ZapConnect – Zapier’s annual conference

What is ZapConnect?

ZapConnect is a virtual user conference where partners, customers, potential users, experts and thought partners come together to chat about automation and how Zapier is leading them to their best possible outcomes.

Workflow

Typically, the animation process follows a linear progression, similar to the waterfall model, from start to finish. However, in situations where time is limited, it becomes necessary to adopt an Agile-like approach. We created numerous rapid iterations in collaboration with Julia, the creative director and asset designer. Working under pressure sometimes resulted in mistakes. We identified and rectified each other’s mistakes throughout the iterative process and ultimately succeeded.

Teamwork

The presence of time pressure heightens your sensitivity toward work ethic. You want to solve problems as quickly as possible while streamlining tasks for your teammates. For instance, I took it upon myself to handle certain modifications, such as resizing, during the animation process. On the other hand, Julia thoughtfully provided me with recordings showcasing the app’s behavior, saving me the time and effort of figuring out how to animate specific software components.

Overcome difficulties

The feedback that frightened us the most from the stakeholders was to enlarge the product during the animation phase. It’s important to remember that pixel limitations come into play even when using vectors in After Effects. You can’t enlarge elements without consequence. Masks go wild, some effects stop functioning correctly, and you must redo camera work. That’s why creating animations in the largest required size is crucial. You can always scale them down later, but going the other way would be a nightmare, requiring a complete redo of everything.

Atomic Habits

One of the speakers during ZapConnect was James Clear – author of the #1 New York Times bestseller “Atomic Habits.” If I have to choose, organizing your data is the most important habit in the design process. The asset management system in Figma played a significant role in ensuring the timely completion of this project. Using a communication structure of columns with clear headings, easily visible notes, and comments provided clarity and facilitated our workflow. This system was crucial to iterate quickly, staying organized, and collaborate asynchronously.

The story is everything

We had a situation where a few screens in a static storyboard were marked as unnecessary. However, from a video perspective, these screens played a crucial role. Their absence will create a gap in the plot. That’s why collaboration between motion and graphic designers is important. Our skills and knowledge complement each other.

Go the extra mile

One of the boards features tweets filled with positive feedback. The scope was only to animate an entry of the blocks. I decided to go an extra step and search for GIFs users used in these tweets. Then I replaced the static images with their animated counterparts to make this scene more dynamic and engaging.

Keynote Scope

In the initial scope of our project, our goal was to create a minimum of 5 animated boards. However, our aspirations grew as we delved deeper into the creative process. Ultimately we produced thirty-nine animated shots that made more appealing and engaging keynote sessions for 24k registrants.

Animation for landing pages

In order to synchronize with the framerate of recorded footage, animations for keynote presentations were initially created at 24 frames per second. However, anticipating the need to create versions for landing pages, I made the decision to produce everything at 50 frames per second. This higher frame rate simplifies the process of converting the animations.

Due to the positive feedback, the scope of the project expanded significantly, resulting in nearly 60 files of different sizes and colors.

“The animations are great! Folks are pumped about the product animation and now want to use them across all the materials. They both explain the product value well while being delightful and on brand. Great work!”

JULIA JASKÓLSKA LEAD BRAND DESIGNER, ZAPIER

CREDITS