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Look at the opening of a news broadcast, the figures in an annual report on video or the title that opens a YouTube video. Plenty moves, but not a single character walks around. That is motion graphics: graphic design set in motion. In the trade people also say motion design, the discipline of whoever designs that movement.
Linearity describes it as a small subset of animation that makes static images more dynamic. The difference with animation in the broad sense lies in the story. Animation builds a story with characters who go through something. Motion graphics tell no story, they make information clear.
Motion graphics or animation?
Two formats side by side
The line is not always sharp: many explainers mix both.
- What moves
- Motion graphicsShapes, icons, charts, text, logos
- Character animationDrawn figures in a setting
- Purpose
- Motion graphicsMaking information clear
- Character animationTelling a story
- Typical use
- Motion graphicsFigures, intros, titles, explaining a process
- Character animationExplainer with a main character, commercial
- Work
- Motion graphicsDesign and timing
- Character animationDrawing, moving and voicing characters
- Market price per minute (Vidico)
- Motion graphics1,500 to 6,000 dollars
- Character animation2,500 to 10,000 dollars
If you need to show something made of figures, steps or a brand, motion graphics will do. If you need a main character your customer recognises, choose animation.
Where you come across motion graphics
Almost every business video has some. A logo that builds itself in the first seconds. Subtitles that appear word by word. A map where your locations light up one by one. A chart that shows in three seconds what a table says in half a minute. Moving text on its own is called kinetic typography, and it is popular in short videos for social media.
These are the forms people order most often:
| Form | What moves | Where you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Logo animation | Your logo builds up or falls into place | Start and end of every video |
| Titles and captions | Names, headings and spoken text | Interviews, webinars, reels watched without sound |
| Data visual | Charts, counters and maps | Annual figures, presentations, LinkedIn posts |
| Kinetic typography | Words on the rhythm of a voice | Short videos and ads on social media |
| Explainer without characters | Icons and diagrams that show a process | Software, services, products with little to film |
A full video in motion graphics is often an explainer video without characters: a voice that explains a process while icons and diagrams come into view. For software, financial services or technical products that works well, because there is little to film.
They also run in presentations and on screens in a shop or at a trade fair: a short silent loop that shows your product or your figures while people walk past. There the message has to be clear without a voice and without subtitles.
Why businesses choose it
Motion graphics are quicker to make and easier to change than character animation. If your price or logo changes, you adjust a scene without redrawing. They also fit tightly into your branding: the same colours, the same typeface, the same icons as on your site and in print.
On social media they stand out because they move from the first second. You make them in every format, vertical for reels and stories, square or landscape for YouTube. The right sizes per platform are in the guide on social media image sizes. For the export, the video file size calculator shows how large the file gets at which bitrate.
How a motion graphics video comes about
It starts with a script and a storyboard: what does the voice say, what is on screen. Then someone designs the still frames in the house style, and only then comes the movement. Programs like After Effects are the standard. The design often takes as long as the animation itself. Good motion graphics feel calm: every element moves for a reason, and the timing follows the voice.
What that costs and how the price is built up is in the guide on explainer video cost. According to Vidico, a minute of motion graphics sits between 1,500 and 6,000 dollars on the market, cheaper than 2D animation with characters.
Questions about motion graphics
Is motion design the same as motion graphics?
In practice, yes. Motion graphics is the result, motion design the craft and the way of designing.
Can I add motion graphics to existing video?
Yes. Titles, figures and subtitles on a filmed corporate video are the most common form.
Having motion graphics made
We design motion graphics in your own house style: an intro and outro for your videos, moving figures for a presentation or a full explainer without characters. You approve the storyboard before anything moves. Read more on animated video production, or send us your question.