You’re not alone if you don’t know what the heck a GIF is. In fact, for the longest time (long before my designer days) I thought folks were just mispronouncing my favorite brand of peanut butter. 😂 But for those of you who are still scratching your head, let me clue you in: “GIF” stands for Graphics Interchange Format, or in laymen’s terms, those hilarious on-repeat animated images that pop up on your social feed every so often. Think of them as the “flipbooks” of the internet. You might stumble upon them on Facebook, certainly on Buzzfeed, or even in your inbox. They’re catchy and clever, and they’re a powerful tool for grabbing attention and leaving a lasting impression.
Recognize any of these?
GIFs are more than just memes
Yes, they do a stellar job of hammering your joke home in a group chat, but GIFs can also be used strategically by businesses to capture their customer’s attention, tell a story, and or even show a little bit of humor.
In the past six months, I’ve had three clients specifically request that I design GIFs to include in their e-blasts. Kudos to those clients, because they recognize the power a moving graphic has on entertaining their audience and making their promotions more memorable. I mean, let’s be honest here: how much more likely are you to pay attention to an email that is animated rather than a static image? We are bombarded by run-of-the-mill marketing promotions all day long, so why not try a new approach for reaching your customer?
GIFs I’ve created
I’m going to be transparent with y’all here: I only taught myself how to make GIFS about six months ago. So I’m super new to the GIF game and I have a long way to grow. But I thought I’d share a few designs I’ve created to show you how GIFS can be applied in a less humorous and more marketing-focused setting.
Here are three designs I created for HipStik, a Charlotte-based leg wear company. The client used these graphics in social media posts and in e-blasts to illustrate the benefits of their product.
Also, here are some examples I created for The Because Market, which is an online retailer of adult incontinence and wellness products. They focus on an older demographic, so the intention with these graphics was to spice up a not-so-fun topic with bright and lively imagery.
My Advice for Creating a Business-Minded GIF
Alright, so you’re ready to go GIF-crazy? Well, the good news is that there are plenty of user-friendly apps and free online GIF-makers out there for folks of all skill levels. Two great ones are Giphy and Gifs.com.
But if you want to take your designs to the next level, then you might want to invest in Adobe Photoshop, which is what I use. It gives you so much more control with both the design and the animation.
Either way, be sure to follow these three bits of advice when bringing your GIF to life:
1. Be creative.
Draft your graphic without any animation then think about which can objects can grow, move, transform, change color, sparkle, you name it. Think outside the box and have fun with it!
2. Be strategic.
Just because you have the power to bring any part of your graphic to life doesn’t mean you should. Be smart about which elements should have the spotlight. Example: either the message, the promotion or the call-to-action should really shine!
3. Don’t go overboard.
Limit the animation to just a few elements. If you bring life to every piece of text and every graphic in your image, you will have yourself a three-ring circus, which will send your viewer’s head spinning.
Well, there you have it folks! That’s my quick guide to GIFs. I hope I’ve taught you something new or at least opened your mind to some new possibilities for these playful graphics. Or if you’re already a veteran at this GIF game, teach me something new and post some of your work below!
