🎨 Design Process Breakdown – “Design Type Beat”

✏️ Step 1: Ideation & Thumbnails

Before touching any software, I started with 20+ thumbnail sketches 🖼️. These weren’t polished or final, but they allowed me to:

• Explore shape, layout, and type interactions 🌀

• Experiment with energy and visual rhythm

• Brainstorm different visual styles (even if not AAF-based at first)

These quick sketches helped me get ideas on paper fast and led to stronger visual planning later.

🔍 Step 2: Visual Research & Moodboarding

I gathered inspiration from platforms like Pinterest 📌, pulling references for:

• Bold editorial typography

• Clean, animated layouts

• Vibrant, high-contrast color palettes

This moodboard helped steer the tone of the banner: high-energy, modern, and expressive.

🖥️ Step 3: Asset Design in Illustrator

Using Adobe Illustrator 2025, I created all the vector shapes and type elements:

• Oversized letters and icons 🔠

• Geometric shapes for animation pathways 🔷

• Layout guides and grid structure for alignment 📐

This phase was crucial to prep clean, scalable assets for animation.

🎞️ Step 4: Animation in After Effects

Here’s where the banner came to life! ⚡

• I used Adobe After Effects 2025 to animate over 25+ individual layers 🎛️

• Built 5+ pre-comps to manage complexity and timing

• Each movement was hand-keyframed for organic motion — no preset shortcuts! 🕹️

• Timing was guided by an internal “beat” 🥁, making every bounce and slide feel rhythmic and musical

This stage alone took over 7 hours of work, dialing in speed curves, easing, and spatial composition.

🛠️ Step 5: Refinement & Iteration

Like any great design, I didn’t settle on my first version:

• Explored multiple motion variants before locking final

• Tweaked timing and element spacing for better flow

• Cross-checked type legibility at digital signage scale 👁️

Every micro-decision—from the duration of a fade to the type's letter spacing—was fine-tuned for maximum clarity and visual energy.

✅ Step 6: Final Export & Presentation

I wrapped up by exporting the final animation and creating a polished presentation deck in Canva 🧾 for class critique. This included:

• Screenshots of the editing grids 📊

• Commentary on decisions made

• Side-by-side comparisons of visual iterations

🚀 Final Thoughts

“Design Type Beat” taught me how to merge digital tools with an artistic pulse. It’s a reminder that design isn’t just about what looks good — it’s about what feels right in motion 🎬.

Want to see the banner in action or ask me about my process? Reach out here: jpatterson.net/contact ✉️