Motion Graphics & The Internet
The concept of interactive media organizes information into a linear, non-sequential structure, which allows for its users to become more active in their roles. Motion graphics help animators and designers discover new possibilities and opportunities to expand their skills further than ever before.
Design’s basic principles that the technology available today relies on, assist user interactions through motion. Animations on the Internet continue to revamp due to the constant demand for creations that move. Programs created by Java are used to make animations that can be interacted with on many different operating platforms.
Animated GIFs have gained popularity over the years because they can be supported on almost every browser and are a low-tech option for those with or without programming skills. When the HTML 4.0 browsers were released, DHTML or dynamic HTML provided an alternative process for handing text through CSS or Cascading Style Sheets.
Its capabilities on the animation front were limited, although it was accepted by most browser providers and did not require the help from Flash. Flash was developed to be a web animation tool to aid in scaling vector-based images without giving up the resolution quality.
Unfortunately, Flash isn’t able to be viewed on today’s mobile devices easily or easy to update when necessary. Other programs, such as CSS and CSS3 have become more popular because they give designers control over their projects that contain animated responses to actions and allows them to animate HTML elements through a keyframe approach.
JavaScript appeals to designers with its object-orientated language programmed to support itself in most browsers without the need to download a plug-in or additional software. Various forms of web motion graphics include splash pages as a form of advertising to establish a company/individual’s presence on the internet, although their use has declined in recent years due to download time and issues involving search engines.
In advertising and more recently, websites, banners continue to be popular. In the entertainment industry, there has been a constant demand for music videos and games online due to the increasing capacity the internet has to offer for interactivity and animation.
Over the past few decades, the inclusion of motion graphics in mobile games, portable devices, DVD movies, etc., has grown massively. Companies have integrated cinematic and interactive experiences into the gaming industry as well as in touchscreen technology. Other industries such as the music industry have realized the potential animation has on their mobile interfaces.
With the design of successful navigation, it allows users to be able to maneuver through their interface without any problems. Placing aspects of motion with the elements puts an emphasis on details that could’ve been overlooked otherwise. Transitions, in general, can help users move through levels of intricate detail.
When incorporating these elements into your website or project, it’s important to remember to limit your palette to a few colors (one thematic and one accent color) that don’t upstage your subject. Carefully add saturation if necessary, along with a surprise color for punctuation to add movement while continuing to make your own rules as a creator and designer.