NEW! Video Cost Calculator. Get an estimate for your project in less than a minute.
NEW! Video Cost Calculator. Get an estimate for your project in less than a minute.
Motion graphics is the part of animation that moves design instead of characters: type, icons, charts, interfaces. Seven formats cover almost all of it. Here’s what each one does, with examples from our own work and the questions we ask before we pick one.
By
Larry Mutenda
What are the types of motion graphics? The seven main types are kinetic typography, logo animation and brand idents, animated infographics, explainer motion graphics, UI and product animation, short-form ad motion graphics, and titles and broadcast graphics.
Motion graphics is the branch of animation that moves design. Type, icons, shapes, charts, interfaces. It sits inside animation as a whole, but the material it works with is graphic design and information instead of characters and story.
It’s still a minority format in marketing. Wyzowl’s 2026 State of Video Marketing report found 51% of video marketers make live action most often, more than double the 23% who make animation. That leaves a lot of room for a brand that can move well.
Our motion graphics reel, which covers most of the seven types in about a minute.
Motion graphics is a type of animation, so the two overlap. The difference is what carries the meaning. If a character and a narrative carry it, that’s animation in the general sense. If design, data, and brand carry it, that’s motion graphics. Our animation styles page covers the wider set.
The lengths below are what we see most often, not rules. Click a type in the list under the table to jump straight to it.
| # | Type | What moves on screen | Usual job | Typical length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kinetic typography | Words, weight, and timing | Manifestos, quotes, lyric and message pieces | 15–60 sec |
| 2 | Logo animation and brand idents | The logo and its parts | Intros, outros, stings | 3–10 sec |
| 3 | Animated infographics | Charts, counters, timelines, maps | Reports, research, financial results | 30–90 sec |
| 4 | Explainer motion graphics | Icons, illustration, and type together | Explaining a product or an idea | 60–90 sec |
| 5 | UI and product animation | A rebuilt version of your interface | SaaS and app marketing, onboarding | 30–90 sec |
| 6 | Short-form and ad motion graphics | Fast cuts, bold type, vertical framing | Paid social and organic feeds | 6–30 sec |
| 7 | Titles, lower thirds, broadcast graphics | On-screen furniture over filmed footage | Supporting a larger video | Varies |
Jump to a type: 1. Kinetic typography · 2. Logo animation · 3. Animated infographics · 4. Explainer motion graphics · 5. UI and product animation · 6. Short-form and ad · 7. Titles and broadcast graphics
Where we have a piece of our own that demonstrates a type, it’s embedded under that type. Three of the seven don’t have one here, and we’d rather leave a gap than borrow someone else’s work to fill it. We don’t publish client performance data, so nothing below carries a view count. Last verified September 2026.
Animated text, where the words themselves are the design and timing does the emphasis a voice would do in speech. This piece for Empowered Startups leans on typography and illustration, with no characters in it at all. Kinetic type is also the cheapest way to make a script feel produced, which is why it shows up so often in social cutdowns.
Best for: manifestos, quotes, and message pieces. 15 to 60 seconds.
This is the piece of motion your audience will see the most times: a few seconds built from your logo, used as an intro, an outro, or a sting between sections. The brief is narrow and the build is quick, and most brands order it once and then use it for years.
Best for: intros, outros, and stings. 3 to 10 seconds.
Charts that build, counters that climb, processes that assemble a step at a time. Annual reports, research findings, and financial results are the usual briefs. Most of the work here is editorial: deciding which three numbers matter and cutting everything else.
Best for: reports, research, and results. 30 to 90 seconds.
Icons, illustration, and type working together to explain a product or an idea. This is the biggest category by volume and the one most people mean when they say motion graphics. The example is the Zero-Emission Vehicle Alliance, where a policy subject with no obvious pictures had to be given some.
Best for: explaining a product or a concept. 60 to 90 seconds.
We rebuild the interface as animation assets and move it deliberately, so the sequence follows the story instead of whatever the software happened to do during a screen capture. Dr. Bill, a billing app for physicians, is the example here.
Best for: SaaS and app marketing, and onboarding. 30 to 90 seconds.
Six to thirty seconds, usually vertical, and built to work with the sound off. These are often cut from a longer piece, which is much cheaper than commissioning them on their own. Plan them while the master video is still in script and you get several assets for close to the price of one.
Best for: paid social and organic feeds. 6 to 30 seconds.
The on-screen furniture that sits over filmed footage: name plates, section titles, callouts, end cards. Nobody watches a video for these, but they’re what keeps a filmed piece looking like it belongs to your brand. We usually deliver them as a template set the client can reuse.
Best for: supporting a larger video. Length varies.
Explaining a product and building brand recognition pull in opposite directions. Decide which one the video is for and the format usually picks itself.
If it depends on data, you want infographics. If it depends on the interface, you want UI animation. If it depends on one strong idea, explainer motion graphics will carry it.
A homepage video and a paid social ad are different builds, even when they share a script. Feed video has to work with the sound off and win the first two seconds. A homepage video doesn’t have either constraint, so it can take its time.
A shared set of icons, colors, and type rules makes every later video faster and cheaper to produce. It’s the difference between commissioning a video and owning a look.
A fully produced 60-second motion graphics video runs $5,000 to $10,000 with us. Heavier work with frame-by-frame animation, custom characters, or 3D elements moves into $10,000 to $25,000, and multi-video campaigns run above that. Logo idents and short social cutdowns are priced separately and sit well below those numbers, particularly when they come out of a larger production.
Our explainer video cost guide breaks the tiers down properly, and the motion graphics services page covers how we work.
Not quite. 2D animation is the broad category and includes characters and story. Motion graphics is the part of it that animates graphic elements like type, icons, and data. Our 2D animation services page covers the wider craft.
Explaining products, presenting data, animating brands, and powering social ads. Anywhere an idea is easier to follow in motion than it is in text or a static image.
Most of it is built in Adobe After Effects, with Illustrator for assets and Cinema 4D when there are 3D elements. The tool matters far less than the design and the timing behind it.
Yes. Animated charts, counters, and process diagrams are one of the core uses. They tend to be easier to read than static slides, because the build order tells you what to look at first.
Allow four to six weeks for a 60 to 90 second piece. Logo idents and short cutdowns land a good deal sooner than that. In practice it’s the review rounds that set the schedule.
We keep a fuller set on our motion graphics examples page.
The seven types aren’t really seven choices. Most brands need two or three: something that explains, something that brands, and a short format for the feed. Decide the job first, then build a set of assets you can reuse instead of ordering one video at a time.
Related: motion graphics services, motion graphics examples, and 2D animation services.
Larry is the founder and Chief Storyteller at Creamy Animation, founded in 2009. He leads a team that creates story-driven videos for businesses and nonprofits. 15+ years in video strategy and production, specializing in SaaS, B2B, and nonprofit storytelling. A marketer, designer, and animator, Larry has overseen the production of more than 1,500 videos for Fujitsu, Logitech, Warner Brothers, NFL, Blockdaemon, Astronomer, Canonical, and 370+ others.
For Larry, God is first, and everything else is a blessing that comes from serving Him. When he’s not working, he’s hanging out with his wife and three kids, playing the piano, or pursuing his filmmaking side hustle.Â
