation by James Curran — *Animation by* *James Curran*

You might wonder how to boost business and multiply sales in times of the Coronavirus recession? Digital advertising might be the answer. However, before you start promoting your products or services online, you should keep in mind that the web is already saturated with ads, and you must be exceptionally creative to stand out from the crowd.

Perfect advertising should look like a spot of rest for the customer’s mind and a point of entertainment. The last thing to mention in your ad is your brand offering. Try to be as unobtrusive as possible. Don’t worry, people will surely recognize your brand and will reveal interest in your products and services if you’re lucky to catch their attention with creative advertising.

Digital illustration and motion graphics can be a visual part of your brand message. Regarding motion pictures, they are probably even more effective in advertising. All social media and search engine algorithms work according to the logic that implies that the system will recognize a post (or an ad) as valuable content and direct more traffic to it if the user spends more time watching it than on average. Consequently, it will help you cover the broader audience and promise the more powerful effect of digital advertising.

The Power of Engagement on Social Media

You can spark the whole tsunami of user engagement by enriching your social media content with digital illustrations and artistic GIFs. Honestly, I also have a few favorite brands whom I follow on social media just to enjoy their unique images and masterful motion graphics they share to promote their brand. Here we can also mention the power of aesthetical appeal for customers.

If your visuals are the embodiment of positive customer emotions, beautiful graphics, and a pinch of humor, your brand is very likely to reach popularity on social media quickly. Digital illustration and motions graphics are creative ways to tell your brand story and transfer your marketing message the most effectively.

Digital Illustration & Animation Will Drive Your Customer Loyalty

Both digital illustration and animated visuals can boost your customer loyalty by evoking positive user emotions, instilling powerful associations with a brand, and creating the company’s distinctive online image. They can also help you eliminate negative digital customer experience.

Just imagine, your customer has faced some technical issues on your website or in your mobile application, or maybe he or she is merely unsatisfied with a purchasing experience. You can soothe user pain and eliminate negative emotions by displaying funny animations or digital illustrations. They are more powerful than you can imagine.

The sales and marketing outcomes are worth investing in producing branded visuals, choosing specific digital illustration styles, and applying web animation techniques. They can help boost your business online and multiply sales in 2020.

Source: Customer Think website

Don't Stay Still. Why Brand Needs an Animated Logo

Digital technologies keep bringing innovations so design field evolves fast. One trend changes another and designers need to keep up with modern techniques and directions.

Motion design was called one of the leading trends of this year. Animated elements have become a core part of the powerful design by delivering innovative and fresh solutions. The animation is applied for various UI components of a digital product as well as for any other graphic material.

Animated logo is a popular asset of marketing and brand identity. Motion designers turn static logos into something new and unique. Today many brands continue sharing the animated version of the logos with the world. But why do companies invest into logo animation? Let’s find out what profit an animated logo can bring to a brand and where it can be applied.

Horsy logo animation

What’s an animated logo?

A logo is like a heart of a brand identity. It presents a personality of a company or a product and plays a significant role in a branding strategy. A powerful logo can set the connection with the target audience as well as tell the story of a brand. If graphic designers do their job right, a logo establishes an effective brand image which serves as the foundation of a successful marketing strategy.

The age of only print-focused and static graphic design has passed. Modern technology opens great opportunities and professionals need to take an advantage of it. To bring a fresh breath into logo, design experts decided to add some motion.

The level of animation can vary from simple moves to the complete short video presentation. A company and designers agree which kind of animation to choose and how long it will be according to business goals as well as the type of personality they want to demonstrate to the clients.

Today the tools helping to create animated graphics are in open access. Even more, they are clear enough to use so graphic designers often create animation on their own. However, in case a brand needs a complex video, it may be good to approach the specialists of the motion design sphere.

Really logo animation

Why does a brand need an animated logo?

As soon as the trend of the logo animation took its place, many big and small companies got in touch with designers. But why is it getting popular so fast?

An animated logo is a modern and dynamic way to present a brand. It can show a company character and transfer a certain message attracting clients. Moreover, it is a good way to stand out from competitors since an animated logo guarantees originality. Let’s see the list of benefits which an animated logo brings to a brand.

An original image

It’s not a secret that some brands have similar logos and even more, sometimes they can be competitors. It may happen not on purpose but just because brands are forced to apply some recognition elements in a logo which would give a hint about their services.

To bring a uniqueness to a logo, designers can add some motion. An animated logo allows the imagination go out of control. Original graphics combined with different visual effects create a unique way to perceive the logo.

Higher brand awareness

Many experts say that dynamic images, as well as video content, are comprehended better than static which means they are easy to remember. A powerful animated logo connects with potential clients and draws their attention effectively. Some animations can last up to 10 seconds which increases chances of memorizing compared to a short glance at the static image.

Pleasant first impression

The first impression has a great impact on how people see a product. It takes only a few seconds for us to decide whether we like something or not. Since a logo is the first representative of a brand it needs to make a nice first impression on potential clients. An original animated logo is a good way to surprise people and increase the chances that they will remember your brand. Positive first impression helps to attract users’ interest.

Evoked emotions

People like fresh and unusual ideas and an animated logo is a good way to surprise them. An effective logo animation can become a trigger for excitement, joy, and intrigue. If a logo can bring some positive emotions to the target audience, there are great chances that they will remember a brand and associate it with something pleasant.

Whizzly logo animation

Better storytelling

An animated logo can become a working part of a storytelling process. An animation can give more detailed explanation of the nature of a business than a static logo does. It works as a short video telling a unique story of a product or a company. Video content can easily set an emotional connection with viewers. In addition, video can be shared across the web which means more people can see a logo.

Company professionalism

Customers may not be experts in marketing field still they understand what is trending. A lot of famous companies including Google have already acquired animated versions of their logos and proudly share it with the whole world. That’s why when a brand shows that they keep up with the innovations, people see them as the real professional.

Binned animated logo

Where to use an animated logo

Video content targets all the digital space and can be applied in different cases with different purposes. Let’s see what they are.

Social networks

Nowadays, social networks are one of the major platforms for product promotion. People spend plenty of time surfing the Internet and communicating on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. The video content is an effective marketing tool which is easy to share and which can be quickly found among the other content. Moreover, animated logos can be converted to the GIFs becoming the effective material for social posting, so they can be shared across the social media.

Company website

Websites are like a CV for a company. It’s vital to make sure a website works effectively. An animated logo can improve the image of the site as well as boost its SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Visitors will watch logo animation and by doing so they will spend more time on a page. This indicator has a big impact on the website’s rank in the search results.

Presentations

Public figures often have to hold different presentations be it a product demonstration or a business meeting. By including an animated logo to slides, you can add the element of originality and creativity to the presentation.

Promo Videos

In our previous articles, we have described the role of promo video in business and said that many companies take profits of this marketing tool. So, why not to polish a promo video with an original animated logo? This combination can accomplish certain business and marketing tasks.

A piece of advice

As we can see, an animated logo is often applied as an effective promotional tool. It helps to increase memorability, brand awareness, improve storytelling, and create an original image for a brand. To make it work efficiently, don’t forget to consider the factors below.

Before you create a logo animation, analyze the company’s business goals and think of the personality a brand will show.
Conduct user research. The logo animation should be oriented on the users’ preferences.
Try to make users surprised. Create an animation that way so the final result would be unpredictable at the first second.
Keep it short. Try not to make a complex movie from a logo. It is recommended to stay under 10 seconds.

Toonie Alarm logo animation

By: Alina Arhipova.
Source: Tubik Blog

This Is How Small Businesses Are Using Video Marketing In 2020

By Shama Hyder

It’s no secret that video has become one of the most effective ways for businesses to connect with their customers.

Statistics proving this out abound.

Internet users consume up to 16 hours of digital video per week.
66 percent of consumers prefer watching a video to reading about a product.
71 percent of B2B marketers are using video marketing, while 81 percent of total businesses use video marketing.

Video marketing works—that’s established.

What remains to be seen is how certain types of businesses are using video, and how those businesses can be more strategic about their usage to increase ROI.

One study that dives into this is from video creation platform Promo.com: the Small Business Video Marketing Trends Study, released in mid-February (with a companion video recap, naturally!).

It’s an in-depth look at how SMBs are using video marketing—what’s working, what could work better, and how small businesses everywhere can ensure they’re getting the highest possible ROI for their video marketing.

And the study isn’t only for small business owners or marketers. B2Bs that want to sell to these small businesses also need to be paying attention, so they’re empowered to give SMBs what they need and build better, stronger relationships with them.

Here are some of my most important takeaways.

If your small business isn’t using video marketing, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity.

While more than 70 percent of B2B marketers are already using video marketing, as mentioned above, there are still some holdouts.

SMBs skimp on video marketing for various reasons—maybe they think they don’t have the internal resources or skill sets needed to create high-performing videos. Maybe they think their audience doesn’t want videos. Or maybe they’ve simply got a small staff and just haven’t gotten around to creating a marketing video yet.

And yet, more than half of the SMBs surveyed by Promo.com said that video was their most effective type of marketing—64 percent, to be exact. An even greater number, 77 percent, said that videos were an important part of their digital marketing.

The reason, of course, is that this is the format that customers want. Video posts attract three times the engagement that posts without video do. Similarly, the conversion rate for websites that use video is 4.8 percent, as opposed to 2.9 percent for those that don’t.

To achieve maximum ROI, marketers must publish videos on a regular schedule.

While creating one video is certainly better than creating none, the highest ROI for SMBs comes from creating and releasing videos on a consistent basis.

According to Promo.com’s study, 30 percent of SMBs are publishing videos once a week, while 26 percent publish once a month. Another 21 percent publish 2-3 times per week.

Regularity will almost always trump frequency, but it’s still better to publish videos once a month rather than once every six months. You want to maintain your followers’ attention and stay top-of-mind, not remind them you exist each time you release a video. This is much easier to do if you’re releasing video content within a shorter time frame.

Consider that your customers are already more than halfway through the buying journey by the time they actually reach out to you. That means they’re researching your company, viewing your content, and seeking answers to their questions before you even know they’re interested in your brand. If they can’t find what they need to know, they’ll move on to your competitor without a second thought.

Video, with its higher engagement rates, is an ideal format for SMBs that need to capture their customers’ attention and keep it long enough to move them to the next step of the buying journey.

Video marketing doesn’t have to be ultra time-intensive.

A surprising finding from the study? More than 70 percent of Promo’s users spend less than 20 minutes creating a video.

That’s partly due to the brand’s video templates and easy-to-use platform—obviously, if you’re starting from scratch, it will take longer, especially when you’re just beginning.

However, it’s still an instructive finding because it shows, first, how helpful platforms like Promo, Animaker, and Moovly can be for creating effective videos. It also proves that video does not have to be a high-production value, highly skilled endeavor. All of us walk around with video recorders in our pockets and purses today, after all, and customers no longer expect every video they consume to be fancy and expertly-shot.

A quick, personalized thank-you video for a client, a short demo video showing your new product, or an informal interview with one of your client relations staff can all be valuable—and easy—ways to use video marketing to increase brand awareness, customer loyalty, and move customers along the buying journey.

Video marketing is only going to become more critical to SMBs as time goes on. By understanding how it works, how to use it, and whom to target, SMBs can achieve greater brand awareness, increase their conversions, and—most importantly—build long-lasting relationships with their customers.

Source: Forbes

Why Animated Logos Will Be a Driver of Brand Performance in 2020

We are living in the age of digital transformation. Last year, over 3.8 billion people, or 51 percent of everyone on earth, were connected to the internet. A number that's grown by an astounding 50 percent over the past 5 years. In the US, adults spend an unprecedented average of 6.3 hours per day interacting with digital media, just over 5 hours for Australian adults.

Digital media is becoming more and more pervasive in our daily lives. We rely on it to find out the weather, find a coffee or find a life partner. It’s a life-line to friends and loved ones across the globe or across the room. For many, picking up their phone and checking social media is the first thing we do after waking up and the last thing we do before falling to sleep.

The exponential rise of digital communication has created exciting opportunities for brands to connect and engage with consumers, 24/7. It has also inspired one of the fastest-growing trends in branding – the shift from static, lifeless logos to dynamic animated brand identities. What was once considered a frivolous novelty by marketers, has now been embraced by many of the world’s leading companies as a key driver of brand performance. Here are seven reasons why.

1. ANIMATED LOGOS ARE MORE ARRESTING

Animated logos tap into the way our brains are wired. As human beings, it’s in our DNA to notice things that move – a bias towards motion is an in-built survival mechanism dating back to our early beginnings. Objects that move cause us to pause and take notice compared to static objects which can easily become wallpaper. A recent study by Intel Corp reported that animated content was 400 percent more attention-grabbing than static imagery.

Neuroscientists have also discovered that we are innately drawn to things that are new and novel, perking up the reward system of our brains. Animated logos and animated brand identities are still relatively new in the branding and marketing landscape, this novelty factor alone is guaranteed to capture the attention and imagination of consumers.

After two years in the making, Netflix unveiled its new logo animation in February this year, designed with the intent of setting themselves apart from streaming rivals Disney, AT&T, and Apple, the animation

The animation begins with the familiar Netflix “N” ribbon animation, but then it warps the viewer through a spectrum of light creating a sense of depth, like the feeling of walking into a movie theatre.

A spokesperson for Netflix explained that the “barcode visualisation” was meant to give a more cinematic feel and was inspired by “the idea of turning Netflix’s own show thumbnails sideways, like records on a shelf.”

2. ANIMATED LOGOS ARE MORE ENGAGING

According to numerous leading authorities on marketing performance, animated content is a key driver of consumer engagement in the digital world. Here are a few compelling stats;

Animated content is 12 times more likely to be watched than text is to be read
Animated content on landing pages is capable of increasing conversion rates by over 80%
Visuals—gifs, images, and video—boost engagement with social media, boosting views by 48%
Adding moving content to marketing emails can boost click-through rates by 200-300%

Human nature is also a key driver of engagement. We are inherently curious beings, and as such we are compelled to see how things play out. And the longer we are engaged, the stronger the impact. Animated logos can run for anywhere between five seconds to a looping infinity, making them very effective engagement tools.

The Xbox animated logo is an extraordinary, mesmerising animation of morphing shapes that compels you to watch to the brilliant end where the complete logo is the visual reward.

3. ANIMATED LOGOS ARE MORE MEMORABLE AND IMPROVE BRAND RECALL

One of the most important dimensions in brand management is for consumers to remember a brand. The consumer’s ability to recognise or recall a brand is central to purchasing decision-making.

In a study by Cleveland based market research firm Insivia, researchers discovered that viewers retain 95% of a message when seen as a video or as animated content, compared to 10% when reading as static text or graphic.

One of the reasons for this phenomena is that the majority of us fall into the category of visual learners, 65 percent to be precise, and so we rely on visual stimulus to effectively process and retain information.

Animated content allows marketers to package up a brand’s message into a succinct, intriguing, and sometimes entertaining narrative that will stick in consumers’ minds in a way that static logo or text can’t.

The Intel brand is synonymous with the tag line ‘Intel inside’. This animated logo helps to bring this positioning to life.

4. ANIMATED LOGOS CAN HELP TELL A STORY

From the earliest recorded history, storytelling was a method used to communicate, educate, share, and connect. It is a fundamental human ritual that unites and drives stronger deeper relationships.

Today, storytelling is a fundamental aspect of effective brand marketing. It has been proven to help consumers make emotional connections with brands and in turn, build stronger more enduring relationships. This sentiment is backed by research which discovered that 55 percent of consumers who love a brand’s story are willing to make a purchase.

Uber’s animated logo visually and intuitively communicates how they are a dynamic and high tech company in the business of connecting people.

5. ANIMATED LOGOS CAN EXPRESS YOUR BRAND PERSONALITY

A distinctive personality is a key asset of an effective brand. And it makes sense: in an impersonal digital world, we’re craving connection and personality.

Animated logos can express a personality that attracts consumers, creates positive emotions, gains rapport and builds loyalty.

One of the most recognised and loved logo animations would arguably be Pixar’s. The energetic lamp, affectionately named “Luxo Jr.” bouncing across the screen, eventually stopping and stomping on the letter ‘I’ with defiance. This expresses the company’s cheeky culture, which at the time was owned by Steve Jobs. “Luxo Jr.” became an integral part of the Pixar brand, serving as the mascot and appearing at the start and finish of every film since it’s debut in 1986.

6. ANIMATED LOGOS CAN HELP INCREASE YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING PERFORMANCE

Animated logos have proven themselves to be an invaluable asset for digital marketing, achieving greater cut-through, clicks, shares and likes.

When you consider that 93 percent of online experiences start with Google, brands need to perform at their very best here.

Animated logos increase your SEO due to several factors. Because consumers like and prefer to watch video content, Google’s algorithms are increasingly prioritising websites with video content.

Animated logos also increase the amount of time people spend on your website which leads to an increase in dwell time and a decrease in bounce rate. Two metrics Google uses to choose which websites to prioritise.

People are more inclined to actively engage with animated content. A recent survey found that Facebook users are 39% more likely to share, 36% more likely to comment, and 56% more likely to “like” online video content over static text.

Google are masters of using clever and creative animated variations of their logo to commemorate significant dates, to make each search a fresh and new and to make us smile. This logo animation brings to life the distinctive elements of their brand iconography whilst visually launching their sounds innovations.

7. ANIMATED LOGOS HAVE A HIGH RETURN ON INVESTMENT.

Priced between $1,200 and $9,000, animated logos are a low-cost brand asset that can be used effectively across many marketing communication channels and platforms including; TV ad end-frames, digital advertising, website, social media posts, YouTube, digital signage, landing pages, PowerPoint presentations, and screen-savers. A single asset that can be implemented across multiple channels creates a seamless, engaging and impactful brand experience.

The CBBC (Children’s BBC channel), developed a new dynamic animated logo with the primary objective, according to Controller Cheryl Tayor, “To keep one step ahead of this agile age group – celebrating their immersion in all things digital.” The animated logo was designed to work in every space whether, on a large screen, TVs or handheld devices. Cheryl also described the animation as “bright, mischievous and sophisticated – just like the CBBC audience who helped us to choose it and have told us they love it!”

CONCLUSION

Animated logos are an important marketing trend predicted to drive brand performance in the coming decade due to their many extraordinary qualities. They are much more arresting, engaging, and memorable than their static counterpart. They are also effective at increasing the performance of digital marketing – everything from increasing SEO, clicks, likes and shares.

If you’d like to find out more about animated logos, some inspiring examples, our experience, or the process and pricing fill out the form below to learn more!

Written by Grant Davidson. See original article here.

How Animated Videos Help You Increase Your Online Sales

Over the past few years, an animation video has turned into the most powerful medium for marketing endeavors. And why not? Not just animations help businesses engage the audience but also inspire prospects to make purchases. A good example is Google Doodles. These adorable animation videos make us want to click on them.

“The size of the animation market across the globe is expected to reach 270 billion by 2020. It is because the animation has become a big business today and people want to love more animations.”
According to a survey conducted by Statista

Today, the use of animation is not limited to production houses only. Even corporate companies are also taking advantage of animation to increase their online sales. If you also want to boost your sales through animated videos, read this post.

How animation videos help your business

Animation has the power to explain

One of the primary advantages of animation video is its power to explain. Regardless of the business, you are into; a well-created animation video can help you define what your brand is all about.

Remember, for customers, the first step to their purchasing journey is understanding what the product is. And animation videos help you explain your products or services in a fun-filled way. Moreover, animation creates curiosity and stick to the viewer’s memory for a long time.

Saves your time and money

If you’re using the right tool to create an animation video, this content form can save you a lot of time and money. In comparison to live-action videos, animations remain fresh for a long time. Live-action videos start looking ridiculously outdated after a couple of years, but this is not the case with animation videos.

Animation videos have the potential to explain any concept in a matter of seconds while through other mediums, it may take minutes to hours to understand what you’re trying to convey.

Moreover, animation videos do not promote any particular race, age, or nationality.

Drives user engagement

No matter what your business is, sometimes it is challenging to convey the features and benefits of your product. Well, an animated video can be quite helpful in this scenario. Animations present all the crucial information about your business in a clean and engaging way.

As per your requirement, you can use animations in any content form. For instance, you may create a video promoting your brand or simply an FAQ video to answer the queries of your audience.

In short, animated videos can be created both for attracting and educating customers.

Even if your product is complicated, animation video can be an excellent medium to convey your story. After all, the animation is capable of simplifying the concepts and explaining them in a highly visual way.

Dropbox is a good example; they also presented their business idea using the explainer animation video.

Idea for all sorts of marketing mediums

Another advantage of animated videos is they perform well across all marketing channels, from television to website to mobile to social media platforms. Moreover, they are capable of making a balance between professional, casual, and fun.

Animation helps optimize your SEO potential

Just like us, search engines such as Google also love animated content. Adding animated content on your site boosts your SEO, and ultimately helps it rank higher on Google searches.

Since the amount of time visitors stay on your website is one of the ranking factors for Google, including animation videos on your website can help you get explosive growth in terms of SEO ranking.

You may also take advantage of YouTube to enhance your SEO performance. Create animated informative videos or tutorials associated with your product or service, and upload them on YouTube. Not only does YouTube let you host your videos but also embed them into your website. You may include your target keywords in your videos to boost ranking.

“Over a billion users watch a billion hours of video every day. Therefore, there is a lot of traffic opportunities. So, if your video has the potential to reach millions of viewers, you can generate high traffic.”
According to research conducted by YouTube

Represents your brand

Animation videos have the potential to represent your brand engagingly. When making an animated video, you can develop its entire structure keeping the values and aesthetics of your brand in mind. Animation videos let you take control over typefaces, music, movements, and colors in a way that is not possible when producing live-action content.

Already numerous popular brands are taking advantage of animation videos to promote their services.

For example, PayPal for Individuals Explainer Video beautifully explains how you can quickly open your PayPal account and add your payment method to make your purchases.

Creates a bond between customer and brand

When it comes to creating a bond between customers and brand, no other method can beat animation videos. When you create an animation video with lovable characters and engaging story, people get connected with such video quickly.

Always make sure your video has the potential to form an emotional bond with the target audience. Apart from the story and character, also use the right set of colors in your video. If your video is able to create an impact on your audience, customers will keep your brand in mind when making the purchase.

Help you bring your ideas to life

Animated videos let you tell any story you want. For example, you can show your target audience how you came into this business; how your service or product can change their life, etc.

Conclusion

Animation videos are one of the effective mediums to bring brand awareness and ultimately boost online sales. If you do not create animated videos for your business, you are surely missing out on the crucial segment of digital advertising that has the potential to take your business to the next level.

Animated video is rich, engaging, easy to manage, and affordable than various other advertising platforms. So without any doubt, make it an important part of your marketing efforts.

By Roman Daneghyan / Article taken from PandaDoc Blog

The Power Of Gradients

With user experience becoming more digital than ever, some so-called 'outdated trends' start to resurface. One of these trends is gradients- which have become one of the significant design trends in 2o2o.

With flat designs taking center stage, graphic designers have used single colors in branding to provide minimal aesthetics, which is typical. However, when adequately deplored, gradients can be used to create lively and engaging visuals. With gradients, product, and user experience, designers can properly blend regular colors to create unique ones.

This article will flashback to this classic trend and look at the immense benefits it offers.

We will also look at a tool that can help you to maximize the benefits of gradients on the go. Shall we?

What Are Gradients?

A gradient is the gradual blending of two or more colors to create a unique color. With gradients, your brand can stand out by creating new dimensions and add depth to designs. Gradients are a great option when it comes to creating contemporary designs which are gradually replacing flat designs.

They can also be used to mimic real-life experiences and create memorable experiences with models. Gradients are an excellent option for creating unique brand assets that stand the test of time.

The Resurgence Of Gradients

Trends come and go, and great designers understand how to make the best of shifting trends. You may wonder why gradients ever went out of style if they were so beneficial. Well, you know what happens when a great thing is overused and becomes less appealing? Yes, that is what happened with gradients, they were overused, and people got bored with how they were used.

Over time, design experts realized the possibility and benefits of subtly blending colors. This led to the resurgence of gradients to give designs a sense of motion and progression. Gradients have never been bad; it has always been about how you utilize it.

Why Gradients?

Still not convinced about gradients? Well, let us take a look at some reasons why gradients are so trendy;

Gradients Leave a Lasting Impression

First impressions are essential, and in today's marketing world, you need to ensure that you leave memorable impressions on users. With gradients, you have a better chance to do this because they are new and unique. The human mind tends to remember unusual designs more than we do with common ones. We all know the colors “purple” or “blue” when we see them. These colors are the ones that we have been accustomed to all our lives. However, we are more likely to remember it for longer with gradients, just like we remember our first kiss or trip.

Gradients are Unique

The goal of every brand is to create a unique identity. If we are honest, there aren't enough flat colors for brands to play around. Millions of brands around the world are left to create unique identities with about two dozen colors. As a tech brand that loves the color blue, you are limited because you have Facebook, Twitter, and other companies using that color.

With gradients, designers have the luxury of options. This way, each brand can create its unique color identity from a combination of different colors.

Gradients are Realistic

As I said earlier, user experience has evolved into a more digital outlook. Today, brands need to incorporate real feelings into designs. Users are slowly becoming more accustomed to designs that depict real-life experiences. Therefore, brands need to pay attention to this when creating a digital user experience.

This is easier with gradients as they have a more realistic feel when compared to flat colors. Our eyes are more inclined to see gradients as being more natural.

Gradients are Colorful

It is a known fact that humans are naturally inclined to love colors. Many brands understand this and try to combine as many flat colors as possible. Gradients make it easier to blend colors naturally and playfully. Therefore, if you are looking to win customers' hearts, you need to leverage the power of gradients in design. Not only do they allow you to stand out, but they also attract more people to your brand.

Would you love us if we went through these excellent benefits of gradients and didn't hook you up with a way to get started? I bet you wouldn't.

At Vdeesign, we understand the potential of gradients, and our team of professional designers have created a collection of the best-animated gradients for you.

500 Animated Color Gradients is the ultimate collection of animated color gradients. This collection is the largest ever collection of gradients available on the market today.

This new library features several unique, beautiful, and modern animated gradients that can set your brand apart from competitors. You can set your projects apart with;

- Two-color gradients

- 3-color gradients

- 4-color gradients

- Liquid gradients, and

- Many other mixed gradients.

With 500 Animated Color Gradients you gain access to several experimental designs. If you are looking to make your next projects pop with animated gradients, this is for you. With customizable gradient colors, you can easily adjust and configure gradients based on your preferences. Also, all gradients are flexible in size, resolution, and scale.

This template is designed to help anyone (even those without prior after effects experience) deliver stunning results with a few clicks. It is user friendly and comes with a tutorial video to guide you every step of the way.

ROUNDING UP…

Colors have become much more important in different aspects of branding, which has brought about the resurgence of gradients. Brands like Instagram, Hulu, and Spotify have incorporated gradients in their UX, logos, and other branding aspects.

Gradients provide designers with versatility when it comes to transforming the look and feel of designs. Some of the biggest brands out there today are leveraging gradients' power to create unique experiences for customers.

What are you waiting for? Step into a world of endless possibilities and make your brand as attractive as it can be with gradients.

If you ever doubted the power of gradients, we hope you don’t anymore?

Thank you for reading this article.