What is Motion Graphic?

The desktop computer has transformed the design profoundly over the past 25 years. Distinct stages of evolution are marked by points at which the once quaint profession of commercial art, or graphic design, has grown into something more complex, as the designer has expanded into new skill sets and areas of creative practice. The eighties saw many print production processes, such as page layout, typesetting, and mechanical preparation, move from the domain of specialists working in these areas and onto the desktop of the designer’s workplace. In the early nineties, an explosion of typeface design was the result of consumer access to technology : PostScript language and software for creating and modifying typefaces reached the designer’s hands. By the mid-nineties, the designer gained access to the tools for creating and producing Web sites and moving type. We are now in the midst of new wave commonly referred to as motion graphics, or motion design.

Behind this new wave lies yet another technological evolution. Design studio now have access to highly advanced yet affordable hardware and software literally on their desktop. Both 2-D and 3-D animation and video production are now possible “in-house,” rather than in specialized- and expensive-shops. The tool of the trade include digital and film still and motion cameras with software such as SOFTIMAGE XSI, Flame/Combustion by Discreet, Maya by Alias/Wavefront, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects. Film formats such as MPEG3 and MPEG4, QuickTime, and others allow for efficient editing, production, and delivery of finished sequences.