Motion Designer
The time-based designer
Design Careers · CAREERS
Motion designers make graphics move: title sequences, animated logos, explainer videos, social content, and the transitions and micro-interactions inside apps. The discipline adds timing, easing, and choreography to the designer's toolkit — Saul Bass's film titles are its founding masterpieces.
It rewards a sense of rhythm as much as an eye for composition, and demand keeps growing as every brand discovers it needs to move to stay alive on screens.
Where they work
- Studios and agencies
- Broadcast and streaming
- Tech companies
- Freelance
Skills
- Animation principles (timing, easing, spacing)
- Storyboarding and animatics
- 2D motion tools (After Effects and similar)
- 3D basics and rendering
- Sound design and sync
- Kinetic type and logo animation
Tools
- After Effects
- Cinema 4D or Blender
- Premiere Pro
- Rive or Lottie
Typical projects
- Animated logos
- Explainer videos
- Title sequences
- Interface animation
Career path
- Junior Motion Designer
- Motion Designer
- Senior Motion Designer
- Motion Director
Portfolio expectations
- A 60–90 second reel
- Style frames and storyboards
- Breakdowns of how work was made
- Sound and timing sense