The end of this task began to get challenging as aspects of both my completed designs were compelling and yet they felt they were missing something.
Once I compiled the tiled animation, I made a judgement to add rectangle tiles as well as squares to fit the iPhone proportions more accurately. I also added tiles with no animation which added an element of stillness and negative space for the animations to really stand out. Each element was timed differently which I believe worked its favour for viewers to inspect tile to see each principle motion however when scanned as a whole it has the capability to look disjointed.
The repeated circle animation ended up getting depth by adding scaling to the entire composition and adjusting the motion positioning. This animation showed aspects of colour composition, timing and was experimental however in the end the tiled animation had a larger variety of motion elements.
I felt the tiled animation achieved basic outcomes of the brief non-narrative, experimental and abstract. It included a variety of visual elements each with its own purpose and distinct features. The animation gained experimental movement in each tile by including different waves of movement. The colours I believe added a level of cohesiveness however this layout could work with a variety of palettes so long as each element can be easily contrasted from one another.
The Ambrose and Harris design process states learning as a stage but “it actually occurs throughout the design process. At each stage you should take stock of where you are, where you are heading, what’s working and what’s not.” (Ambrose and Harris, 2009). I do believe throughout the process I had many learning opportunities.
The brief required a thorough analysis to understand what was most important in the overall design this meant throughout the creation, I had to keep these criteria in mind for a successful animation.
Research in this project, required learning a new software therefore watching various After Effects (AE) tutorials, and experimenting with the software – as I had previously not had any experience in creating animations. This was probably most challenging as I believe I’ve only scraped the surface of what After Effects can really do.
The ideation of these animations evolved with each experiment. It wasn’t consistent and although I ended up with two options in the end looking back it may have been more valuable to focus on one design and understand each component more thoroughly to meet the brief accurately and more specifically understand the individual movements.
The various prototypes of this animation involved adjusting the speed and direction of movements and forms. When putting the tiles together the first iteration contained many flaws and forms which is why the tiles went from each being squares to varied shapes and sizes in the final animation.
The selecting phase was probably the most time consuming as I had two animations both with pros and cons. It was difficult by in the end it was crucial I select the final composition that hit the brief, was aesthetic and showed the most growth in using the software.
By going back, a revising the 7 steps of the design process is where I acknowledged that the learning step was continuous and developed throughout the whole process.
My lack of knowledge of the program allowed me to approach the assignment with no expectations of the task. It was understanding the fundamentals of motion and investigating how motion design is broken down into shapes and text that puts into perspective how although we weren’t learning to be film/animation students, that the use of motion design can be extremely beneficial for in graphic design. With the upcoming major project, I want to focus on perfecting one animation rather than experimenting to the point of not having perfection. Although the non-narrative criteria was essential in making this an abstract work I do believe a well thought out narrative piece would be a thought-provoking development especially when implementing motion principle like Disney’s 12 Motion Principles.
Bibliography:
Ambrose, G., Harris, P (2009) Design Thinking. AVA Publishing, Crans-pres-Celigny, CHE, UNITED KINGDOM.
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