Overview

This standard is about creating animations for use as part of interactive media projects. It assumes you already have the necessary drawing and other skills to create animations, and focuses on the application of these in interactive media projects. It may involve creating animated interface components (such as buttons), animated transitions between interfaces, objects that animate or move in response to user interaction (such as expanding menus) or animated content assets within projects.

Interactive media projects can involve any type of interactive media content, products or services for multi-platform or multi-channel use, including, but not restricted to, games, websites, applications or online marketing campaigns and can also include the use of immersive technology. (Immersive technology can include, but is not restricted to, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR).)

This standard is for anyone who creates animated assets for use in interactive media projects.

 

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

  1. design animations within specified style guidelines
  2. design animations within specified parameters and constraints relating to the target platform and medium
  3. create animations that are attractive, easy to use and fit for purpose
  4. create animations in ways that minimise the risk of premature cut off
  5. liaise with the relevant authority to obtain approval for animations
  6. save animations in appropriate formats so that they can be easily incorporated into projects
  7. provide clear documentation that enables others to incorporate animations into projects
  8. organise animations using appropriate filing and naming conventions so that they can be located easily by others
  9. liaise with colleagues, such as designers and developers, to ensure animations are appropriate and meet requirements

 

Knolwdge and understanding 

You need to know and understand:

  1. how to interpret and follow specifications or other briefs including project purpose, target users and how each animation will be used in projects including whether it will play once, loop several times or indefinitely
  2. techniques for identifying expectations and requirements of target users
  3. the capabilities, opportunities, limitations and constraints of different interactive media technologies, tools and approaches including the applicability of real-time animation
  4. the impact of diversity, inclusivity, accessibility, ethics, emotional intelligence and behavioural psychology on projects
  5. relevant standards and conventions relating to user-interface design
  6. principles of traditional and computer animation
  7. principles of interaction design, especially regarding usability and accessibility
  8. events or user interactions that will trigger animations and when and why animations might be cut-off prematurely, and how this might adversely affect user experience
  9. how to document animations so that others can use them easily and access specific frames or scenes.
  10. the impact on your work of technical parameters of target platforms including processing power, memory, bandwidth, screen size, resolution, colour depth, physical user interface
  11. any naming conventions, standards, guidelines or specifications that you need to follow, and any version control systems or asset pipelines that you need to use
  12. the requirements and expectations of other team members who will use animations