Move your audience: How motion evokes emotion

Animations in one tap

Adobe Express has over a dozen unique animation styles, now available on both web and mobile (for free!). Even better, you can apply these animations in one tap. That’s social video content–perfectly primed for Instagram Stories, IG Reels, TikTok, Story Pins, or anywhere else you post–in seconds.

Transform any graphic into a 5-second animation in a single tap. Export as a video to get a slice of that engagement pie on social.

Why motion is effective on social media

There are a lot of tools that help you create short videos and motion graphics for social. But what makes Adobe Express special is the logic built under the hood that helps you communicate more effectively. Here’s how animations–and Adobe Express bespoke, handcrafted motion in particular–helps you stand out at the speed of social.

It keeps eyes engaged.
Social media is a game of capturing attention and keeping it. One surefire way to stop thumbs in their tracks is to make something on your graphic move–whether that’s having words fly in or elegantly panning across a photo.

**It sets a tone.
**Motion is the vibe setter of your visual content–the mood lighting. So make sure the motion you’re adding to your graphics reinforces the words you’re using and emotion you’re trying to evoke.

It shows instead of tells.
You could say you have exciting news. You could claim to be a bold and dynamic brand. Or you could use one of our Dynamic text animations.

**It helps you create timing, which aids understanding and communicates on an emotional level.
**How do you build suspense? Or communicate a wink or a nudge if all you have is an image on a tiny handheld screen? Having your text animate or appear in sequence can help–and even make the difference between getting a 🤔 and a 🤣 in response. Use Typewriter, Dynamic, or Flicker animation styles to effortlessly build in timing on your graphics. Make sure your headline or first thought is the largest or primary text, so it animates first. Then your secondary text will fade in, bringing with it a surprise, a reversal, more details, or even a punchline.

Tips and tricks for getting the most out of Adobe Express animations

1. Make sure your largest text is the most important or the one you want to animate. Adobe Express animations are set up to have the headline animate first and then the secondary text fade in. This automatically helps you create information hierarchy in your design–a key design principle to keep in mind.
2. Trim the fat. Shorter is better when it comes to animations because the animation will loop, so a lot of text may be hard to read. If you have a lot to communicate, consider breaking it into two graphics. In the case of Instagram Stories, the first frame can use animation to grab attention. Then the second frame can communicate the details with a still graphic.
3. Know that you don’t have full control. Adobe Express’ animations are for the communicators who want a lightning fast, one-tap solution so they can focus more on strategy and message. And with that, comes the need for guardrails. We’ve intentionally built in constraints, so you can skip the complicated timeline editors. For more control, try Adobe After Effects!