Animated Social Media Advertisement:
(Figure 1: book and icons, Figure 2: background)
Some screenshots that evidence my use of the animation tools in Adobe After Effects:
This design focuses on the creation of an animated social media advertisement for my brand ‘Beyond the Blurb’, designed specifically for mobile viewing. The aim of the advert is to communicate key information quickly and clearly, whilst maintaining a strong visual identity that aligns with my brand identity. This would be, for example, an Instagram reel or TikTok. Moreover, the concept centres around promoting the book shop as a social and lifestyle space, targeting a younger audience mainly interested in reading romance books, making friends, and aesthetic experiences. The design uses a vertical format to reflect how users naturally engage with content on mobile platforms. A clear visual hierarchy was established to ensure readability, starting off by incorporating the idea of the initial animated typographic example from Task 1, fading into an image with an iced coffee picture scaled into frame with the brand name and CTA positioned prominently from the bottom upwards. This is followed by supporting text that highlights key aspects of the experience, such as ‘Shop & Discuss Romance Books’. After a short while, this slowly fades out to the inclusion of the logo and an ‘Explore our website today’ CTA, which was emphasised through the consistent wobbly movement, encouraging interaction, and the inclusion of a QR code provides a direct and accessible way for users to engage further with the brand. Furthermore, the pastel colour palette and soft imagery were obviously carried over to maintain consistency within the brand, reinforcing the brand’s calm and welcoming tone. Again, the animation was developed using Adobe After Effects, incorporating keyframe techniques to animate text, images, etc. Motion was used to guide the viewer’s attention through the advert, with elements appearing consecutively to avoid overwhelming the user. This had to be a comfortable timing of quick enough, but not too rapid, so the user feels intrigued and engaged, not uninterested or overwhelmed. Overall, I believe the advert successfully communicates a clear message within a short timeframe, whilst certainly remaining visually engaging with an easy understanding.
Figure 1: Adobe.com. (2025) Adobe Express. https://new.express.adobe.com/?_branch_match_id=1579987207578091383&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXT0zJT0otLkgsyi7ILy7RSywo0MvJzMvWd8zL9ktxryjJ8E%2ByrytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsg1OTEssygQA5bdIOkUAAAA%3D [Accessed 30 April 2026].
Figure 2: Unsplash. (2025. Beautiful Free Images & Pictures | Unsplash. https://unsplash.com