What's the difference between animation and motion identity?

Motion identity is the set of principles for how a brand moves. Animation is the craft of applying them, producing the assets that actually move.

Does every brand need animation?

The more important that digital touchpoints become for brand experience, the more useful animation becomes as part of a visual identity. By definition, digital-first brands will have more room to flex an animation system, but it should still be a key consideration for more physical brands to add small touches.

How long does it take to create brand animation?

From a few days for a simple logo animation to several weeks for a full set of animated assets, depending on length, complexity and the number of formats.

How do you keep brand animation consistent?

By defining motion principles, such as timing, easing and the way elements enter and exit, and documenting them in brand guidelines so every animator works to the same rules.

Does animation affect website performance?

It can. Heavy video or complex scripted motion can slow a page down, so animation should be designed with performance in mind, using lightweight formats and testing across devices.

Branding Handbook

Visual Identity

Animation

Animation in branding is the use of movement to bring a visual identity to life, from animated logos and illustrations to interface transitions and motion graphics.

What is animation in branding?

Animation refers to the use of movement to make a brand's static visual identity more dynamic, from animated logos and illustrations to interface transitions and motion graphics.

It's one of the most expressive tools in brand-building, able to convey personality, guide consumer journeys, and explain high-level concepts in ways that still assets can't.

If animation is the design and craft of the movement itself, then a motion identity is the system that keeps it all consistent and recognisably on-brand.

Why do brands use animation in their visual identity?

Greater brand recognition

A signature animation style can become as distinctive as a brand's other key visual elements, like colour or typography, making it instantly recognisable to a target audience.

Clearer communication

Animated videos and motion graphics can simplify complex or abstract ideas so that they're easier for people to understand and remember.

Emotive brand storytelling

When combined with a strong narrative, animation can help brands express their personality while building a strong emotional connection with its audience.

More UI/UX guidance

Animated transitions, feedback and micro-interactions can help guide users through a digital brand experience, making it feel more intuitive and alive.

How animation works in practice: Bristol Dockyards

Launched in 1843, Brunel's SS Great Britain was the first ship of her kind. And in the nearly 200 years that've followed, this engineering marvel has lived more lives than most.

So when the time came for one of Bristol's most-treasured icons to expand into a wider cultural destination, keeping its brand static wasn't an option. The ship may be docked, but the story of Bristol Dockyards certainly isn't.

Culture + Heritage

Place-making

Charity

Bristol Dockyards

Less about painting pretty pictures, Bristol Dockyards' identity is led by a central collage system that chronicles two centuries of history without gathering dust.

Timelines, textures, typography and Dockyard trinkets come together for an immersive and tactile visual, made even more expressive through animation. Now decades of innovation, stories, and global change are channeled into a destination that once more inspires world-changing ideas.

Outcome: Online conversion more than tripled, while engagement nearly doubled to 54%.

Read case study