When you work at a creative digital agency like Xplai you don’t only get to design colorful illustrations; work on impeccable videos, but also learn a lot along the process. Some things are more related to the actual animation process than others; some are more like how to differentiate deers and moose, but let’s get back to that in a moment.
Motion design is an ongoing learning process, which makes it educational, interesting, and fun for everyone involved. Before jumping on a quest of creating an effective video, our manager makes sure to get all the details into place for setting the environment for our creative flow.
It is always a rollercoaster-fun-ride for our professionals, with a perfect example of the Zoo rewards explainer video. It has a rather slow beginning, where we had to confirm all the smallest details to set the tone for the future animation video. But as soon as the project mock-up was approved – you can’t stop the cart until it reaches the endpoint on all of its highs and lows.
Watch the making of the explainer video in our vlog
Zoo rewards: work and learn
The idea of Zoo rewards explainer animation video was to show all the advantages of the fun rewards card. The main benefit of this card is that it is good to use in three different parks in Tacoma, Washington. It might seem at first that nothing couldn’t be easier than producing a fun interactive video about a zoo. Nonetheless, our creative team hit a range of stepping stones on their way to their creative blast.
For one, we had to explain the value of purchasing one card for our primary audience – the adults. That means understanding the psychology of the target audience with their wants and needs. Second, it was important to target children. They are driving the demand, asking their parents to buy this card. It was important to keep in mind their short attention span and love of everything bright and catchy of the little ones. In addition, the client had very specific requests in terms of the process for creating this short animation video.
Challenge accepted
We spend some time with our clients choosing the style. The client had very strict directions for the color scheme. In addition, they instructed us on some specifics for illustrations. Such as types of animals, and their looks. We had to add specific events that the visitors might observe while at the park. For instance, the feeding, animals roaming in freedom without cages. The ideas were to portray the spirit of the parks, abounding freedom and openness. Nevertheless, we had to squeeze in the zoo description, the benefits of getting discounts, and adding information about summer camps.
Illustration: “We had to think about 3 types of audiences”
Working on selecting the color scheme was difficult. The illustrator suggested a multitude of options before the client approved it. The final decision was in favor of adding more colors to be appealing and entertaining to children, who love discovering nature up close.
“I think the most difficult part in Zoo rewards”, says our illustrator, “was to find the right color scheme and style. We had to think like marketers, in order to understand the dynamics of the end viewer that will end up making the sale.” We were very happy to work with our client, as the project was motivating our illustrators to search for new approaches, technologies, learning, and improving skills on the go. Working in a creative environment means hearing the most unexpected demands, including “make it fun, but not too funny”.
Animation: We know how to make a moose friendlier while creating a video
It is always great to have a chance to develop a new skill while trying to fulfill the request “to make a moose more friendly”, a new inside joke that we now have. Even learning how to dig more in-depth information about the business of each of our clients can be helpful for the process of creating an explainer corporate video, as it pinpoints the crucial aspects that emphasize the ideas explained, main benefits of the business, or explain services just in the right way.
Managing creative projects is a great challenge, as well. If you think about it, literally, how can one ask for thinking outside the box, but then set boundaries on thought process and idea development? Although, a good professional keeps the team motivated, even when the forces are down and the exhaustion is slowly creeping up somewhere along with the deadline. A great manager moves forward with the team, focuses on implementing solutions, rather than eliminating the problems; suggests something new to the client based on their needs, rather than just following the requirements and guidelines. This is exactly what Xplai is all about.
Luckily, in this project, both management teams collaborated in a symbiosis to render a final high-end product that would illuminate all the benefits of the only card. The proof is the testimonial of a returning client: “This was our second project with XPLAI, that’s why we knew what to expect and that everything will be delivered on time. But the video turned out to be really amazing!”. We are hoping for more collaboration in the future on similar fun projects like Zoo Rewards.
