Finding motion design helped me find myself — a new designer’s journey
Monday morning, standup call.
I anxiously joined, dreading the feedback on my first animation.
I was only in my third week at LazyPay, coming from a B2B SaaS background where motion design might not always take centre stage. I had shared my first animation work last week with our Head of Design, Kanupriya.
With just a few After Effects tutorials floating around in my brain, I had approached her wanting to try out this shiny new thing called Motion Design. As a beginner, I was also afraid of asking for the opportunity because there might be high expectations of me.
The very next day I was handed my first motion design project — to finish an existing animation. Brimming with panic, I sketched it out frame by frame. Once my sketches were approved, I created the piece in After Effects.
Between sketching, ideating and Youtube tutorials, I managed to complete it. But as I looked at the finished product, my self-doubt peaked.
Flash forward to Monday morning. Kanupriya called on me. Just as I was about to share my updates, she said, “I saw the animation you sent Faizan, it’s really good.”
Phew!
Overjoyed by the success of my first animation, I started my journey in motion design.
Motion designer, or designer dabbling in motion?
I started to realise I was naturally gifted at moving things. Visualising speed, movement, timing — it was like breathing to me. So I asked to be involved in more motion projects and started studying the basics.
Brushing up on basics⚡️
- I dove into animation theory, like Disney’s 12 Principles of Animation & different types of ‘easing’
- I started screen-recording eye-catching animations on Dribbble, playing them frame by frame and making note of the smallest details.
Through this, I realised — motion isn’t just art, it’s also science.
Objects have physical properties and obey the laws of physics when they’re in motion. A ball falling downwards will accelerate on its way down, and morph slightly under the influence of gravity.
If you don’t follow the laws of physics in motion design, something will always look wrong.
Rendering a new identity🎭
Hugh Jackman wasn’t the first choice to play Wolverine. He wasn’t even the second. Yet, he then went on to play Wolverine in 9 movies over the next 17 years.
I too stumbled upon an opportunity that changed my journey at LazyPay and hopefully my entire career.
After my initial success, I started taking on new challenges that pushed me to break barriers — in terms of both skill, and the mental blocks holding me back.
Earlier, my approach to solving problems was one-directional and unimaginative. That changed, though. I learnt to think for myself and explore multiple concepts. Every time I pushed myself to come up with out-of-the-box ideas, I became more confident and unlearned my older habits.
This extended to my personality as well — from a rigid brick, I morphed into a rubber band, flexible and ready to stretch. I saw a different side to myself, and believed I could do anything I set my mind to.
Now I’m the go-to person for all things Motion Design at LazyPay.
A few favourites from my work so far
What the future holds
You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking back
- Steve Jobs
Back in 2020 during the first wave of COVID, I had watched Saptarshi Prakash’s Motion Design tutorials out of curiosity with no intended outcome. Only 2 years later did I start implementing what I learned. Now motion design is part of my core skillset.
I am fortunate to say I have found what peaks my interest quite early in my design career, and yet I try to approach this from the mindset of a beginner with lots more to uncover.
Here’s to exploring new depths of motion design, trying out different subdomains, and finding my niche within this niche.
Acknowledgment
I’m grateful to Kanupriya and the open culture she’s set in the design team that allowed me to explore a skillset I barely had any experience in.
Edited by Mohana Das.
Special mention to Saptarshi Prakash, Chethan KVS, Ben Mariott, Jake Bartlett for their crisp, informative and easy-to-follow content.
