2021

FinTech App Pre-launch Promotional Animations

Animation Direction, Brand Marketing Design, Concept Development, Motion Graphics, Social Media Design, Storyboarding, Visual Asset Creation, Visual Direction

This project involved creating the first of a planned three-part animated series to showcase features of the upcoming Firstly personal finance app. As the brand marketing designer and lead visual director on the project, I spearheaded a playful, tongue-in-cheek animation to highlight the app’s unique social engagement feature enabling family collaboration on financial goals. Early kickoff insights shifted our focus from purely financial planning tools to this differentiator, guiding creative strategy and resource allocation. Aimed at Gen X and elder millennials, this animation was designed to make finance feel lighter and more approachable and was planned as the centerpiece of our launch campaign.

Built with the Firstly marketing team and in-house creative team, led by Cyn Sylvie, with animations built by Jared Schwartz.

Made with Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe Illustrator CC, Figma, and Adobe After Effects CC

The Process

To accommodate our animator’s structured workflow, we shifted to a phased production approach that emphasized early learning and clear asset handoffs. Initial assumptions about limited handoff needs gave way to delivering a complete beat sheet, pacing guide, sound cues, and key micro-animation specs to minimize trial and error. We negotiated scaling back isometric movement given that we were relying on app mockups rather than live screen recordings, while preserving dynamic in-app card animations and opting for a flatter phone view to meet tight deadlines. Storyboard approval was guided by market research insights, with the marketing team advocating for light, tongue-in-cheek content to resonate with our Gen X and elder millennial audiences. Scope was adjusted by balancing the desire to produce multiple animations with realistic turnaround constraints, ensuring every asset aligned with features ready at launch.

The Outcome

The collaboration resulted in a polished social engagement animation poised for launch. From here we were ready to explore A/B testing to optimize performance. Ideally, we would begin by testing varied captions and post copy across channels to establish baseline engagement, then contrast a concise 10-second brand drop against a richer 30-second feature highlight to measure completed-view rates, watch time, and click-throughs. Platform performance (such as Instagram Stories versus Facebook) could inform format priorities like starting with a mobile-first 9:16 aspect ratio from initial storyboards. Aggregated metrics from our first three animations, along with organic comments and alignment with our blog, newsletter, and podcast messaging, would determine whether to iterate on high-performing assets or develop new creative variants. This approach would ensure the brand’s tone remained authentic and the visuals continued to drive family-focused financial collaboration.