A minimal video focuses on a few key elements: simple text, clean graphics, and bold colors help your content take center stage.
There's a reason that minimalist design is more popular than ever: We're so surrounded by information, media and advertising—content—that it's hard to hear the signal in the midst of all the noise. Minimalist design is a communications technique that you can use to make your point stand out for audiences, and leave a positive impression, without a huge animation budget.
Minimalist Principles for Motion Graphic Design
There's a lot of talk about minimalist design. But what does it really mean to create a design with minimalist principles? At its core, minimalism says that "less is more." For motion graphics, you can embrace minimalism with these principles:
- Fewer animations
- Animations with quicker, "cut to the chase" effects that reveal graphics
- Simpler canvases with fewer objects and ornamentations
Minimalist design is ideal for a short, impactful video that seeks to make a straightforward point. Embracing minimalism is an exercise in focusing on the most important parts of your message.
As you start building a minimalist video of your own, use these five tips:
1. Focus on Color
With fewer elements, your audience is sure to focus on the remaining elements. That includes the color scheme you choose, which is central to minimalist design.
Many of the templates that you see featured in this round-up already have a color palette selected. But if not, use a tool like Adobe Color to choose an appealing color scheme.
2. Use Geometric Shapes and Icons
It's amazing just how eye-catching simple shapes can be. Motion graphics take many forms, but using simple geometrics is perfect.
If you're using motion graphics to introduce your logo, check out the Minimal Shape Logo asset from Elements. Use your logo with complementary shapes to introduce your brand—minimally!
3. Spend Extra Time on Audio
Again, if minimalist design is all about "less is more", then it's sure to free up your viewer's attention for audio.
Spend extra time recording a voice-over track or choosing background music. Both will take center stage when you produce a minimalist video.
4. Use Quick Animations
Remember, minimalist design is all about cutting to the chase. Extended, overly complex animations are anti-minimalist.
Use a template like the Sweet And Modern Slideshow for the best example of a minimalist animation style.
5. Delete Three Objects
My favorite challenge to designers is to finish a design, and then delete three objects. It forces you into an exercise to consider what's really crucial to telling your story.
You can always dig deeper to remove objects and embrace minimalism. Before you press export, consider removing just a few more objects.
15 Modern and Minimalist After Effects Templates
To build your modern and minimalist video project in less time than ever before, it helps to use pre-built templates. Piggyback off the work of talented video animators and producers to save time and build an amazing finished video.
The best source for minimal and modern After Effects templates is Envato Elements. For a single flat rate subscription, you unlock more than a million creative assets. As part of an Elements subscription, you'll have access to After Effects projects as well as the stock footage, photos, and graphics to make this project yours.
Here's how you can use projects from Envato Elements:
- Choose a project that fits your needs. That could include titles, logo animations, slideshows, and more
- Download it from Envato Elements, entering a license usage (even if you stop subscribing, you still have permission to use the project)
- Open the project in Adobe After Effects
- Check the included project documentation to learn how to use the specifics of the project
- Customize it easily, adding your text, footage, photos, and anything you need to fit your project vision
With so many great options, the hardest part of using Elements is choosing the one to use! Let's look at 15 of the best template options that you can use in After Effects to build a minimal and modern video.
1. Modern Intro
Built to suit any video style, this versatile modern intro is dressed to impress. Featuring colorful overlays and stylish text, it’s a surefire way to capture audience attention instantly. Pair it with your own content for a winning opener.
2. Sweet And Modern Slideshow
Modern elements drive this fun slideshow template. It takes your amazing photos and styles them in a flash. This one is perfect for intros, major productions, marketing promos, and more.
3. Simplex Logo Reveal
Smoothly unveil your logo with this quick template. It’s fast and fun, without being too flashy. Ideal for major brands and upstarts alike, this one is the perfect complement to your brand.
4. Modern Opener With Titles
Intended as a flexible minimal opener, this Modern Opener template has everything you’ll need to begin your next production. With easy custom options and unique placeholders, all of your content will find a home. And the text overlays do even more to help you introduce your work.
5. Minimal Logos Pack
These minimalist logo reveals splash your image on-screen without distraction. Perfect for making a memorable appearance, they’re also super-quick to edit. Just drop in your own logo.
6. Modern Lower Thirds Pack
Lower thirds are video text overlays in the bottom section of a screen. They’re especially helpful for instructional and informative films. Now, you can use this stylish text template to add them to your own videos, with just a few clicks.
7. Modern Website Presentation
Built a new website, and ready to show it off? You’ve come to the right place with this modern web promo template. It serves as a viewer’s guide to any site, and puts all of your pages front and center.
8. Clean Modern Promo
Hip, fashionable templates like this can be the guiding stars for your next marketing campaign. Designed by professionals, they will boldly present your content to the world. Everything you need is included: image overlays, frames, text, titles, and more.
9. Short Modern Openers
Sleek and modern, these minimalist openers look right at home in any video. Try them out as you introduce different blocks of content. They’re strong enough to support complex edits, but simple enough to use in quick projects.
10. Modern Infographics Creator
Infographics are illustrations that help bring data to life, and this robust creator template helps you do just that. Their true power emerges in live video as charts and graphs animate in real time. This template has a full suite of infographics designed to support any form of data.
11. Modern Promo
Video ads are a great way to promote your products, content, and services. A minimalist template like Modern Promo can quickly be adapted for almost any offering. Creative power is in your hands, with an array of adjustable images, animations, and text.
12. Modern Timeline
Relive past events and plan future successes with this interactive modern timeline. All it takes is a few clicks to drop in your own dates and captions. Use it for your next corporate history video, school project, or anything else measured across time!
13. Modern Opener
Gritty, film-inspired overlays drive this modern opener. Try it as a promotional trailer for new movies, or just to show off old photos. Either way, the retro film theme brings even the most modern content to life.
14. Modern Opener
Smooth transitions and quirky frames are two hallmarks of the Modern Opener template. The template delivers an immediate style boost, without the effort of complicated video editing. Trendy animations help bring it all together.
15. Modern Dynamic Opener
The hazy graphics in this opener template filter photos and videos for an unforgettable look. They combine with bold text to form a smoky, sleek intro package. It could be a winning cinematic opener, or a new ad to boost customer engagement.
5 More Options from Envato Market (Pay-as-You-Go)
If you already have a clear vision for the finished version of your video, a template from Envato Market might be the perfect choice for you. On Envato Market you pay for templates one-by-one, so you spend only for what you need.
1. Modern Minimal Opener
The purpose of a great opener is to grab your audience's attention and keep it. WIth a modern and minimal approach, your intro will cut straight to the content that matters, and this project fits the bill perfectly.
2. Minimal Modern Logo Reveal
Still searching for the logo that fits your brand? A minimal option might be the one that's right for you. Use this package to animate an ultra minimal template that shows your brand off simply.
3. Minimal Modern 2D Logo
Here's another amazing option to animate a simple logo. A few bold colors and simple shapes is all it takes to show off your brand identity thanks to this easy-to-use project.
4. Modern Simple Lower Third
A lower third can add some very helpful annotation text to your video. You'll frequently see this used to show the name of an on-camera personality or key fact. This project does just that with a minimalist flair.
5. Modern Minimal Titles
Titles are flexible enough to be used in a variety of avenues. They could be as simple as the opener to a video, or as an overlay on top of your footage. Try out this huge collection of modern titles that can help you do just that while still fitting the minimalist mindset.
More Easy After Effects Projects
Whether you use Envato Elements or Envato Market for your next modern and minimal project, the key is to use a template that gives you a head start. There's no sense in animating everything from scratch—rely on the hard work of others to kick off your project with style.
Make sure to check out these other After Effects projects to build your next production:
Video3 Top Transparent Background Templates for After Effects
SlideshowHow to Make a Video Slideshow in After Effects (With Template)
Video15 Hot Particle Effect Templates for After Effects
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