Radiant Gradients

2024

Radiant Gradients is my university capstone studio project, presented at Vibe Fest 2025. It explores motion as a design language across branding, storytelling, and digital art, created specifically for social-first platforms.

Client

Personal

Category

Motion Design

Role

Motion Designer

TOOLS

After Effects

Radiant Gradients Cover Image
Secret Spells
Secret Spells

My Core Focus Areas

Motion as Identity

Animation isn’t just for decoration. Movement defines the voice, rhythm, and emotional tone.

Story Through Timing

Pacing, transitions, and sequencing shape how ideas unfold and how messages are felt.

Made for Socials

Designed specifically for looped, vertical formats, where repetition reinforces memory.

Sound as Structure

Custom sound design was not an afterthought. it anchors the rhythm and story of each piece.

My Idea

Radiant Gradients explored motion across three disciplines: motion as art, motion as narrative, and motion for brands.

The project examined how movement can shift meaning depending on context: from expressive abstraction to structured storytelling to identity-driven branding.

Built for Instagram as both platform and experiment, the work positioned motion as the central design language.

My Approach

Through weekly research and iteration, I developed a series of short-form animations designed specifically for looped, vertical viewing.

The project moved fluidly between:

  • Abstract gradient compositions exploring light and atmosphere

  • Message-driven pieces using kinetic typography and sequencing

  • Brand-focused motion identities and logo systems

Timing, rhythm, and sound design were treated as structural elements — shaping emotion, clarity, and presence.

Learning Outcomes

Radiant Gradients became both a curated body of motion work and a study in motion-first thinking.

It demonstrates how motion can operate across disciplines: expressive, communicative, and commercial; while maintaining a cohesive visual voice.

The project established a foundation for my ongoing motion work.

The Project

A curated selection of motion pieces from the Radiant Gradients project.

This project pushed me to treat motion as more than an effect. It became something I had to think about structurally; how it carries identity, how it shapes narrative, and how it holds attention over time.

Copyright © 2026

Mick Jacobs

Copyright © 2026

Mick Jacobs