Animation: The powerful storytelling tool
Animation is an awesome medium for storytelling that isn’t going anywhere any time soon. And it's not just for kids. There's more to animation than cartoons, it can also be a terrific tool to create engaging business media content. From social media content to commercials and explainer videos, creative animation techniques capture the audience's attention such that you're remembered long afterwards.
It can be a powerful tool to illustrate complex processes for your audience and investors. And you don’t need to pay thousands of dirhams for a team of animators to create a 3-second ad for you. Instead, you can learn from successful animations and apply those techniques to your own business media reels and videos and other content, all without breaking the bank.
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What we learned from the Sharjah Animation Conference about how to apply creative animation techniques for engaging business media
The first in the region, the Sharjah Animation Conference was a three-day conference consisting of workshops and masterclasses from professionals in the animation industry. While it mainly focused on animation in film and TV series, the techniques can be applied for business media. Below are 7 takeaways that companies in business, finance, and tech can implement about animation techniques.
1. Choose the right style of animation
Different styles can convey different moods and messages so it is essential to choose the style that aligns with your brand personality and the message you want to convey. 2D animation is perfect for explaining complex ideas in a simple and visually appealing way while 3D animation for a more immersive and realistic experience. You can go for a combination, but make sure you’re not going overboard, and it makes sense.
2. Use storytelling
Stories evoke emotions and help connect with your audience on a deeper level. It’s the same with animated business media content. A compelling story that resonates with your audience is essential. A good story should have a clear beginning, middle, and end, and a strong narrative arc that engages the audience. Feel free to use characters, symbols, and metaphors to tell your story and bring your message to life.
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3. Incorporate humor
We all love laughing at the latest meme. We all love humor. It’s a great way to make your business media content memorable, shareable, make your content stand out, and to create an emotional connection with your audience, or to lighten up serious topics and make them more approachable.
Humor sounds good all around but It is important to use humor that aligns with your brand’s personality, values, and your audience. Otherwise, you risk confusing your audience. If your audience is mostly business professionals, for example, humor via the latest TikTok trend might get lost on them.
And it goes without saying that you should avoid offensive or insensitive humor that may alienate your audience.
4. Add visual metaphors
Metaphors simplify complex ideas, and visual metaphors convey them in a way that's visually appealing. Visual metaphors can be used to represent abstract concepts, such as growth, change, and innovation. Applying visual metaphors to business media content can make it more memorable and help your audience understand your message better. For example, a plant growing from a seed can represent the growth of a business or an idea.
5. Use motion graphics
Motion graphics are a popular animation technique for business media content. Using a combination of text, graphics, and animation, they create a novel and informative experience that can be used to explain complex ideas and data in a simple and engaging way. Since you can use motion graphics used to highlight key points and create a visual hierarchy of information, they’re great for informative content like explainer and tutorial videos.
6. Experiment with color and typography
Color is an essential element of animation, and both color and typography are essential elements for motion graphics and graphic design. Experimenting with different color palettes and typography can help you create your own unique and visually appealing style, your visual identity for your business media content, and convey a mood or emotion.
7. Don't forget sound
Sound design is essential to create an immersive and emotional experience for your audience . It can be used to create a mood, highlight key points, and add a sense of rhythm and pacing to your animation.It doesn't just involve music but sound effects and voice-over as well. Like always, aligning with your brand personality and the message you want to convey is non-negotiable, so you must choose sound elements that align with your brand.
To conclude, animation engages
By applying creative animation techniques, businesses can capture their audience's attention and deliver their message effectively and memorably. But remember to not bite off more than you can chew, and always stay within brand guidelines. Good visuals simplify ideas, prompt discussion and shares, promote brand identity, and make for a good online presence. It’s a surefire way for engagement and expanding your audience.
