GifBank

DESIGN NOTES

My work has always been informed by and aimed toward utilizing motion in small and large ways. I went to school for animation at USC, and I still deeply feel the need to incorporate motion in my work, be it animated loops in digital products or flipbook papercraft in printed pieces. There is a magic in bringing the living into the still; it makes the design sit with you, not just in front of you.

Before the rise of cinematic gifs in around 2013, the word "gif" was mostly regarded as a low-brow piece of digital ephemera. I feel grateful that I was a part of a cohort of designers that rescued its reputation.

I'll be adding to this page as I make work.

The most fun part of a gif is the discovery of a moment of life that can be looped in perpetuity. After finding that moment, I usually sketch out extremely rough storyboards on paper, mostly for spacing and framing purposes. I then will make assets in a production tool like Sketch or PS. Then, I bring into After Effects to animate, and export to either Lottie or Quicktime. It's an onerous process, but I haven't found a better way.

RESULTS

Designer-led gifs are different than animation: they don't take you on a journey, or explain a new piece information. They are cognitive well, a vortex of thought that keeps you suspended in that moment, forever.

In a world of constant digital assault, they are a respite.