How do you determine when your motion design is complete?

2 Review your storyboard

A storyboard is a visual representation of your motion design, showing the key frames, transitions, and actions of your animation. It is a useful tool to plan your motion design and check if it follows a logical and engaging sequence. You should review your storyboard regularly and compare it with your goals. Does your storyboard convey the message or the story you want to tell? Does it match the tone and style of your project? Does it have a clear beginning, middle, and end? If not, you may need to revise your storyboard and make some adjustments.

3 Test your motion design

One of the best ways to determine if your motion design is complete is to test it with your intended audience or with other motion designers. Testing your motion design can help you get feedback and insights on how your animation works in terms of clarity, impact, emotion, and appeal. You can test your motion design in different ways, such as showing it to a focus group, asking for peer reviews, or using online tools and platforms. You should test your motion design at different stages of your process and incorporate the feedback you receive into your revisions.

4 Refine your details

After testing your motion design, you may need to refine some details to improve your animation. These details can include the timing, the pacing, the transitions, the colors, the fonts, the sound, and the effects of your motion design. You should pay attention to these details and make sure they are consistent and coherent with your goals and storyboard. You should also check for any errors, glitches, or inconsistencies in your motion design and fix them before you finalize your project.

5 Apply the 10% rule

A common challenge for motion designers is knowing when to stop working on their projects. Sometimes, you may feel tempted to keep adding or changing elements in your motion design, hoping to make it perfect. However, this can lead to overcomplicating or overpolishing your animation, which can reduce its effectiveness and originality. A helpful technique to avoid this trap is to apply the 10% rule. This rule states that you should stop working on your motion design when it is 90% done and only make minor tweaks if necessary. This way, you can avoid wasting time and resources on unnecessary changes and focus on delivering a high-quality motion design.

6 Trust your instincts

Finally, one of the most important factors to determine if your motion design is complete is to trust your instincts. You are the creator of your motion design and you have the best knowledge and vision of your project. You should be confident and proud of your work and trust your judgment. Of course, you should also be open to feedback and criticism, but you should not let them dictate your decisions. You should listen to your intuition and feel satisfied with your motion design when you think it is done.