The video was going to be used to introduce the campaign, and one of the other interns suggested that I have each letter of design thinking be made out of various tools (for example, the “I” could be a wrench, etc.) that would come together to form the phrase. However, I struggled to come up with enough tools to spell out both words, so I found the image of design spelled out with shapes online (definitely should’ve given credits for the image, but I couldn’t find the original source).  I also figured that the multiple layers of shapes coming together in each letter would be more dimensional and dynamic than with tools.

However, I struggled to come up with enough tools to spell out both words, so I found the image of design spelled out with shapes online (definitely should’ve given credits for the image, but I couldn’t find the original source).  I also figured that the multiple layers of shapes coming together in each letter would be more dimensional and dynamic than with tools. To create the animation, I first decided to number each shape so that I could keep everything organized. I then traced all of the shapes that were included in each of the letters in the “design” image in Adobe Illustrator, labeling each art board with the corresponding number. I ended up with 39 separate art boards.

I then went into Adobe After Effects and placed the “design” image in the background with 50% opacity. I decided it would be easier to work letter by letter rather than doing the whole phrase at once, so I made six separate compositions. I aligned all of the shapes with their corresponding positions, and then moved up about seven seconds in the timeline and marked their position and rotation in place. 

I then went back to the starting position in the timeline and rearranged each of the shapes so that they started off screen with various rotations and then came together to the final position. After doing this for each letter, I aligned each of the letters’ compositions with the original “design” image. However, because I had made each of the letters in separate compositions, the pieces didn’t start off screen but were instead overlapping. To fix this, I made each composition 3D, and changed the perspectives so it looked a little more cohesive. I also edited it so the video featured mostly closeups on each individual letter until the end when all of the shapes were close to their final position.

For the “thinking” portion, I decided to keep it fairly simple and used one of the After Effects’ text animation presets. This not only allowed the focus to stay primarily on the “design” part and the video, but also kept it from being too long. The final choppy cuts and backwards-forwards motions were sort of an accident. When I originally exported the video, there were many glitches and blackouts that mimicked this chaotic jerky effect. But, I actually thought it looked better than the original, so I recreated it in After Effects. The entire video took about a day and a half to complete.