In-product animations for Shift

Shift adds new features regularly, and each one has to be explained to people already in the middle of using the browser. This was ongoing work. These animations needed to quickly communicate a feature, or tutorial to an experienced user, or an uninitiated one. Whenever a new feature launched, it needed a new animation.

Each animation shows one feature in a simplified version of the Shift UI, pared back so it reads efficiently, and is legible at small sizes. They ran inside the product, as tutorials and when new features were announced, and were also sent out in marketing emails and used on Shift's social channels. These were usually provided in both light and dark versions. I did this work for Shift with Amee Longpré as the Creative Director, and Mateusz Dembek as the Principal Product Designer.

After final approval, I handed all the finished variants in GIF and MP4 formats to the marketing and product teams.

These animations did the same job in three places. Inside the browser, they taught the feature at the moment someone needed it. In emails, they announced the feature to existing users. On social, it showed the feature to people who hadn't tried Shift yet. One piece of work, built once in light and dark versions, served all three.

The approach stuck. The set grew to dozens of animations, and they became the standard way Shift introduced something new.