thought it would be of some value to you for me to go back a few years and explain a little bit about how Motion Refind came about...but then share the journey I (and my brand) have been on over the last 14 years or so. I think many of you will be able to relate to the challenges faced as a brand owner, but also the need to adapt and evolve to your market.
To me, this journey is really all about being aware, and then being able to adapt to what that awareness has brought to light. It's been a very natural and organic process, so in this regard I have been very lucky. I want to explain this journey because I think it's really bloody interesting haha.
So, I am a visual marketer. That's how I like to position myself and my brand. I have a core of video and motion design but over the years I have gained supplementary skillsets in other areas that essentially complement each other. When I first started out in 2008, I was purely video. Corporate video to be exact. And boy it was pretty dry. But I enjoyed it at the time, and it was a wonderful space to work in. I got to use big cameras and we had big editing suites and we had to use gloves to handle the lights because they used to get so hot. (Nothing like the cool running LEDs we use today). But the point I'm making is, pure video, that’s it.
Then, around 2012 there came a significant increase in online video (not quite at the levels we see today but big enough to really help me and my ambitions out). More and more businesses were looking to video to communicate to their audience, and with this came an increase in the need for motion design. You'll note this was around the same time Instagram was purchased by Facebook. With this increase in online video, it fuelled a huge push in better internet speeds, bandwidth monitoring and allocation, which in turn only led to more video. It was a beautiful self-perpetuating fusion reactor of existential growth and development. It was a glorious time to be working in video. Not only were we seeing black hole sized developments in network infrastructure, but we were also seeing a technological drive for video-friendly tablets and mobiles, as well as an increase in video focussed platforms. Facebook and Instagram were both ramping up their support for longer-form video content. And where they go...the rest soon follow. Video and motion design were slowly becoming the medium of choice for marketers and individuals alike.
By the time we hit 2017, video was the biggest traffic source on the internet, and remains so to this day. 2017 saw terms like 'In bound marketing' and 'content marketing' really starting to trend and soon the whole industry was re-shaped and re-worked. All because video, social behaviour, ease of access and cheaper production costs all happened at the same time. It was just one of hundreds of sub-renaissance shifts following the launch of the internet back in the 1960s. The internet has re-shaped so many business sectors, social and political structures, society and modernity itself have all been hugely affected.
So why are you telling me this?
It's a good question. But this is the context that really pushed me to develop my original offering of video and motion design, into something much more cohesive and comprehensive. It was a natural thing for me to bring together all the skills I have learned and developed over the years. I find most clients are looking for a simple and cost-effective solution, and most just do not have the budget to pay highly expensive agency fees. Well, this is (in part) where Motion Refind comes in. Often, I have created a video for a client, for it then to be sat on a poorly designed website...or I must animate a really poorly designed logo at the end. Or even worse, the video is not used in a cohesive way with their marketing funnel. This makes me very sad. 😥
I was getting tired of an abundance of incoherence within my visual space. This isn't necessarily down to me, or my clients. More a blend of events and circumstances that have led to this point. But it was time to do something about it. So, from video production, came video and motion design, then came video marketing, and now I offer a wider spread of services to address the 'bigger picture'. I won't get into my services now but feel free to check out my 'About' page for more info.
In a nutshell
- A good-looking brand is top of the pile (graphic design).
- A nice, clean easy to use website comes next (web design).
- Such a website (and supporting social channels) are populated with value added content, that is coherent to the brands message and tone of voice (content marketing).
- A well developed and well managed marketing funnel that leverages video and social media to drive people into your user journey (social & marketing strategy support).
- Video content is key for long-term brand growth. All the stats say this...it’s just facts (video & motion design).
- Bottom line, all your visuals need to be aligned, one weak link breaks brand cohesion and steers the users away from a memorable and enjoyable experience into a broken, incoherent one. And no one wants that.
"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change". - Albert Einstein
This is how Motion Refind 2.0 was born. The logo was tweaked to subtly move away from the video 'play icon’ button from the original design, and lean more towards an arrow. To represent forward momentum, progressive thinking and positive experiences. The colour pallet needed to be much more striking, and I was very keen to take Motion Refind into 'Dark mode'. This worked wonderfully as it turned out haha.
So welcome to Motion Refind 2.0. The home of cohesive visual marketing and the starting place to an amazing user experience for your audience. A coherent journey of natural selection forged through the organic evolution of the visual marketing sector. (This might be the nicest sounding sentence I have ever written).
Hope you enjoyed, and found at least some of this insightful, and remember...#creatwithpurpose ✌🏻
