Business Made MSPeasy
Datto 2018
Motion graphic design by Sarah Talbot
Production and Editing by Eric Vondell
“Business Made MSPeasy” is a one of Datto’s longest running video series. The series is designed to speak directly to Datto customers, IT professionals known as “MSPs”, acting as thought leadership pieces rather than commercials for Datto products. This series is promoted through Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and complements the running Ebook series by the same title.
In 2018, I was charged with rebranding the graphics of the series in order to create create continuity between Datto’s video presence and online graphic design. Datto’s voice is one of a creator and leader in the industry, speaking to it’s partners as equals. The goal of “Business Made MSPeasy” is to take that approachable voice and create content which helps IT professionals learn best practices for running their businesses, and ultimately grow and succeed.
As a designer, I wanted to convey this lighthearted voice through bouncy and organic motion of animated elements. Using Datto’s flowing corporate wave patterns and bright color palette, I designed background elements which could be used on a variety of backgrounds. The constant motion of these backgrounds creates a soothing, but not distracting ambiance, while the on-screen text animates on in an understated “flash” as if it is a spark of inspiration. The addition of custom animated icons makes each episode feel unique and quickly distills the idea of each episode into a clever and creative diagram.
I designed each element as an After Effects Essential Graphics template, with controls such as changing left and right alignment, adjustments for text position, and timing when transitions and titles could animate on and off. Creating robust rigs allowed editors to use fewer elements on top of footage, and increased the speed at which each episode could be turned over.
IGTV
English versions of MSPeasy episodes were released on Datto’s IGTV channel in 2018 and 2019. When designing the Essential Graphics template for the vertical format, I needed to be mindful of keeping text overlays out of range of Instagram’s UI without covering the host’s face. The most drastic design change I made was changing the bulleted text to animate out, so that only one bullet could appear at a time. This prevented clutter in the frame, and helped clearly transition each new point explained by the host.
Localization and Translation
The After Effect Essential Graphics Templates for the series needed to be flexible enough to accommodate translation into both German and Dutch. Further I created the template with options for both left and right alignment.
Episode Icons
I created a custom animation for each episode, looping between 1 and 2 seconds. Episode icons were incorporated into promotional GIFs for Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and email newsletters.
