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Information Design / Project 2: Motion Graphics

14/02/2026 - 03/03/2026 (Week 2 - Week 5)

Chang Wing / 0367807 

Information Design / Bachelors of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Project 2: Motion Graphics


TABLE OF CONTENTS


PROJECT 2: MOTION GRAPHICS (20%)


Exercise 3: Kinetic Typography (10%) 

For this exercise, we chose Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish to create a lyric video. We started by breaking the song into sections and delegating each part to different group members (Figure 2.1).


Figure 2.1 Lyrics parts of 'Birds of A Feather' by Billie Eillish


Then, our group member Xian Jun extracted the colour palette from the original music video so we could use it as a reference when deciding which colours would best suit our lyric video (Figure 2.2). 

We thought that referring to the colours from the music video could help establish a stronger sense of connection to the original song’s mood and visual identity.

Figure 2.2 Colours extracted from the music video


Then, we moved into Adobe Illustrator to create rough drafts for the lyric video, testing different font combinations and exploring diffrent compositions (Figure 2.3).

We also tried sans-serif fonts, but ultimately found that handwritten-style fonts fit better, as they reflect the emotional tone and raw expression of the song, where the lyrics (for example, "I'll love you 'til the day that I die", "Your mind's polluted" or "Don't be stupid") conveys honest and unfiltered feelings about love. The final font chosen can be seen in the storyboard below (Figure 2.5).

Figure 2.3 Testing fonts


After testing, we finalised the colour palette for the lyric video. It’s slightly different from the music video so we could achieve better contrast between bright and dark tones, but it still maintains the same bluish and melancholic vibe that fits the lyrics (Figure 2.4).


Figure 2.4, Final colour palette


Storyboard
Figure 2.5 Storyboard


Animation Process

So the part I chose to do was verse 1 in Figure 2.6.


Figure 2.6 Lyrics part chosen


So I worked on the animation using Adobe After Effects. I added a wiggle expression throughout the lyrics to create subtle, continuous movement (Figure 2.7). Since Xenyi completed her animation before me, I followed her animation style to maintain visual consistency across the whole lyric video.

Figure 2.7 Wiggle expression


I made "I'm" larger and used the thicker 'Brush Up' font, and pushed it over "If you go" to emphasise a strong sense of urgency, as if the words are reacting instantly to the idea of someone leaving (Figure 2.8). I used the thicker 'Brush Up' font as a bold emphasis style to highlight stronger and more emotionally impactful words throughout my whole lyric part.

Figure 2.8 Animation

I used the thicker 'Brush Up' font for "Going too" and repeated it across the screen to create a sense of overwhelm as if the words are surrounding the viewer (Figure 2.9).

Figure 2.9 Animation


I used the thicker 'Brush Up' font for "You" to emphasise a sense of personal address and make it feel more confronting and intimate as if it's directly shouting towards someone (Figure 2.10).

Figure 2.10 Animation


I animated "And if I'm" with a horizontal slide-over transition to create a slightly unexpected movement, giving a small shift in tone so the video doesn't feel too repetitive or visually static (Figure 2.11).


Figure 2.11 Animation


For "Turning blue", I animated a flowing liquid-like water background using the Turbulence Displace effect to visually represent the meaning of "turning blue" and also create a feeling of drowned and emotionally overwhelmed by emotion (Figure 2.12).


Figure 2.12 Animation


Figure 2.13 Turbulence Displace effect


I used the thicker 'Brush Up' font for "Please don't save me" to emphasise a sense of desperation, I enlarged and overlapped the word "Me" over "Please don’t save" to make "me" stand out as the emotional focus and highlight a person's internal conflict (Figure 2.14).

Figure 2.14 Animation


I used the thicker 'Brush Up' font for "Lose" in "Nothing left to lose" and "Baby" in "Without my baby" to strengthen the emotional weight of those words, so they stand out as the key points in each line and feel more impactful (Figure 2.15).

Figure 2.15 Animation

Final Outcome


Figure 2.16 Final video: Birds of a Feather Lyric Video




Exercise 4: Chart Animation (5%) 

Before starting this exercise in Adobe After Effects, I watched the tutorial provided by Mr. Martin (Figure 2.17). In the tutorial, he demonstrated basic steps for creating an animated graph, including how to use the Pen Tool to draw the bars, apply Trim Paths to animate the graph, and use Easy Ease to create smoother graph animations.

Figure 2.17 Tutorial: Week 3 Motion Graphic Chart


Since I was assigned to create the bar chart, I started by drawing the bars using the Pen Tool and then added the text labels based on the graph information provided (Figure 2.18).

Figure 2.18 Screenshot of process (Drawing bar chart & typing in text labels)


Next, I applied Trim Paths to the bar charts to create the rising-from-the-bottom animation. To make the graph presentation more interesting, I searched for and followed another tutorial (Figure 2.20) that demonstrated how to apply the Slider Control effect and use expressions on percentage numbers to allow the numbers to count from 0 to the final value entered. This is to give the overall animation a more dynamic feel.

Figure 2.19 Screenshot of process (Applying Slider Control Effect & Expressions)



Here’s a snippet of me working in Adobe After Effects (Figure 2.21).


Figure 2.21 Recorded process in Adobe After Effects (Sped up)


Final Outcome

Figure 2.22 Final Chart Animation



Exercise 5: Vector Animation (5%) 

For this exercise, we were assigned to animate a provided vector artwork using Adobe After Effects. I began by opening the file in Adobe Illustrator. I resized the artboard to HD (1920×1080 px) and adjusted the size of the vector artwork to fit the composition properly (Figure 2.23).

Figure 2.23 Resizing Artboard


Then, I reorganised the layers in Illustrator (Figure 2.24). I separated the clipped objects into individual layers, especially the parts I intended to animate later. This step is important to ensure that each element could be controlled independently in After Effects.


Figure 2.24 Reorganising/segregating layers


After that, I renamed all the layers clearly for easier identification and workflow (Figure 2.25).


Figure 2.25 Renaming layers


Below shows the fully reorganized and separated layers:


Figure 2.26 Layers renamed and seperated into parts

Figure 2.27 Recorded snippets of process (Reorganising & naming layers)


Then I imported the .ai file into After Effects. I set the composition to 1920×1080 px and selected "Composition" together with "Document Size" so all the layers follow the original document layout and stay in place when imported (Figure 2.28).

Figure 2.28 Imported ai.file to After Effects


I started experimenting with different animation techniques like Rotation, Scale, Motion Blur, and Easy Ease to make the movements. I also used the Wiggle expression and the Puppet Pin Tool to add subtle motion to the characters and elements so they look more lively.

Below is a compilation of recorded snippets from my working process in After Effects (can't record full process because my laptop's overheating):

Figure 2.29 Recorded snippets of process


Final Outcome


Figure 2.30 Final Video




FEEDBACK

Project 2: Motion Graphics (20%)

Week 2 (10/02/2026)
Feedback: -

Week 3 (17/02/2026)
Feedback: -

Week 4 (24/02/2026)
Feedback: -

Week 5 (03/03/2026)
Feedback: -





REFLECTION

I find this motion graphics exercise extremely useful, similar to the previous module Digital Photography and Imaging where we also learned animation using Adobe After Effects. However, this exercise focuses more on conveying information clearly while using subtle animations (like rising bar charts or graphs) to make the content more engaging. This has further improved my skills in After Effects.

The kinetic typography exercise was especially challenging for me. Collaborating with different group members while maintaining a consistent overall style for the lyric video was not easy, since everyone was working separately. Creating a storyboard and having a moodboard as reference definitely helped make the whole process more cohesive and manageable.








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