IF Brand Animation
I created this animation by building shapes in Illustrator and After Effects frame-by-frame.
Creating An Identity
IF is a Facebook Watch page that features sci-fi and fantasy based content for the TXT Stories brand. When initially designing its visual identity, the biggest challenge was to create a unifying mark that could feel at home in both a sci-fi and fantasy setting.
Those two genres, while often serving overlapping audiences, didn’t have a lot of overlapping iconography — meaning the logo had to just feel like it belonged there instead of using existing tropes to establish itself.
The final mark is a simple spiraling flame, sometimes accompanied by a stylized IF title. IF’s long-form name is Ignis Fatuus, meaning “fool’s fire”, which inspired the design.
Building Each Frame
The full brand animation is composed of 16 individually created frames.
I chose to animate by hand, despite not having experience in it, to create a genuine energy in the final product. In order for the logo to feel truly alive, I needed to be able to manipulate every point and shape. Each frame continues the path as tendrils of mystical energy expand to fill the shape of the logo.
The final product was created in Illustrator and then imported into After Effects to compile the still frames into a smooth animation.
