Zenn Energy
The Process
The initial sketch
I used to be a hardcore gamer, investing hours into kicking butt online. Now I’m more of a casual player. I prefer getting a quick session in while waiting in line somewhere or waiting for my girlfriend to get ready. Games nowadays require a lot of investment, be it time or money, and it seems the older I get, the less I have of both haha! When I came across an opening to create a social media advert for Zenn Energy, an energy drink for gamers, I jumped on the opportunity! It’s a unique product that helps players climb to the top of the leader boards with it’s no sugar and no caffeine formula. Zenn Energy is like a pre-workout, but for gaming. Believe it or not, there’s a massive market for it.
Research
Shortly after checking out their Instagram to get a feel for the brand, I knew the direction I wanted to take things. Being a gamer myself, I found it pretty easy to connect with the overall direction of the brand. A recurring theme was the use of electricity, which was something I could easy manipulate. Therefore if they wished to roll out additional adverts down the road, it would be easy to incorporate any other sizes, flavours, and accessories that are also under the brand.
Photoshop
I decided to try something a little different this time around. Typically I’d create, edit and save the individual graphic elements via Photoshop. This time, I used the Artboard feature (something I use all the time in Illustrator) to storyboard the animation before moving forward with After Effects. Was it necessary for this project? Not really; but by adding this additional step, it makes it easier for me to showcase the steps in the design process. It also allows me to pin-point any issues I’d likely run into in After Effects, thus saving me time and an Advil.
Final
I had a blast creating this piece, front start to finish! Once again, it’s incredible how speedy the entire process was once I decided on a creative direction. By making use of the Photoshop artboards, I was able to mimic the animation as a whole without having fiddle with After Effects, thus allowing me to confront any design/animation concerns before doing any heavy lifting in AE.
