Motion Design

Our brand design enables the visual tone to adapt to different communication contexts. From factual and formative to expressive and inspiring, it supports a wide range of creative execution.

Learn more about our flexible design fields in the Fundamentals section.

Simply choose the level of expression that bests suits your message.

Our brand attributes “Fundamental”, “Approachable” and “Aspirational” define the behaviour of our brand elements in moving images:

• We are straightforward and clear. We are not fussy, nor do we apply unnecessary special effects.
• We make our content easy to understand. We are focused and leave out the unessential.
• We provide continuity in flow and movement, creating recognition and trust.
• Our animations are dynamic and energetic. We establish rhythm and structure. We are not random or chaotic.

Texts are animated line by line. For different amounts of text, different font sizes are defined for each format. The font colour is always white. Text may be left-aligned or centred. Templates are available for all formats.

Offset and delay

Text lines have a slight offset in timing and position. This creates a dynamic, lively impression and makes the text easier to read.

To meet the growing demand for moving images across various touchpoints, we need to ensure maximum flexibility and consistency in the conception and realisation of our films. To this end, we have studied the varying requirements of each media platform and established basic design parameters for our audiovisual communication that can accommodate all common formats and channels.

Depending on the content of the film, the transitions can be designed in either the Inform or the Inspire layout. The animation of backgrounds, shapes and texts should always follow the defined basic principles in order to create a consistent visuality and to ensure the brand’s recognisability. The templates provided already contain a number of pre-animated styles and help to fulfil these conditions.

Lower-thirds are used to add information to video material. Typically, they display the name and expertise of a person or information about the location, as well as data and numbers. For Heidelberg, there are two types of lower-thirds – Inform and Inspire –, which can be placed on the left or right bottom depending on the content. The shapes may contain different colours and amounts of text, so the length is variable. However, care should be taken to keep the amount of text as small as possible to ensure readability for the viewer. The use of templates is absolutely necessary to ensure consistent design, animation and positioning of the lower-thirds.

The length and height of the shapes automatically adjust to the amount of text. Depending on the footage requirements, shapes may be placed left or right. In "Inspire" layouts, different colours may be chosen for the shape.

Subtitles are used to improve the communication and comprehensibility of videos and to ensure that the content is accessible to a wider audience. They serve to explain, emphasise, translate or support when audio playback is not possible.

If the call to action is displayed as the sole element on footage, it is enlarged in the motion design. The corresponding values for the different formats are shown in the pictures above. Call to action within videos are not actual buttons; rather, the entire video serves as a link. Please use the templates provided to animate coherent calls to action.

Any questions about our guidelines?
Contact us.