Animated content engages and informs, so I was consistently cranking it out for social at BlockFi.
Our strategy at BlockFi was as much about pulling in new users to the platform as it was about reminding and educating existing users about new products.
1. Stand Out
The crypto and fintech spaces are highly competitive and fast-moving, with new players entering the market daily, making an active social channel crucial.
BlockFi Bitcoin Pizza Day
Event Animations and Imagery
Bitcoin Pizza Day is an annual event that celebrates a keystone moment in the story of crypto.
I created a series of fun animations to accompany social media posts throughout the day.
As a motion designer at BlockFi, I had the opportunity to create a suite of animations and visual content for the annual social media event, Bitcoin Pizza Day. This celebration marks a historic milestone in Bitcoin’s journey—the first real-world purchase using Bitcoin. Our campaign leveraged this iconic moment to captivate our audience, promote engagement, and drive new signups for BlockFi’s innovative financial services.
In the crypto space, Bitcoin Pizza Day is an incredibly noisy day on social media. But we aimed to cut through the noise with high quality, fast turnaround animations to catch the viewer’s eye.
And either drive them to the page where they could sign up to receive more news and information, or point them to a point of action where they could directly purchase Bitcoin.
Metrics like user engagement, click-through rates, and conversion rates reflected the campaign’s impact, with a marked increase in signups and new client acquisition.
- $4,055,978 in Total BTC Trading Volume (vs the $2,715,838 expected
- 11,785 Total BTC Tracers (vs the 2,984 expected)
- 1,092 Total BTC FTT (vs 116 expected)
From concept to execution, this project was a rewarding demonstration of how creative content can amplify a brand’s reach, event on a crowded day in a crowded space (if done well).
2. Simplify Products
BlockFi was an innovator of financial products in the crypto space, but many of these products could come across as complicated or even incomprehensible, which would be off-putting when it came to people trusting their money with us.
A big part of my job as a motion designer was to simplify these complex concepts and make them visually appealing.
Ethereum Merge Event
I created a series of explainer animations for the Ethereum Merge, which was really a sweet spot between events, products, and social engagement.
Cryptocurrency and financial technology can be intimidating or confusing for many audiences. Animation allows companies to break down complex topics—like blockchain, lending, or decentralized finance—into digestible, visually engaging narratives that are easy to understand.
For the Ethereum Merge, we set out to explain to customers what was happening and what that meant for any Ethereum they currently held or any that they wanted to add to their account.
It was a true team effort, with every discipline and specialty communicating.
Much of the process involved me sitting down with the people who devised the product and understood it completely, then translating that low level explanation into easy to digest (and fun to look at) animations. The copywriters would then add the relevant text to the post.
3. Build on the Brand
Because we were dealing with financial products and, ideally, people’s money, we had to focus on building a brand that was trustworthy and solid and appealing to the customers that we needed to reach. We needed to be fun, but we had to feel consistent.
When I arrived at BlockFI, there was already a established 2D style and iconography. It was fun and energetic and it connected with our audience, so I developed a 3D style guide that was entirely based on the existing work so the two could live side by side (even within the same image).
In addition to overall goal of brand consistency, the guide served several immediate purposes:
- Established a fluent brand language between everyone on the team, starting a conversation about what worked for our voice and what didn’t
- Created a library of 3D assets that I could re-use at any time AND that any 2D designer could pick up and use in their work
- Served as a quick reference to get any freelancers up to speed or keep any outside agency in the loop per project.
Professional, high-quality animated content signals credibility and investment in the user experience. For fintech companies, where trust is paramount, this kind of content can help establish a brand as both knowledgeable and approachable.
4 – ∞. Connect and Engage
However we could, we always tried to connect with our audience, whether to retain or convert. Motion is the best way to do that.
For a comprehensive breakdown of this project (and lots of others), reach out!