10 minutes for trends

Igor Demenko -

As a busy motion designer, staying up-to-date with the latest trends is essential, but finding the time to do so can be challenging. By dedicating just 10 minutes a day to focused activities, you can keep your creative edge sharp without overwhelming your schedule. Here’s a weekly plan designed to help you efficiently monitor and absorb the latest trends in motion design.

Monday: Curate Your Feedly Dashboard

Start your week by organizing and refining your Feedly dashboard. Feedly is a powerful tool that allows you to aggregate content from various sources into a single, easy-to-navigate feed. Login and select free Reader plan - Spend your 10 minutes on Monday doing the following:

  • Add New Sources: Browse popular motion design blogs like Motionographer and Art of the Title to your Feedly. Don’t forget to include industry news sites like Creative Bloq.
  • Organize by Topic: Create specific feeds for different aspects of motion design, such as “2D Animation,” “3D Modeling,” or “Motion Graphics Tools.” This helps you quickly find the content that matters most to you throughout the week.

On Tuesday, use Google Trends to see what’s currently trending in the world of design and video production. Focus on keywords like “motion graphics,” “animation,” and “video editing”:

  • Analyze Search Patterns: Look at the rising search terms related to motion design to identify emerging trends.
  • Explore Related Queries: Google Trends provides related queries, which can give you ideas on new techniques or tools that are gaining popularity.

Wednesday: Browse Behance and Dribbble

Midweek, take a moment to explore the latest projects on Behance and Dribbble:

  • Follow Trending Creators: Identify and follow designers who consistently produce cutting-edge work. By following these creators, you ensure that your feed is filled with high-quality inspiration.
  • Save Inspiring Projects: Use Behance’s moodboards or Dribbble’s collections to save projects that resonate with you. This helps build a library of inspiration that you can revisit anytime.

Thursday: Review Industry Newsletters

Dedicate Thursday to catching up on newsletters from leading design platforms. Subscribing to newsletters from sources like Motion Design Weekly and Lesterbanks is a quick way to get curated content:

  • Skim Through Headlines: Focus on the most relevant articles or trends highlighted in the newsletters.
  • Bookmark Articles: Save any in-depth articles you find intriguing for a more detailed read later when you have more time.

Fridays are perfect for a quick video digest. Head over to YouTube and check out channels like School of Motion and Mt. Mograph:

  • Search for Recent Tutorials: Focus on tutorials or breakdowns of recent projects that have garnered attention. This can give you insights into popular techniques or styles.
  • Subscribe and Enable Notifications: Subscribe to channels that regularly post about trends, so you’ll get notified about new content without needing to search for it.

Saturday: Engage with Online Communities

Saturday is a great time to connect with the broader motion design community. Spend your 10 minutes engaging with forums or social media groups:

  • Visit Reddit’s r/MotionDesign: Browse discussions on Reddit’s r/MotionDesign to see what fellow designers are talking about. This is often where trends are discussed before they hit mainstream channels.
  • Join a Slack or Discord Group: If you haven’t already, join motion design-focused Slack or Discord groups. Quickly scan the conversation threads for any trend-related discussions.

Sunday: Reflect and Plan for the Next Week

On Sunday, take a moment to reflect on what you’ve learned throughout the week:

  • Review Saved Content: Go through any articles, videos, or projects you’ve saved during the week. Reflect on how these trends could influence your upcoming work.
  • Plan Next Week’s Focus: Based on what you’ve discovered, decide on any specific trends or tools you want to explore more deeply in the coming week.

Conclusion

By following this structured yet flexible plan, you can efficiently stay on top of the latest motion design trends with just 10 minutes of dedicated time each day. This approach allows you to keep your skills and knowledge up to date, ensuring that your work remains fresh and relevant in the fast-evolving world of motion design.

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Have a great MotionDay!