Motion Graphics vs. Animation: Difference and Comparison
Here’s your ultimate guide to understanding the peculiarities of animation and motion graphics, when and why to use them.
Whether it’s polishing the look of your website or adding some style to an app, animation and motion graphics appear on the scene. Moving elements attract the attention and keep users engaged. They result in better traffic and higher conversions. The numbers are impressive: only motion graphics increase conversions by 80%.
What are motion graphics?
The easiest explanation is that motion graphics is a design element that has been animated. We take a static design and give it some movement. This movement is a supporting element to the story, but it cannot serve as storytelling by itself.
Josh Miles, President and Chief Creative Officer of Killer Visual Strategies, says about motion graphics : “ At their core, motion graphics explain information visually. For some, that might mean introducing new HR initiatives to a large workforce; for others, it might mean showing off a new product to wider audiences. We also see motion graphics used as an educational tool, woven into video footage in order to further explicate a key point or message. Whatever the end goal, motion graphics offer a flexible and ever-evolving way to explain your information through visual communication.”
Statics: logo
Motion design: spinning logo.
Statics: character
Motion design: сharacter is winking
Statics: the text is on the screen
Motion design: texts appear on the screen
Static: button
Motion design: button is turning red when the entered password is incorrect
For Streamline Water, using motion graphics turned into business growth. With the help of visualization, the company demonstrated its technologies (water cooling) and educated clients about the potential risks of using out of the date technologies. As a result, the leads increased by 90%, the conversion rate grew from 10% to 50%, and pitch time was reduced by 20 minutes.
What is animation?
Animation has a long story. In fact, all the cartoons we loved in childhood are animation. In the digital world, animation is also concentrated on cinematic effects. Also, it actively uses storytelling.
Additionally, the animation is always based on a story. This is a strong storytelling tool that is often more attractive for users than plain text narration. It evokes emotions and helps to build a connection with the users.
As Walt Disney once said , “Animation offers a medium of storytelling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world.”
So how does animation look compared to the motion design?
Animation: a magician pulls a rabbit out of the hat, then he pulls a bunch of flowers, and next — the logo. He touches the logo with a wand, turning red, yellow, green, and sparkling. Applause!
Animation: a character, an attractive young woman, putting red lipstick on her lips, looks in the mirror. Next, she’s winking at you.
Animation: a mobile phone appears, and a man is typing a message. The message appears on the screen.
Animation: a 1-minute video explaining what happens when you enter a wrong password and what to do if you forgot it.
Animation can be used to create an explainer, promotional, how-to, and any other type of videos your clients prefer. If you don’t know what kind of animation should be first, here are some numbers to help you choose. 94% of people watch explainer videos, and 93% of millennials watch how-tos. You can use these statistics to decide on what kind of video to create first.
Motion graphics vs. animation
Internet users love videos. Brands love to use videos for presenting their products. It seems that animated content is conquering the world. Sure it does. But the choice of animated content must be wise.
When to use motion graphics
Motion graphics are a perfect option for situations when you need to illustrate your ideas or explain a complex thing in a, literally, motion. Besides, it is less time-consuming, and you can use it more frequently than animation.
Motion design is a powerful tool for adding a personal touch to visual communications. For a business, one can use it for:
- improving user experience and interaction design
- strengthening brand image
- engaging users and making them stay longer on the website or social media page
- drawing attention to important information
- explaining complex ideas
When to use other animation techniques
Emotions can build a strong connection between a brand and a client. In many cases, videos are the best way to evoke proper emotions and create a story that will capture the clients.
Like motion design, animation can solve various business problems:
- evoking emotions
- building trust
- improving conversion rate
- increasing time spent at the website ( according to statistics, spent time increases by 88%)
- generating interest of the audience.
Marketing in motion
For example, animation motion graphics videos improve the performance of blog articles and social media posts. According to statistics, 85% of marketers state that video content is a more effective way to get attention online. Try to use these techniques on the landing pages, and you’ll notice the difference.
You can use animation and motion graphics to describe your products and services, entertain users with stories, give recommendations, show usage of the product, and much more.
The future of motion graphics
Despite the difference between motion graphics and animation, the future of these techniques is predetermined. Soon it will displace static and will become one of the main forms to present content.
Are you ready to give a try to motion graphics or animation but do not know where to start? Fireart Studio will gladly help you to create engaging content that you can use on your website on social media. Don’t hesitate to anytime you have an idea to add some movement to the static images.
Originally published at https://fireart.studio on May 13, 2021.
