Motion branding
Designs how a brand moves on screen: the logo animation, the motion principles and the system that applies them, so the identity can also be recognized over time.
What problem it addresses
Brands are seen more and more on screens, and if every piece animates the logo its own way, the motion stops saying whose it is.
Principles
A character of its own
The way of moving (fast or calm, firm or elastic) is chosen to match the brand's personality.
Something fixed, something changing
If one element stays recognizable, the others can vary without losing the brand.
A system, not a piece
Durations, easing and gestures are written as rules anyone on the team can reuse.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Define the character of the motion first and turn it into rules (durations, easing, gestures) before animating individual pieces.
Avoid
Animating the logo differently in every campaign.
Don’t fall for it
Check that the brand is recognizable when still, in the first and last frame, and offer a reduced-motion version for those who prefer it.
Connections
Authors and works
- 2012
Irene van Nes
Proposed thinking of identity beyond the fixed logo: if at least one of its components (type, logo, color, imagery, language or graphic elements) stays the same, the others can change. Gathered cases of identities that vary by rules or respond to real-time data.
- 2019
Tiago Martins, João M. Cunha, João Bicker and Penousal Machado
Reviewed the history of dynamic visual identities and proposed a model to compare them, separating the mechanisms that create variation from the features they produce.
IBM Design Language
An example of brand guidelines with their own animation section: they treat motion as part of the brand's voice and distinguish productive, efficient motion from expressive, livelier motion.
Sources
Original sources
- IBM (2026). Animation: Overview. IBM Design Language. View source: IBM (2026)
Academic reviews
- Martins, T., Cunha, J. M., Bicker, J., & Machado, P. (2019). Dynamic visual identities: From a survey of the state-of-the-art to a model of features and mechanisms. Visible Language, 53(2). View source: Martins, T., Cunha, J. M., Bicker, J., & Machado, P. (2019)
Secondary sources
- van Nes, I. (2012). Dynamic identities: How to create a living brand. BIS Publishers.
Last reviewed: