Which animation style should you choose?

How to choose the right animation style in 3 steps

1. Determine the purpose and context. Do you want to explain, persuade, train, or raise awareness? Also consider the channel you are publishing on and the desired length.
2. Match complexity and emotion. Is the subject matter technical or data-driven, or do you primarily want to convey feeling and storytelling? Choose a style that excels in this area.
3. Consider your brand, budget, and timing. Does a playful or professional look suit your brand? How much detail do you require within the available time and resources? Then select the style that delivers the most impact per dollar and per week.

Quick comparison: goal, audience, and budget

• Complex explanation — Recommended styles: Motion graphics, whiteboard — Why: Structure, clear visualization of data and processes — Indication: Medium budget, average turnaround time.
• Storytelling and emotion — Recommended styles: 2D cartoon — Why: Character-driven, relatable, and empathetic — Indication: Mid-range budget, average turnaround time.
• Premium product or realistic experience — Recommended styles: 3D animation — Why: Depth, realism, technical accuracy — Indication: Higher budget, longer turnaround time.
• Quick product demo or onboarding — Recommended styles: Screencast, motion graphics — Why: Straightforward, accessible, immediately applicable — Indication: Low to medium budget, short turnaround time.
• Short, powerful statements — Recommended styles: Kinetic typography — Why: Impactful text movement, ideal for social media and advertisements — Indication: Low to medium budget, short turnaround time.

Animation styles explained

Would you like a complete overview of styles first? Read Types of animations.

2D cartoon animation

2D animation with illustrative characters and environments is ideal when you want to convey recognizability, emotion, and brand personality. The style is flexible in its visual language, fits well with an existing corporate identity, and lends itself to clear storylines with problems and solutions. Think of customer journeys, safety training, or internal change communication. Are you considering this direction? Have 2D animation made.

• Suitable for: storytelling, B2B and B2C, employer branding.
• Advantage: high likeability and easy brand translation.
• Point of attention: maintain a steady pace and structure to prevent participants from losing interest.

Motion graphics

Motion graphics revolves around animating graphic elements, icons, and typography. It is ideally suited to making abstract or data-driven content understandable without characters. Diagrams, dashboards, and processes come to life and are structured logically, often in combination with a voice-over.

• Suitable for: product explanations, KPIs, figures, process visualizations.
• Advantage: clear and professional, easily scalable for different channels.
• Point of attention: consistent design and hierarchy are crucial for understanding.

3D animation

3D offers realistic depth, lighting, and camera movements. You can virtually take products apart, explore spaces, and make invisible processes visible. That makes 3D powerful for high-tech, industry, and product marketing, where detail and credibility count. Want to know more about the possibilities? Have 3D animation created.

• Suitable for: product visualization, technology, premium brand experience.
• Advantage: high wow factor and accurate representation of complexity.
• Point of attention: higher production time and costs due to modeling and rendering.

Whiteboard animation

With whiteboard animation, the drawing appears step by step, as if it were being created live. The linear structure holds the viewer's attention and works excellently for explaining processes, procedures, and policies. Its simplicity keeps the core message central. Want to know more about this style? Whiteboard animation: what is it and when should you choose it?

• Suitable for: education, policy, step-by-step explanations.
• Advantage: accessible, high information density.
• Point of attention: less suitable for a distinctive brand look or emotion-driven storytelling.

Screencast

A screencast is a recording of screen actions, often supplemented with callouts, cursor highlights, and short motion graphics. This style is quick to produce and highly effective for software demos, onboarding, and support content.

• Suitable for: product demos, training, help content.
• Advantage: immediately applicable and easy to update.
• Point of attention: add rhythm, zooms, and annotations to keep it engaging.

Kinetic typography

Animated text plays the leading role in kinetic typography. You can direct attention and emotion using timing, rhythm, and typographic contrasts. This style works particularly well for short messages, teasers, event openers, and social ads where you want to make an impact within seconds. By cleverly combining text, color, and sound, you can give a brand a powerful, consistent voice.

• Suitable for: short statements, campaigns, social-first content.
• Advantage: high attention value, fits easily into existing corporate identity.
• Point of attention: strong copy and sound design are crucial for effectiveness.