The creative process behind this animation.

The creative Process behind this Charge Rabbit Animation.

Charge Rabbit is a Shopify App that can be used to sell subscriptions right from your shopify store.  This app was built by my friend and he needed a video describing the app for his splash page in the shopify store. 

I consulted him on the features of the app to make sure to include all of the important information a user would want.  

I summarized his notes into a simple script and brainstormed the visuals that would allow people to understand exactly what this app does:  It connects Shopify with the subscription power of Stripe, which is a tool that allows business to accept and manage online payments. 

Connecting things, linking two apps together, that wouldn't otherwise be used together..the missing link.. puzzle pieces! 

So puzzle pieces became my characters, and illustrator and after effects became my new closest companions. I recorded the script, created all the necessary elements in illustrator and then brought them into After Effects for animation. 

When Creativity Flatlines

When Creativity Flatlines

Stoked! 3 views last week (instructor, mom, and me). And the show goes on...

This week: How to stay inspired. 

Amid your busy schedule, it is essential to keep the creativity flowing; a feat much easier said than done. When you're constantly designing, the "well" has a tendency to sometimes slow to a trickle, if not dry up completely. Fear not. Here are two of my favourite ways to hit refresh and escape a creative drought.

Pocket Pics.
These days, everyone has a camera in their pockets and it's time you took advantage of it. Use your phone to take quick pictures of anything and everything you find interesting. Like the pattern on your take-out box? Snap it. How about the graffiti scribbled on the side of the bus, or the design of that old sewing machine? Snap those things too. So many of my design ideas come from my phone's camera gallery. I scroll through it from time to time and find all sorts of cool things I've taken pictures of. I recently used a colour scheme that I had seen on a can of peaches, ages ago.

Become a Card Collector.
So much good design can be found on other people's business cards, and usually goes unnoticed. Mind you there's heaps of bad design too, but that's the beauty of business cards. I find myself keeping any cards that intrigue me, even if I don't know why, and I file them away for later. Looking back over your collection can help you identify styles or trends that you didn't know you like(d) or realize that you actually don't like a certain style. Either way, the card comparisons can provide a starting point for a project that you may have never even considered. 

Basically, just try to analyze everything you look at or interact with. Take that extra second to make a mental note on why you like it, or what you like about it. Chances are that, if you put the effort into thinking about it in the first place, somewhere down the line, the thought will pop back into your head when you need it, thus saving the day. Theoretically of course. 


—tom