Project

Graphic and motion design for an explainer promo video presenting the mobile application.

Process

Our designers received the task from a product company OffCents. The mobile app aims at fighting global warming and environmental pollution. It provides real-time, automated tracking of carbon emissions from transportation. From the OffCents application, users choose to offset their carbon footprint from any number of their car, train, or airplane trips. The app helps users to control a number of emissions and purchase offsets or Verified Emission Reductions (VERs). This way people fund various carbon-reducing projects and support a healthier environment.

The company made a request to create an animated promo video for OffCents app. The video was expected to be an explainer assisting users to understand the specifics of a product as well as the benefits it can bring to them and the environment. In our article Step by Step Guide to Custom Promo Video Design, we’ve already described the stages of animated video production. They usually include the following steps:

• research stage: target audience and market research
• pre-production stage: script writing and storyboarding
• production stage: creating graphic assets and animation
• post-production stage: video editing, adding sounds, music, and voice-over, etc.

User and market research is an essential stage of the creative process since it’s an effective way to gather the core information about the target audience including their age, preferences, and goals. Moreover, market research helps to analyze competitors and create a product which will stand out the crowd. The research stage can be done beforehand by a client or by a designer as a part of a project. In our case, the client supplied our team with all the needed information.

The client came to us with the ready-made script. It was quite a basic description containing preferred timing of the video, general description of the scenes and their sequence. However, before the creative team went to the production stage, graphic designers created a storyboard.

Illustration

Storyboard

A storyboard is the set of graphic assets organized in the sequence of their flow for the video. Storyboard visualizes the designers’ ideas giving a better understanding of the future video flow. This way the design team and the client can discuss the details of the visual part as well as the sequence of scenes before the motion design process begins. A storyboard can include images of various fidelity, from simple sketches to detailed illustrations. The choice usually depends on the requirements and urgency of the project. When clients have an only basic understanding of what they want to get not having strong visual preferences, it also may be good to use mood boards showing a variety of possible styles and flows to feel better what they want to see.

At the early stage of the ideation process, Tubik designers have developed a set of sketches showing the basic idea for the video. Every image in the storyboard was discussed and approved by the client in terms of the general idea and goals set for the video. The story in the video told about the environmental pollution, nature, and benefits of the app. Here is a storyboard made for OffCents.

Due to the set of quick sketches, the designers managed to present their ideas to the client and quickly make a decision on the essential points which had to be included in the promo. After several discussions and considering all the aspects such as specifics of the target audience, clients and designers agreed upon the stylistic preferences and the message of the story. The team could start the production process.

Color choice

Colors have a great impact on visual perception, so the choice of the general color palette is a crucial step in graphic design. To help the clients make their decision, the designer provided a client with color variations of the same scenes. The illustrations were shown in warm and cold combinations. Also, the designer experimented with saturation and brightness of color palette. Here you can see the variations of a single scene with different colors.

Patterns

Original patterns can make the video graphics look harmonic and native as well as add some fun to the appearance of the future promo. Since the OffCents promo video is focused on the environmental topic, the designer decided to apply some patterns similar to those we can see in nature.

Illustrations

Knowing the style, color palette, and patterns, the designer went to the creation of digital illustrations. Here are some of the final results.

As you can see, the designer chose flat design illustrations which help to keep the balance between the elements of fun and the serious topic of global warming. The bright color palette sets the happy mood of the video showing how the app can make the world a better place.

Motion design

3D

After all the illustrations were ready, the next step was to animate the scenes with a 3D view for the most global parts. They were designed to be catchy and set the emotional and aesthetic links to the viewers. Here you can see the process of 3D animation in three steps, from the schematic to the detailed one.

Animation

The final stage fully relayed on the motion designers. All the scenes represented in the digital illustrations were animated into a united story looking bright and attractive.

Here you can see a piece of animation workflow made in Adobe AE.

Post-production

When the visual part was created, the client provided the designers with the music and the voice-over made by professional voice-actors. Choosing the voice for a video, it’s important to sure it corresponds to the offer and mood of the video and the tone matches the preferences of the target audience.

After combining the sound with the visual part, an animated promo video for OffCents was ready. Here’s the result.

Useful reading

Step by Step Guide to Custom Promo Video Design
Case Study: Opera. Year-in-Review Video Design
Case Study: Binned. Design for Promo Video Production
How to Create Original Flat Illustrations: Designer’s Tips
Animated Logos: Why, Where, How to Use

Originally written for Tubik Blog

Сообщение Design Case Study: Explainer Video Production появились сначала на Design4Users.

What’s a promotional video?

Don’t want to sound obvious still there is no better explanation than to define a promo video as the one created to promote a company or its product. This type of videos is made that way so it could encourage people to buy a certain product or use the services of a company. They are usually small catchy videos showing all facets of a promoted object in the best way to prove people it’s worth of their time and money. Since promotional videos are popular and widely-used, everyone tries to find ways to make their videos original and creative. That’s why designers offer businesses promo videos created in different styles that stand out among thousands of the others because they are unique and catchy.

Types of promo video

Promo videos can serve many business purposes so there are different types each created to achieve certain objectives. For example, one of the most commonly used types of promotional videos is an introduction video. Its aim is to tell people about a business, its offers, and reasons why someone should care about it. An intro promo video works best for startups willing to present themselves and interest their potential clients. This type of video needs to be informative still short and entertaining so that it could catch the viewer’s attention.

Next type having popularity among companies is a product presentation video. Many businesses are looking for creative ways to tell about their products and a custom promo video is a trending tool now. The video can shortly present product features and tell about its value for users. Another type combines features of the two previous. These are landing page videos which aim at driving users to take expected actions such as purchasing or signing up. They usually are meant to present some unique offers which people can get by taking certain action like leaving contacts or else.

To gain people’s trust, companies often share testimonials from satisfied clients on their websites. Video testimonials are an effective way to show that a company is trustworthy and can bring values. One more approach to product promoting is short entertaining videos. This type usually doesn’t seem like promo videos because it isn’t centered on a product or a company. The videos are meant to catch people on the emotional level by showing funny, heart-moving, or thoughtful video pieces having a short plot and a promoted product can appear as a secondary element. Quite often, if done and introduced originally, the videos of this sort get viral and present additional support to the brand.

All the types of promo videos can serve as effective marketing tools. However, a company needs to choose the type accurately according to business tasks that the video is meant to accomplish.

Product presentation video for Toonie Alarm

Is a custom promo video profitable for businesses?

Custom promotional video creation requires time, money, and effort to spend, so obviously many companies are concerned with the question “What benefits will we receive from it?”. Here is the answer.

People perceive video faster than copy. Psychological research shows that human brain processes video material much faster than text. It means that people need to take more effort to read a copy of company’s offers rather than watch a video. That’s why, by placing a presentation promo video on a website, a company increases the chances that more people will know about their product. Also, a quality video can accurately transfer the message which a company wants to tell to its possible customers.

Video increases conversion rates. Since people perceive video better than text, they are more likely to be influenced by it. It is easier to gain users’ trust when they are able to see how the product works in a real time. If people trust a company and are interested in their offers, they more willingly take action such as signing up or trying a demo. What’s more, a powerful promo video is an effective way to retain users longer rather than a great amount of copy.

Good search engine results. A major part of the Internet content consists of text data. Video content has less competition so the users searching keywords are more likely to find a video on the first page. To achieve even better results, a promo video needs to have well-thought SEO with the appropriate keywords in the headline, tags, description, etc.

Better social sharing. People are crazy about nice videos and the thing they like even more is sharing these videos with their friends. Videos are mobile and easy to share, the reason why it can be easily spread across social networks. Businesses should keep in mind that buyers are the best marketers they have, so it’s vital to encourage users to share the links.

Video receives real-time feedback. Internet users like commenting videos and discussing it with the others. It allows a company to see what people say about them and their product. Analyzing the feedbacks, a company can make significant improvements.

Better branding recognition. If a company creates an interesting and original video, people are more likely to remember them. The thing is that video has the influence on the visual memory as well as the echoic one so the chances that users will recognize a brand increase twice compared to elements that are perceived only visually.

Creative video helps to stand out from the competition. Video marketing isn’t a new approach, even more, it’s been a top tool for decades. However, technology is evolving and so do approaches to video creation. Original and quality video can help a company stand out from competitors.

Promo video for PassFold project designed and animated by Tubik team

Promo video pitfalls to consider

Certainly, there is no ideal approach to product marketing: considering video as a promo tool, you need to keep in mind possible pitfalls it may bring. First of all, the creation of a powerful promotional video requires spending money and time. To make an effective video, professionals need to handle many processes: from scripting and video recording to video and sound editing. Original video will need unique graphic material and high-quality animation, so if a company wants a quality video, it must be ready to invest in it.

In case a company decided to make a promo video, they need to make sure it’s done right. Bad quality video can affect brand reputation almost as hard as a bad quality product. Also, promotional videos have to be useful and interesting otherwise the users may consider it as disrespect to their time which is also not the best thing for company or brand image.

One more thing you need to think about once you’ve applied a promo video is that not all people would like to spend their time watching it. It means that there must be another way for buyers how to learn about a product. It can be a short piece of copy that users could quickly scan and decide whether they’re interested or not.

And, finally, we shouldn’t forget about the technical side. High-quality videos can overload the server of the website so it works slowly. When you include a video as a content element, it should be thoroughly tested on different devices and conditions. It helps to make sure there will be no technical problems that may make users frustrated.

Case Studies

In the end of 2016, Opera, a web browser developed by Opera Software, presented their promo video devoted to their achievements over the past year. It was a short animated video called «Opera 2016: Year in Review» with illustrations showing their acquirements. To make this project done, Opera Software collaborated with the Tubik design team.

The main idea of this project was to create a positive and cheerful video presenting the fresh innovative features the company added in the web browser during the past year. It was agreed that the video must consist of illustrations accomplished in the 3D flat style and lush colors. Each illustration would present lifestyle object composition devoted to a specific month when a feature was delivered. The accent was made on the typography since Opera wanted to emphasize the useful opportunities their users have now. That’s why designers come up with the decision that animation of the elements should be minimalistic so that it couldn’t distract users. Here is the result.

Welcome to read a detailed case study on Opera video production.

Another case study to remember was participation in video production process for Binned, a USA-based service supporting cleaner and healthier environment for the local community by washing and deodorizing the trash bins outdoors. The idea to support the brand promotion with the short, bright and catchy animated video was absolutely logical for this case: trashbins cleaning is not the topic to which people are ready to devote their precious time and read about all the benefits. Meanwhile, the promo video with funny and friendly characters could become a good way to inform the potential users of the service about all its advantages in short seconds.  Moreover, activating multiple directions of perception, video was found impactful in stimulating positive emotional appeal which was to the client’s liking. Here’s the final video.

Welcome to read a detailed case study on Binned video production.

All in all, videos have taken a big part in our life, the reason why we should take all the benefits from it. Stay tuned!

Recommended reading

Step by Step Guide to Custom Promo Video Design.

Beginner’s Guide to Online Video Marketing: Making a Video (Part 1)

How Ecommerce Businesses Can Generate Organic Traffic with Video Marketing

The Top 16 Video Marketing Statistics for 2016

27 Video Stats For 2017

Originally written for Tubik Blog

Сообщение Benefits and Pitfalls of Promo Videos for Web появились сначала на Design4Users.

Having the whole set of such professionals onboard, we finished the last year with an interesting and challenging project. In December Tubik team got the chance of creative collaboration with Opera to work on the bright and catchy year-in-review video. You could already have seen the video and design process presentation in Tubik Portfolio, and today we invite our readers to take a deeper look at this design story in a new case study.

Task

Design of a short animated video “Opera 2016: Year in Review” within a tight timeline.

Process

Introducing a customer, Opera is a web browser developed by Opera Software. According to Opera Software, it had more than 350 million users worldwide in the 4th quarter 2014. Total Opera mobile users reached 291 million in June 2015. According to SlashGeek, Opera has originated features later adopted by other web browsers, including Speed Dial, pop-up blocking, browser sessions, private browsing, and tabbed browsing.

The initial stage of project discussion with the customer showed that they needed an animated video accomplished in an attractive manner immediately setting a positive and cheerful mood. The video had to present the essential milestones of the year when Opera, one of the actively used web browsers around the world, presented fresh innovative features to its numerous users. Opera team enjoyed bright colors and lifestyle object compositions and the approach they wished to use for the video was to devote each composition to a specific month when a particular feature was delivered. It was agreed that the visual performance should feature the 3D flat style, minimalistic animations, and lush colors – everything that the Tubik team is strong at.

Meanwhile, the early stage of discussions on the creative process also established the biggest challenge of the project: the timeline was extremely short. The team of designers had only 5 days for design and animation of 8 complex flat illustrations full of details, transforming the company message, looking bright and fresh, and keeping visual consistency to look natural in one video. This was the type of project that proved the great power of teamwork when all the participants of the creative process worked like a clock.

Illustrations

The first creative stage of the project had to result in a set of flat illustrations presenting the prominent innovations of the year: Ad Blocker, Battery Saver, Video Pop-Out, Personal News, VPN, Faster Startup, Currency Converter. All the illustrations had to present the interiors decorated with bright details close and clear for every user, and also set the atmosphere of the particular season and the visual element showing the presented browser feature. In this way, combined in the video and replacing each other, the illustrations would support the feeling of the year flowing. Here is the final set presented to motion designers who had to do further work on breathing life into the pictures.

This is the intro illustration opening the video, setting a cheerful mood, and giving a strong link with the brand.

This illustration presents the feature of native Ad-Blocker, which Opera presented in spring, so the color palette corresponds to the shades traditionally associated with this time of the year.

The next illustration presents the feature of Battery Saver, which got active in late spring: the season is supported with a general bright and sunny color palette, flowers in the vase, and green trees outside the window.

Another illustration was designed to present the feature of Video Pop-Out, enabling users to watch videos while browsing. The big window shows the green plants and blue sky and the diagonal light shadows let us guess the shiny sun, the table sets the scene with a couple of books and a glass of lemonade, and even the video on the screen shows the seashore and people having fun – everything allows viewers to understand easily that this user-friendly innovation was added in summer.

The next artwork is associated with the feature of a personal newsreader. A bit darker sky, a bit longer shadows, some clouds, the cup of tea and red-ripe apples on the tree say: when users got the ability to read the news right from their browser, the summer had almost finished.

The feature of built-in VPN enhancing the privacy of browsing was set up in autumn, which us immediately clear from the view with yellow trees outside, while the passport seen on the table sets the strong connection with the matter of privacy.

Next illustration featured the faster speed of start-up loading, so the key visual element of the composition is the speedometer shown on the computer screen. It immediately sets association with the issue of speed while the color palette chosen for this artwork enables users to feel the vibes of deep autumn.

The last innovation to present was the built-in currency converter enabling users to shop online faster and easier. Some details in the picture, like the calculator, the decorative recognizable model of a shop placed on the shelf, the delivery truck behind the window as well as the layout on the screen set the atmosphere of shopping, while the outside view and the gifts let us know it’s the busy time of buying Christmas presents.

Having a full set of illustrations approved by the client, motion designers came into play and presented the variants of transitions, while graphic designers worked on the fonts for the short descriptions to be used in the video. The fonts had to look highly readable and correspond to the general stylistic concept.

The sample of animated transitions between the slides livened up with the natural movements of the details close to motion in real life.

The sample of the fonts used on the slide in combination with the illustration

Final video

Five days of hard and coordinated work of the design team resulted in the final video of about 40 seconds showing the full set of key innovations Opera presented in 2016.

In one of the previous articles, devoted to designing processes and work styles, we mentioned: the studio experience lets us believe that teamwork organized wisely and thoughtfully doesn’t take away designers’ individual space or freedom — vice versa, it adds to it the power of solid support and prospective ways for bigger and more complex, therefore more interesting and challenging projects and tasks. The project for Opera became one of the convincing proofs.

In their testimonial to the Tubik team, Opera Software team mentioned: “The loose storyboard and tight timeline we presented you with were undoubtedly a challenge but everyone is very happy with how well your team delivered on it!” No doubt, this project became not only a great and absorbing challenge but also a case of fruitful collaboration and bright finale for the extremely busy design year.

Design Case Studies

Design Case Study: Brand Intro Cartoon for Wedding Dresses Brand

OffCents. Explainer Video Production

Binned. Design for Promo Video Production

Step by Step Guide to Custom Promo Video Design

5 Reasons to Make Animated Video for Your Product

Design for Web: Promotional Videos. Benefits and Pitfalls

Originally written for Tubik Blog

Сообщение Design Case Study: Opera. Animation for Product Video появились сначала на Design4Users.