[Case Study] Articuland Conference Graphics Package

Three years after I sent a cold email to Overneath, they finally replied. The timing couldn't have been better: they had a last minute 2D motion graphic package for an Articuland conference, and they wanted to know if I'd like to be considered. I said yes, brought on another animator, and we delivered the full graphics package 30 days later.

The Opportunity

Overneath reached out with a job that had a tight turn around and a wide rage of deliverables. The bulk of the graphic layouts were already being designed, so my job was mostly about putting these assets into motion. That meant we could focus on timing, loops, and making everyting feel polished without getting bogged down in static design decisions.

The project included multiple aspect ratios and use cases. 2.67:1 for picture-in-picture layouts and 16:9 for livestream and main screens. Everything needed to feel cohesive, even though it would appear in different formats across the conference. They even sent us a creative inspiration and that helped a lot.

Incase you're like me, and had no idea what a 2.67:1 ratio looked like. It's the one in the green.

The Scope

1. Slow-moving background animation for PIP layouts

   1. Built for both 2.67:1 and 16:9 aspect ratio

   2. Designed to give context without distracting from speaker

2. Slow-moving background animation with logo

   1. 16:9 only, used for livestream

3. Logo animation for walk-in

   1. Delivered in both 2.67:1 and 16:9

   2. Seamless loop

   3. Created as an evergreen logo that could be reused across all formats

4. Speaker/Presentation title animation

   1. 16:9 template used during presenter walk-ons

   2. Includes placeholders for the presenter's name, title, headshot, and presentation details.

5. Transition animation*

   1. Approximately 3 seconds; used to move between content sections

   2. Delivered in both 2.67:1 and 16:9

6. Countdown video

   1. 16:9 format. 10 second countdown.

   2. Used to build anticipation before sessions began.

7. Lower Thirds*

   1. 16:9 template

   2. Built as editble files so the overneath team could make iterations internally.

*Ended up getting canceled because they were no longer needed.

The Approach

Template-first workflow

• Lower thirds and speaker titles were built as editable templates, not one-off renders.

• Overneath could update names, titles, and headshots in-house if needed.

• This cut down on back-and-forth and kept the fast timeline moving.

Split animation duties

• Another animator (Gresham Bergeron) and I divided the deliverables to stay on schedule.

• We aligned on easing, color pallet, and motion style before beginning.

• Shared project files and process rendered to make sure we kept everything visually consistent.

Motion-only focus

• The static layouts were handled by another creative director.

• Our job was to bring those layouts to life with smooth, intentional motion.

• We prioritized seamless loops, clean transitions, and readable timing.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f8cc9e_e9eddaee92c145d89d8ffd02414e1b03/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Version 1 of what the Speaker-Presentation Title Animation looked like. Gresham ended up finishing this for the team, but it was interesting working in a format that's much wider than I normally do.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f8cc9e_d84d7a3633484df299114b50091d0d1c/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Version 1 of the logo animation. While I love the write on look, it didn't fit the brand. We ended up simplifying the animation to match the rest of the assets and overall branding.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f8cc9e_70c16b609c7b415db2be733ccae8156b/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Version 2 of the Animation Walk-In Loop. It's crazy to see it back. A lot of these assets ended up getting changed and a good portion of the movement was switched out as well. I looped it 3 times in the export so the client could get a better idea as to how it would look if it were playing in the conference.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f8cc9e_8c83d7410f78493f95ac4e09655b5111/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Version 1 of the title animations. We weren't sure who was going to be animating the Speaker/Presentation Title Animation, so Gresham and I both did our own versions. The client deciding to use my version, which I was very happy about. The little flags were fun to add motion to!

The Outcome

We wrapped everything by mid-August, despite the last minute start. Overneath got a full graphic package of reusable motion graphics that could be adapted across multiple assets and screen formats. The templete based speaker title animations grave them the flexibility to make quick changes without needing another animation pass. Because the logo animation was built as an evergreen loop, it became a long term and multi-use asset for future Articuland events.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f8cc9e_24c61c6355b54c809106170f80a8b41d/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Final version of the Walk-In Loop. As you can see, some of the assets in the grid got changed. A lot of the movement changed with the clients needs in mind.

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How the Speaker/Presentation Title Animation's ended up looking in the final.

Lessons Learned

• Persistence pays off: a cold email from three years earlier turned into a real project.

• Templates save time: building editable files for repetitive elements made a tight deadline manageable.

• Collaboration works: Splitting the work with Gresham saved us both so much sleep. It kept our animation quality high without slowing things down.

• Process renders matter: documenting each stage made it easier to review, align, and present the final case study.

Credits

Creative Direction: Articuland

Brand Producer: Overneath

Art Direction: Overneath

Animation Direction: Drew Raklovitis

Producer: Daniel Isabella

Animator: Brandon Reeves

Animator: Gresham Bergeron