How to Choose the Perfect 2D Style for Your Business Animation

Picking the right style of your business animation is vital for the success of your animated ad or explainer video. But there are so many styles to choose from – cartoon, flat, isometric, Japanese anime, and many more. That is why it’s understandable that many

The best way to narrow down the possible animation styles is to think of what exactly is it that you want your business animation to tell the audience. That depends on the nature of your business, the target audience, and your goals. For instance, let’s say that you wish to focus on how your viewers feel about a particular pain point they have. In this case, you definitely need to include characters in your video. Moreover, you need to pick a character design that is expressive so that you can show the characters’ emotions. Take a look at the video we made for our clients at Simpo. In it, the animation style puts the focus on the character and his journey from having a problem to finding the perfect solution – i.e. Simpo.

To answer this question, think about the subject of your video. For instance, is the topic an abstract and complex idea or are you showcasing a tangible product? 

The general rule we follow here is the more complex the topic, the simpler the style. Take, for example, the series of videos we produced for Telelink. The purpose of the videos is to explain the dangers of the online world to people who might not be tech-savvy. So we used a very simple and minimalistic style with very few details.

Basically, as we’ve presented in the graph, if you want to present a concept, which is complex and abstract, we suggest you use simpler styles, such as motion graphics, isometric style, kinetic typography, etc. We do not recommend using characters here as they might confuse the viewer and clutter the video with unnecessary details.

If your goal is to evoke feelings and sell a tangible product, then use a more sophisticated and detailed animation. This will help you grab the viewer’s attention and hold it until the end of the video.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. Moreover, some elements from different styles can be combined to accommodate your unique business needs and goals.

This is an extremely important question when picking a style. For instance, you may love a certain design and want to use it in your animation. But remember that this animation is (usually) not for you, but for your target audience. And sometimes your personal preferences of an animation style might not work best for your intended viewer. Let’s imagine, for a second, that your viewers are system administrators, but you’ve chosen a cute and overly simplified style of animation. That probably won’t work.

So do your research. Make sure you do your best to get into the minds of your target persona, understand what they like and what visual language will appeal to them the most. Use your social media and other communication channels to find out more. Ask your followers, do some polls, perform some A/B tests. This is what we did when we wanted to find the best style for our own video, too.

If you already have your branding, then the video needs to go with it. This means using similar colors, styles, iconography, and logo for the animation as well. Because imagine that you want an explainer video for your home page, but the colors and style in it are nothing like the ones on the rest of your website. That wouldn’t look good. Moreover, your branding conveys a certain type of message and you want this message to stay consistent throughout all your marketing materials. And having a signature style will help your brand stand out so that the buyers will be able to instantly recognize you.

Every project we work on is different and there is no one size fits all formula as to how to pick a style. That is why we highly recommend that you trust the experts that will help you make the right decision. Use the professional services of a video marketing expert to get the best of your investment in an animated ad. To help you pick the best out of the many companies that do video marketing and production, we’ve created a short eBook that you can download completely for free.

As we’ve already discussed, one of the most important factors when picking your business animation style is knowing your target audience. But building a buyer avatar and segmenting your intended viewers is one of the hardest steps when you create a video marketing strategy. That is why we have developed a comprehensive guide to help you throughout this process. You can download our free book below.