ACORN GAMES • 2022
Scoring a marketing agency more fans (and clients)
Acorn Games is a marketing agency specializing in social media strategy for indie video game development studios. To give back to the community, Acorn devised an art-focused Halloween giveaway to shine the spotlight on some talented developers. When specialized event branding and promotional assets were required to help get the word out, Acorn called on me to help develop them.
Identity Key imagery
Promotion Digital media • Motion
The Mission Acorn needed to boost awareness about their campaign as part of a larger effort to expand their notoriety in the indie game space.
The Solution I developed a slew of bold motion assets to help drive interactions on social media. With options on length, Acorn could tailor the version they needed for different social platforms.
The Result Nine independent developers submitted original artwork to join the giveaway, and Acorn was able to convert two new clients thanks to the effort.
Prework
Research
Before I started designing, I did some research into similar efforts and Halloween-themed motion graphics. I noticed that many of them used similar colors - like orange, purple, and black - and also used texture and noise to create a playfully spooky feel. Creators like Mik Kalinin, Sergey Samoylenko, Ocular Lab, Valentin Mialet, and Jacques & Lise - all pictured - were particularly inspiring.
Asset Development
Storyboarding
I put my research to use and jumped into Adobe Illustrator to create the key artwork and storyboard for the motion graphics. I started by laying out the key slides to establish a consistent aesthetic, layout, look, and feel. With so much text to incorporate, I had to strike a balance between a creative, appealing design and the readability of the key information in order to keep the audience engaged and, ideally, increase click-through rates.
Asset Development
Element Refinement
After I had established the basic tone I wanted to achieve through typography, color, and layout, I opened Adobe Photoshop to refine certain elements. Using Photoshop enabled me to quickly create assets that had a consistent texture and feel while maintaining their flexibility later in the process.
Animating
Basic Movements
I imported all of my designs into Adobe After Effects to start animating them. I began the process by animating the core movements of the main elements, adjusting the length of the slides and transitions so that the viewer’s eye stayed within a small, consistent area to promote readability.
Animating
Adding Visual Interest
To keep things interesting, I added various film textures and effects, including grain, blurs, and a slight quiver to the main elements. Since the slides had to incorporate so much text in a consistent and readable way, carefully implementing textures and background elements was key to keeping viewers engaged in the video long enough to watch the whole thing.
Animating
Final Adaptations
In the end, two versions of the motion graphics were created: a short one for regular posting on social media that is perfectly loopable, and a longer one that would be posted less frequently. The longer version also served to ground the effort visually and give viewers a more holistic view of the promotion on the company’s website.
