A countdown that ticks down each day, an announcement that moves and a logo sting for the videos all come from one design, so the campaign looks like one campaign. Brief us once and we build the set, with the still social media graphics to match.
Animated graphics
Movement, measured in seconds.
Animated graphics hold a thumb on a post a moment longer than a still can. We design short loops for social media, email and screens.
What they are
What counts as animated graphics?
Animated graphics are short pieces of movement built from your logo, type, photos and illustrations. A logo that assembles itself at the end of a video. A headline that types itself. A price that counts up, a product that turns, a countdown to opening day.
Most run for four to eight seconds and loop, with the message landing in the first three. They play in social feeds and Stories, in email headers, on website banners and on the screen in your reception. We design them to match the still social media graphics in your feed, so the moving post and the one beside it look like the same brand. They sit within our social media marketing line.
Formats
Which file format do you need?
Each platform wants a different shape: 1080 × 1080 px square for feeds, 1080 × 1350 px portrait for Instagram and Facebook, 1080 × 1920 px for Stories, Reels and TikTok, and 1920 × 1080 px widescreen for YouTube and screens. Meta lists its current limits in its ads guide.
| Format | Where it plays | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| GIF | Email, chat apps, websites | Plays almost everywhere, but 256 colours and large files, so keep it short |
| MP4 (H.264) | Social feeds, YouTube, screens | Full colour, small files; sound optional, and most feeds play silent |
| Lottie (JSON) | Websites and apps | Vector animation that stays sharp at any size, added by your developer |
| MOV with alpha | Video editors | A transparent logo sting or lower third to lay over footage |
| Still frame | Wherever animation is blocked | The first frame, designed to stand alone, as PNG or JPEG |
Scope
Is this motion graphics?
It is the short, graphic end of motion graphics. We animate type, logos, shapes, photographs and charts, and keep every piece brief enough to loop without wearing thin. We don’t film, edit footage, record voice-over or animate characters.
For a filmed video we make the parts around the footage: the opening title, the lower thirds that name a speaker, the end card with your logo and web address. Your editor drops them in. A script for the video itself is covered under short video scripts.
On a website, movement must know when to stop, so every animation we build respects the visitor’s reduced-motion setting, as it does on Roar Entertainment’s site.
Included
What comes with an animated graphic
- Every size you orderSquare, portrait, Stories and widescreen versions, each re-composed rather than cropped.
- A loop and a one-play versionThe loop for feeds and screens; the version that ends on your logo for videos and presentations.
- Safe zones for StoriesText and logos kept clear of the areas where the platforms lay their own buttons and captions.
- The editable project fileNext month’s date, price or headline becomes a change of text, not a new animation.
Social media & marketing
Related services
Questions
Questions about animated graphics
Question not here? Send it to us and we will answer it directly.
Ask a questionHow do we brief an animated graphic?
Email hello@redfoxbranding.com or use the project form with what the graphic has to say and where it will play. Send your logo as a vector file, your brand colours and fonts, and any photos or product shots. A rough idea of the movement helps, even as one sentence. We reply with a fixed quote listing every size and format you will receive.
GIF or video: which should we ask for?
Video, in most cases. An MP4 keeps full colour, stays small and plays in every social feed. A GIF is limited to 256 colours and grows large quickly, but it plays inside an email and in chat apps where video will not. We usually supply both, and keep the GIF short and simple so it loads before the reader scrolls past.
Can you animate our existing logo?
Yes, from a vector file such as an EPS, SVG or PDF. If you only have a JPEG or PNG we redraw the logo in vector first, a small separate job quoted up front. Our logo design work includes that vector file as standard, so clients whose logo we drew can skip the step.
Will an animated graphic play in email?
A GIF will, in most email apps on phones and in webmail. Older desktop versions of Outlook show only the first frame, which is why we design that frame to carry the whole message. Video does not play inside an email, so we supply a still with a play button that links to the video on your site. See email marketing for the campaigns themselves.
Planning a launch or an event?
Get a quote for animated graphics
Tell us what the piece has to say, where it will play and the date it has to be out. Send the logo and any photos you want in it. You get back a fixed quote with every size and format listed. That is all it takes to start your animated graphics.