🧠 5 Visuals for Your Next Video

Author

Rickie Ho
February 09, 2024

Happy Friday everyone,

Ever since I started writing this newsletter, I feel like my workflow for the videos that I make has gotten significantly more efficient. Not only in the execution but the ideation, and I think that comes from seeing so many different kinds of graphics made by editors/animators much more talented than I.

I hope that you feel the same and the newsletter provides at least some inspiration to the videos that you make! I’d love to see some of the content you guys have worked on so if you have any, please feel free to message me on Twitter!

I’m currently working on my next AI: In The Loop video so I hope to have something to show you guys again real soon! If you haven’t seen my first video + channel intro, you can check it out here.

Enjoy today’s edition!

- Rickie

5 Visuals I Loved This Week

1. This Watercolor-like Design

  • These collaborations between Johnny Harris and the New York Times are some of my favorite content on YouTube.

    • Not only for the beautiful visuals but the journalism and storytelling - albeit, this was one of the lesser interesting collaborations.

  • What I really like about this visual is how the black dots have a watercolor-like look to them. The ridging, the texture. They just look like drops of black watercolor paint fell onto a piece of grungy paper.

  • The whole look of the graphics have a hand-drawn appeal to them that speaks to the theme of having to fill out taxes on your own.

  • As always, I love the use of negative space here, especially the part where it’s scrolling on the tax form.

    • It’s the asymmetrical framing, the texture on the lines, the varying shades of the background that all contribute to the hand-drawn look.

2. This Text Effect

  • This outline effect on the text communicating a ‘missing middle’ stood out to me, not only for it’s creativity but for how rarely I see this kind of text effect.

    • It’s a creative way to reiterate the overall message of the video and I’m sure it didn’t take a ton of brainstorming to come up with this concept.

  • A few reasons why I feel that these kinds of titles aren’t super common:

    • Title cards in general are being skipped over in lieu of getting into the content right away.

    • If you have a title card at all, it’s only on the screen for a second or two so the effort of coming up with a concept doesn’t yield enough of a return.

    • Creators want to maintain a certain ‘look’ rather than changing up looks for each video.

  • I’m a fan of these, but from a retention perspective, they may hurt watch time because it allows a space for viewers to click off.

    • On the other hand, they help ‘brand’ a channel which could have a positive impact long-term if the content is good.

      • I’d compare this to old TV show intros like the one in the Simpsons.

3. This Profile + Quote

  • I’m always looking for new ways to visualize profiles of people and display their quotes - it’s something I find myself doing a lot.

  • This isn’t a revolutionary graphic, but I think it’s easily replicable, it’s still visually engaging and displays all the relevant information.

  • What I’d add to this is something to the bottom third, maybe a grid effect for the background, but overall, this is something I would use in a future video.

4. This Bento-Box Design Trend

Video: Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro Keynote

  • I remember seeing this kind of graphic in Apple’s keynote a while back and wondering how I’d use something like this in video form.

    • I realized that creators like Ali Abdaal have already been using this similar kind of look on a smaller scale.

  • I think this look can be applied in many use cases, for example: title cards, information displays, chapter markers. I don’t believe this is hard to replicate, nor limited to a very specific use which is why it’s become trendy.

    • Imagine putting a video in each box, and then using this graphic to navigate the entire story. Each chapter, you zoom into a box and the video within expands to fill up the whole scene before zooming out and moving to the next chapter.

5. This Physical Map Visual

  • This is definitely a more high-effort visual due in part to the need to physically set up an overhead camera along with pinning the strings to the map but you know I love visuals that blend the physical and digital world.

  • This isn’t a perfect physical-to-digital visual, but I think the strings on the map provide a different look that a 2D map animation just cannot match.

    • It’s dynamic and visually engaging and when paired with the digital map animations, they make for great storytelling.

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