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Eric Zhang
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creative practice specializing in design & motion
Product promotional video
Client: Hint
Product: Hint water
Skills: Art Direction, Motion Graphics Design, Illustration, Video Editing
Software: Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
//final ads
//project overview
I conceptualized and worked on this project from start to finish. The concept of this project was inspired by part of the creative brief “Hint offers a special deal for new customers THROUGH OUR WEBSITE.” And it indicates where and how to get this special deal which is through Hint’s website. Living in the digital world, a website is a powerful tool for communication. And the art of communication is very different today than it was a mere two decades ago when our access to data was limited. The Internet has altered not only how we get information but also how we express ourselves. Digital technology is rewiring our brains and reshaping how we communicate. The Internet has turned careful, deliberate readers into hungry information predators. Power scanning, instead of deep reading, is something we all do. New digital tools make it easier for people to access content. The rise of video, audio, graphics and interactive features gives content creators the ammunition to fight battles in the name of knowledge. Words, pictures, and symbols – the very shape of content – is evolving before our eyes. The written word isn’t going away, but is being transformed. The days of straight running text on paper as our principal means of expressing ideas and delivering information are numbered as new digital tools change our communication landscape. Today’s audiences don’t want to just read about something – they want to experience it. And this immediately got me thinking about the use of the psychology of shapes in Design. Shapes are powerful design elements that go a long way in building visual identity. They also help designers add interest and organize content in a visually appealing manner - leading the eyes to the most important sections of the design. Plus shapes as part of the Hint’s secondary equities which have been used for packaging design, social assets, etc. For this project, I wanted to use shapes in motion to communicate the brand messages to the audience and reflect on an illustrative style for the overall art direction.
//Shot Breakdown
Shot 01: Due to the high amount of ad traffic, the general rule of thumb in digital advertising is that you must capture the user's attention within the first five seconds of the ad or else you might risk losing them completely. For shot 01, I wanted to show the audience what brand this video is promoting by using the shapes and typography in a flashy way, as well as to make a quick call to attention.
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All motions lead to the vertical Hint logo in its most recognizable and iconic presence.
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Kinetic Typography: The word “in” slides in from one side of the screen to reflect on the motion of “in”. The word “Fall” comes down from the top of the screen to reflect on the motion of “Fall”. Each word is taking up a square. In order to emphasise on the word “love”, I used a stacked and staggered type to fill up the entire square and add a bit of playfulness. And then I used “with” as a bridge to bring the two parts of the Hint water bottle into a whole before transitioning into the Hint logo.
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Colors: I wanted to use the Blueberry Lemon flavor as the hero flavor to lead to other flavors which are offered in this special deal. So I mostly used the color that matches the logo and the flavor. I wanted to use the complementary colors to create the highest possible contrast and visual interest and lead the viewers’ eyes to the most important content on the screen.
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Shot 02: Once we revealed the brand logo, now it’s important to show our new audience what this brand is about - “Delicious, fruit-infused water”!
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I used a match cut to transition from the logo to the fruits.
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In order to create a feeling of the water being full of fruit flavor, I had the fruit stack on each other to fill up the space which is similar to the size of the logo. (For here, I used the lemons and blueberries from the hero falvor I chose for this concept)
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To bring out the playfulness and charisma of the brand. I animated and turned the fruits into individual characters and had them interact with each other.
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Typography: I used the bold type for the words “Delicious” and “Water” to quickly info viewers that Hint is a delicious water. Then I added more details with a sandwich form to reveal that Hint is a delicious FRUIT-INFUSED water. To make it more fun and relatable, I have also added the liquid animation when revealing the copy.
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Colors: To create a visual consistency, I used the colors between the logo, blueberries and the copy.
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Shot 03: For this shot, I wanted to reveal what the product actually looked like.
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For the product here, it’s the hero flavor Lemon Blueberry.
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To make the transition between the fruit and the product, I used a match cut with a squeeze and stretch movement between the lemon and the bottle. Then I added a touch of water splash on top of them to add dynamic.
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I used a symmetrical design on the “0 calories, 0 sweeteners” frame because I wanted to convey a sense of balance, order, and harmony, as well as help viewers quickly absorb and make sense of the visual information.
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I created the water ripple animation with the primary circle shape to add some interaction when the bottle drops down. It’s like falling into the water and transitioning into the next shot.
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With the bottle falling into the water, there is a water splash coming out and leading the viewer’s attention to where the search bar animation started in the following shot.
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Shot 04: As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to use the Blueberry Lemon flavor as the hero flavor to lead to other flavors we offered in this special deal. So in the last shot, I animated the Blueberry Lemon water bottle to fall down and transition into the search icon. Instead of typing the name of the flavors in the search bar, I think it would be much more interesting to “type” the shapes/images. The viewers can also quickly match the fruit with the same flavor of water.
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Just like a universal symbol, people usually recognize that a magnifying-glass icon indicates a search tool, even when it has no label. I wanted to use it to indicate: 1. Where: Online 2. How: through Hint’s website 3. What: find more flavors at Hint.
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When animating the elements, I tried to add personality to each of them: 1. The way the word “More” pops up, it is like being squeezed by the weight of the text “simply”. 2. The watermelon water bottle pushed/ stepped down the search bar. 3. The water bottles, fruits, and letters are floating dynamically. The audience can imagine they are in the water, air… and eventually lead to nature, health and freshness. 4. The water bottles are flying out the screen like they are “screaming” when the search bar is being pushed away. 5. I wanted to use the “eye winking animation” on the search icon at the end of this shot to circle back and re-engage with the audience on the “Where, How and What”. 6. When it is being transitioned into the next shot, I had the text message coming out like a bubble and pushing all the elements out of the frame. It feels like they are being pushed away by something suddenly coming out of the water.
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Colors: For this shot, it is mostly showcasing the products (more flavors other than blueberry lemon). I wanted to keep the colour palette simple by using only white, Hint deep blue and light blue shade. A light shade of blue gives the feeling of freshness and inviting. It is a very versatile colour. Its calming, relaxed appearance is easy on the eyes and the shade is suitable for use in large amounts. And the Deep blue usually stands for professionalism and formality. It gives the feeling of confidence and trustworthiness. I wanted to add a simple, bright and fresh feeling to the shot, have the products stand out, and focus on the flavorful part.
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Shot 05: For this shot, I wanted to reflect on the brand tone of voice “Friendly” (We’re people - approachable and warm. We love to talk to people and to engage them in our own mission to make everyone fall in love with water. We have a familiarity and neighbourliness in our voice as though we’re talking to good friends.) and circle back to the art of communication. I don’t want our audience to feel the pressure that we are only trying to sell them something. I wanted to present our special deal to them in a more casual and approachable way - something that happens in their everyday life. It’s like when you find something cool, and you’re excited to share it with your friends, colleagues, neighbours, family… It could start from a two person chat to a whole group chat! And then your friends share it with their friends… until everyone knows it!
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Graphics: I wanted to show this “communication” scene by combining the primary shapes with the accent shapes. While the conversation is going, the graphics start from something concrete to something more abstract. It starts with the actual message bubbles, a website people shared, some product pictures people attached to the message… While the conversation is moving fast, they start turning into squares, rectangles… I have also added some Emoji like accent shapes to make it more fun and relatable. For example, I used the heart shapes to represent the imessage reaction when people hit Like on the messages. It could also represent their current mood - they are falling in love when they see the deal or products through the messages.
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Colors: I wanted to keep the freshness and have the audience focus on the messages we are trying to deliver. 1. For the background, I had it go from light blue - light pink - light blue. I wanted to use it to represent the mood changing while the conversation is going. It’s just like people see our product, they start falling in love and they wanna know more about the product. 2. When this shot just started, I wanted to visually present the feeling when people see our products. I used the light pink for the first bubble along with the light blue BG to create that “love at first sight” kind of vibe. 3. For the colours on the moving shapes, I had it go from simple - colourful - simple. It represents how busy people are talking about it and how soon the messages are being spread. I also wanted to use the colors to show how flavorful our products are. It starts from a busy color to a color palette which matches the first flavor being revealed in the end card.
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Animation: I animated the message bubbles to go from fast - slow - fast. I had the first message bubble pop out quickly after showing the product in the previous shots. Again, I wanted to add some personalities to these graphics. I wanted to show that “Love at first sight” and bring joy and excitement to our audience. It’s just like a heartbeat when you are falling in love with something. Then the animation gets a bit slower while you are sharing with your friends, and they are checking on it. And the order of each bubble comes in which leads viewers’ eyes from right- left - right…While everyone is talking about it and the conversation is moving fast, I had the animation quickly transition into the end card and reveal the products. I used this way to lead the viewers’ attention back to the main characters which are our products.
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Shot 06: For this End Card, again I wanted to circle back to the “Where, How, What” I wanted to deliver this special offer to our audience and remind them that they can get this special offer through Hint’s website. And Hint offers lots of flavors.
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To reflect on the point “Today’s audiences don’t want to just read something – they want to experience it.” I wanted to create a moving end card Instead of a static one. I wanted to incorporate the micro-interactions in web design into the motion. 1. When the message bubbles transition into the water bottle, it triggers the micro-animations, such as the CTA button bouncing, “36 bottles for $36” typeface thickness changing, the waving animation on “+ Free shipping”, the color gradient animation on the stacked windows… 2. Graphics: I wanted to focus on “Hint offers a special deal for new customers through our website.” and use the web panels to tie everything together and keep the consistency. I used the stacked window panels to emphasise the “New customer offer” and the CTA button. Then use a diagonal line to direct our audience to the flavors we offer. Then they will start noticing the offer details “36 bottles for $36 + free shipping” with the looping micro-animations. 3. Colors: I wanted to use the same orange hue and Hint deep blue shade to circle back to the beginning of the video, and have the messages pop out with the light blue shade. 4. Animation: I wanted to convey a wavy, liquid feeling through the micro-animations and remind the audience that our product is water!
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