A brief transition can connect payment with an order confirmation. An element bouncing beside a form without a reason competes with the task. Motion needs a purpose: explain change, direct attention or demonstrate a process.
Motion graphics combine moving type, shapes, illustrations and other graphic elements. They can also include filmed footage and animated characters; these categories overlap.
Four things are worth animating: a process, a transformation, an important detail and data. A YouTube bumper lasts up to six seconds, not fifteen, and under WCAG automatic motion longer than five seconds should be pausable, stoppable or hideable. Price is set by script, graphics, number of scenes, voice, versions and revisions, not by a per-second rate. I make promo videos without filming from €240 (3D logo reveal), mockup videos from €480 and 3D product videos from €600.
What movement can explain
Four things worth animating
- A process booking a slot, submitting it and receiving confirmation
- A transformation a folded and unfolded product, a delivery status, a split payment
- A detail a restrained highlight of a control in a tutorial
- Data a chart with sources, units and scales
A process. Show booking a slot, submitting it and receiving confirmation. Avoid three simultaneous movements when viewers need to understand one sequence.
A transformation. Connect a folded and unfolded product, a delivery status or a split payment. Leave the resulting information readable after the transition.
A detail. A restrained highlight can help in a tutorial. Endless pulsing on every button does not identify a priority.
Data. Introduce a relationship gradually, with sources, units and scales. Allow reading time and do not exaggerate differences through animation.
Approve a storyboard first
Write the message, visible text and action for each scene. A fictional booking-service spot might show a scheduling problem, slot selection and confirmation. Three understandable scenes form a better brief than "lots of modern transitions".
Record and time a rough voice-over. Language, pauses and complexity affect speaking speed, so a fixed words-per-minute conversion is only a planning estimate. Approve content and still compositions before investing in complex movement.
Legibility belongs in the design
On a phone, test text size, contrast and on-screen duration. Music does not make a long paragraph in a fast transition understandable. Split the content or supply accompanying text.
Prepare captions and check meaning without sound. Keep important advertising content clear of the target app's controls. "Instagram is vertical, YouTube is horizontal" is too broad: the placement matters. A YouTube bumper, for example, lasts up to six seconds, not fifteen. Google Ads lists the formats.
Website motion needs control
An interface transition should support a function rather than delay a click. Respect reduced-motion preferences and retain text for important states. A spinner alone does not establish that an order was submitted.
For automatically moving content that runs for over five seconds alongside other content, WCAG calls for a pause, stop or hide mechanism, apart from essential movement. This is a specific requirement, distinct from general advice to use fewer animations.
Open the state-change example in the web design article. Check whether the result remains understandable with motion disabled.
What determines the price
My offer has four starting bands. These are not per-second rates. Script, original graphics, scenes, voice, sound, versions and revisions determine the scope. See the promo video service, where I make 3D and motion without filming.
Starting prices from the lowest
- Logo animation from €120 2D add-on to graphic design
- Logo reveal 3D from €240
- Mockup video from €480
- 3D product from €600
Worked example: Same 20 seconds, different work
ORIGINAL EXAMPLE · FICTIONAL DATA
| Item | Simple spot | Explainer animation |
|---|---|---|
| Script | One product and CTA | Ordering process |
| Artwork | Existing lamp image | Custom interface states |
| Motion | Short transitions | Several connected states |
| Delivery | One format | Formats and language versions |
The example compares scope; duration alone does not determine price.
Review the result precisely
Give a timestamp and observable problem: "at 00:08 I cannot finish reading the date" or "the button movement looks like an error". Distinguish a text correction from a new visual direction. Ask someone unfamiliar with the script to explain the message after watching.
After publication, measure the intended outcome: understanding a process, completing a task or making a suitable inquiry. Playback counts alone do not establish sales impact. Animation is not automatically more effective than a well-chosen still image.
What to take away
- Motion design needs a purpose: to explain a change, direct attention or show a process.
- For each scene write the message, visible text and action; approve the content and static compositions first, and demanding motion only afterwards.
- Check the meaning without sound and the legibility on a phone, and keep an important state as text too.
- Respect the reduced-motion preference; automatically moving content that runs over five seconds should, per WCAG, have a pause, stop or hide mechanism.
- The price is not set by a per-second rate but by script, original graphics, number of scenes, voice, sound, versions and revisions.
- Judge the result by its purpose; playback counts alone do not confirm higher sales.