Art & Design:
Where two worlds
collide.
The Idea.
It all started as a personal technical challenge — a fun way to learn a thing or two in Adobe After Effects. But what began as a simple idea quickly turned into a deeper exploration of an issue close to my heart: the intersection of art and design.
As a graphic designer, I often hear the saying, ‘Design is NOT art.’ They argue, ‘Art is about feeling, and design is about principles,’ as if they are mutually exclusive terms. Sure, there might be some truth to it, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that art and design are identical. But I certainly think there is an art-of-a-kind to design.
And what better way to demonstrate what I'm saying than with motion graphics.
The Storyboard.
The development of the video kicked off with a basic storyboard — a visual roadmap outlining key scenes and transitions. From initial rough sketches to the finalised frames, each concept was mapped to ensure a seamless narrative flow.
Planning each scene this way allowed me to visualise and refine the script and graphic elements, which were then brought to life in After Effects with the addition of sound effects and narration in Adobe Audition.
Through this exercise, not only did I gain technical abilities, but I also developed a deeper appreciation of the creative process for motion graphics, sound design and voice recording.
The Backstory.
The story aims to highlight how thinking in these kind of reductive ‘black and white’ categories, really just gets in the way. True creativity only happens when we have the freedom to play and tinker and explore, in-order find connections in things that aren’t immediately apparent. By taking a ‘playing by the rules’ approach to design, you’re missing out on where the real magic happens. This may sound counter-intuitive, but design, despite its structured approach, often feels more like a serendipitous journey - as if there’s a component of luck.
For instance, while piecing this video together, I stumbled across a music track that suits the pace of the video and the tone of my voice. Coincidentally, it was actually the title of the track that fit so perfectly and gave the video a solid theme; it’s called ‘Slow Noir Film’. Obviously, because the graphics are BLACK & WHITE, and the script also happens to end with the line ‘it’s not so BLACK & WHITE after all’. But it’s the combination of these elements that naturally go together to create a clear and deliberate motif. It was never part-of-the-plan to begin with, but only became plain-to-see during the process.
It’s exactly these kinds of hidden connections that you’re looking for as a designer. They have a way of tying everything together, and they make all the difference determining whether something feels disjointed or complete. Plus, they make the entire design process all the more exciting and enjoyable! I geek-out over these little unexpected things that only seem to happen along the way - They aren’t necessarily intentional, but they work so well and feel so right, that they appear as though they were done ‘by design’ all along.
This happens more often than you’d think, and that’s what I call it the ‘Art of Design’… because it aint so easily defined!