It’s no secret that the social media landscape is changing at a breaking speed. Instagram and TikTok are placing evermore emphasis on video, tweaking their algorithms to favor moving content over static images. Reels are drawing the lion’s share of attention in people’s feeds, and we’re yet to see the full impact of Generative AI on content creation.
Add to all this our ever-reducing attention spans and the challenge is clear: It is now harder than ever for brands to engage audiences without video. The necessity for creating a consistent cadence of content that incorporates motion design and animation is driving a very real need for brands to enhance their visual identities by adding motion identity guidelines.
Beyond ubiquitous phone screens, the sustained benefit of establishing a robust motion identity is that it can add memorability and meaning for a brand in virtually every space and place. While a visual identity system provides the essentials—logo, colors, typography, imagery, icons, patterns—a motion identity expands this toolbox into the realm of video with principles, behaviors, guidelines and templates that establish new dimensions of the brand, such as timing, pacing and rhythm. A library of animation styles can be set for the most-used applications, while flexible guidelines encourage inventive play for special occasions. A great motion identity not only helps engage people in new ways, but also empowers brand teams to be creative, consistent and cohesive anywhere video is essential—which, arguably, is everywhere now.
Here’s how to evolve your design ecosystem to continually captivate your intended audience without investing the time and resources required for a full rebrand.
The motion identity playbook
The entertainment industry pioneered the practice of establishing an ownable motion identity for each distinct sub-brand, especially in television. Every TV channel since the 1950s has used motion graphics as the “glue” that lets viewers know what they’re watching, what’s next and what’s new.
As social media platforms prioritize video, screens replace billboards and 5G internet reaches more people, it is vital for all business sectors to learn from the entertainment brand design playbook. The good news is, most established brands already have an extensive visual system and the foundational elements to help establish a motion behavior in place. Pinterest, for example, elevated its existing identity system through motion last year; usage of a motion behavior system that nods to user habits—the tactility of pinning on cork and the process of collaging ideas—brought the brand to life.
