Motion Graphics for Business: Logo, Explainer, Social Clips

Motion graphics are graphics in motion: type, shapes, logos, interfaces and numbers that move to a plan. They explain in seconds what a text needs a paragraph for, and they stick because the eye follows movement. This article shows where they pay off for businesses, what separates good motion from mere animation, and which formats and specs you should know.

Where motion graphics pay off

Not every message needs a video. But as soon as something happens – a product launches, a number grows, a process has steps – motion is often the shortest explanation.

Logo animation

A short sting of three to eight seconds that turns your logo into a small scene. It opens or closes videos, presentations and social posts and makes everything look like you. Done well, it says something about the brand: our own sting drops the dot, draws the W and types out the wordmark – just like on our website.

Launch film and product video

When software, an app or a new product is introduced, short launch films show the interface in action: numbers build up, a question is typed, the answer follows. That is more convincing than a slogan because you see what the product does. Software companies use them a lot, but they work just as well for an online shop, a booking system or a client portal.

Explainer video

A process or an idea in 60 to 90 seconds. Explainers pay off when customers keep asking the same question: how does ordering work? What happens after sign-up? A clear script comes before the first animation. Only when the story holds in a few sentences is the motion worth it.

Social clips

Short clips for Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn or YouTube Shorts, mostly vertical. The first seconds decide, and the message has to work without sound. One advantage of motion graphics: a single template gives you vertical, landscape and square cuts, in several languages too.

Numbers and data

Numbers that build up are understood faster than numbers in a table. A counter, the one bar that grows tallest, a ring that fills – that turns an annual report into a story. The motion has to support the point: if everything grows at once, all you see in the end is movement.

What good motion looks like

The difference between “animated” and “designed” comes down to a few rules borrowed from animation film:

• Hierarchy through order: what comes first reads as most important. The core message moves first, details follow.
• Entrances slow down, exits speed up: elements entering the frame decelerate; elements leaving accelerate. The other way round feels sluggish.
• Varied tempo: when everything moves at the same speed, it feels mechanical. The slowest move can last several times longer than the fastest.
• Rest after motion: after every entrance the eye needs a moment to read. Stillness is a design tool.
• Works without sound: on-screen type replaces the voice-over; if there is one, captions belong with it.
• The brand stays the brand: your typeface, colours and logo in their proper form – no interchangeable effects from a template pack.

Formats and specs

Format	Aspect ratio	Typical length	Where it runs
Logo sting	16:9 or 1:1	3–8 seconds	Video intro, presentation, social media
Social clip	9:16, 1:1 or 4:5	6–15 seconds	Reels, TikTok, Shorts, Stories, feed
Launch film	16:9, plus 9:16	15–45 seconds	Website, LinkedIn, YouTube, newsletter
Explainer	16:9	60–90 seconds	Website, presentation, trade fair

For websites and most platforms, MP4 (H.264) is the safest format. WebM is often smaller and is supported by current browsers. On your own website, browsers only autoplay videos that are muted. A still image as preview, loading only when the video scrolls into view and a visible pause button belong with it. If motion plays automatically for more than five seconds, WCAG 2.2 requires exactly such a way to pause it. And visitors who set “reduce motion” in their system should see a still image first.

Video or animation in the browser?

Not every movement has to be a video. For your own website, an animation that runs right in the browser is often the better choice: it weighs kilobytes instead of megabytes, stays sharp on every screen, reacts to scrolling and can be paused at any time. You need a video as soon as the motion has to run somewhere else – on social media, in a newsletter, in a presentation or at a trade fair. Our 3D and animation page shows how both come together on one site.

Built in code, not in animation software

Motion graphics are traditionally made in animation software. We build every film as a small web page of HTML, CSS and SVG with a precisely timed timeline and render it frame by frame into a real video with the open-source tool HyperFrames. That has three advantages:

1. Type stays sharp: text is real type in your brand font, not pixelated graphics.
2. Variants instead of new productions: a new price, a second language or a vertical cut is a new version of the same template.
3. Data from the source: numbers can come straight from your data – handy for reports that come out every month.

For filmed scenes with people or elaborate character animation, a specialised film studio is the better choice. The two combine well.

What do motion graphics cost?

There is no independent price index; most figures online come from providers themselves. For explainer videos they range from a few hundred euros for templates to five-figure sums at agencies, for logo animations from a few hundred to a few thousand euros. Length, number of scenes, style and the number of formats and languages have the biggest influence.

With us, a logo animation starts at €390, a social clip at €240, an explainer at €1,190 and a launch film at €2,390, with no VAT added (Austrian small business exemption). All guide prices and what is included are on our motion graphics page.

Conclusion

Motion graphics pay off when something happens: a launch, a process, a number. What matters is not the amount of movement but its order – what comes first, how fast it arrives and when there is rest. If you are wondering whether your offer would work better in motion, tell us about it through the contact form. We reply within one business day.