Houston
Motion design for a strategic launch
Strategy
2025
Motion Identity
Motion Design
With a limited brand identity, Houston needed us to not just create motion assets but build a motion idenity to launch their platform.
When Spindogs launched Houston, an innovative platform designed to transform digital strategy, they needed more than an explainer animation. They needed a piece of motion design that could position Houston as a market leader, communicate its complex value clearly, and align with its brand promise of being “Mission Control for Your Digital Strategy.” Our task was to create a bold 3D animation that worked as a launch asset, a marketing tool, and a cornerstone of Houston’s motion identity.
The Challenge
When Spindogs introduced Houston, an advanced platform designed to transform how marketers conduct keyword research and strategy, they faced a significant barrier. The digital marketing space is crowded with tools, many voiced in similar terms, and Houston risked being perceived as just another analytics product. The team needed the platform to feel distinctive, capable, and essential rather than optional. At the same time, they needed to communicate a complex value proposition of speed, accuracy, and insight in a way that felt convincing and accessible to marketers with varying levels of technical expertise. The challenge was not only to explain the features but to build belief that Houston would become the strategic "mission control" for digital strategy, not just another dashboard.
The Solution
We partnered with Spindogs to reshape how motion design could serve the brand’s positioning. First came a discovery phase where we clarified the strategic objectives, which were to differentiate Houston, simplify the narrative, and build a visual system that reflected the platform’s innovation. From that foundation we developed a motion identity that combined bold 3D animation, high-energy pacing and a thematic design rooted in space exploration, reinforcing Houston’s tagline of "Mission Control for Your Digital Strategy" and highlighting the sense of a product launch. We wanted the animation to do more than just inform, so we built in moments of playfulness and personality to make Houston feel approachable and less corporate than other tools in its space. Dynamic transitions, lively interface animations and bold visual metaphors brought the product to life in a way that was both convincing and engaging. Sound design, camera movement and animation rhythm worked together to create a cohesive motion system that could flex across campaign assets, social content and future brand touchpoints.
The Outcome
The result was a launch animation that repositioned Houston as a premium, must-have strategic platform rather than a typical marketing tool. Through the motion identity we delivered, Spindogs was able to present Houston with confidence: visually vibrant, conceptually sharp and aligned to its strategic promise. The motion system extended beyond the main film into shorter social stings, creating a consistent visual language that could drive awareness and engagement across channels. Ultimately, what began as an explanation of features evolved into an experience of capability, helping Houston stand out in a competitive landscape and setting the stage for future growth and format expansion.
The Challenge
When Spindogs introduced Houston, an advanced platform designed to transform how marketers conduct keyword research and strategy, they faced a significant barrier. The digital marketing space is crowded with tools, many voiced in similar terms, and Houston risked being perceived as just another analytics product. The team needed the platform to feel distinctive, capable, and essential rather than optional. At the same time, they needed to communicate a complex value proposition of speed, accuracy, and insight in a way that felt convincing and accessible to marketers with varying levels of technical expertise. The challenge was not only to explain the features but to build belief that Houston would become the strategic "mission control" for digital strategy, not just another dashboard.
The Solution
We partnered with Spindogs to reshape how motion design could serve the brand’s positioning. First came a discovery phase where we clarified the strategic objectives, which were to differentiate Houston, simplify the narrative, and build a visual system that reflected the platform’s innovation. From that foundation we developed a motion identity that combined bold 3D animation, high-energy pacing and a thematic design rooted in space exploration, reinforcing Houston’s tagline of "Mission Control for Your Digital Strategy" and highlighting the sense of a product launch. We wanted the animation to do more than just inform, so we built in moments of playfulness and personality to make Houston feel approachable and less corporate than other tools in its space. Dynamic transitions, lively interface animations and bold visual metaphors brought the product to life in a way that was both convincing and engaging. Sound design, camera movement and animation rhythm worked together to create a cohesive motion system that could flex across campaign assets, social content and future brand touchpoints.
The Outcome
The result was a launch animation that repositioned Houston as a premium, must-have strategic platform rather than a typical marketing tool. Through the motion identity we delivered, Spindogs was able to present Houston with confidence: visually vibrant, conceptually sharp and aligned to its strategic promise. The motion system extended beyond the main film into shorter social stings, creating a consistent visual language that could drive awareness and engagement across channels. Ultimately, what began as an explanation of features evolved into an experience of capability, helping Houston stand out in a competitive landscape and setting the stage for future growth and format expansion.
The Challenge
When Spindogs introduced Houston, an advanced platform designed to transform how marketers conduct keyword research and strategy, they faced a significant barrier. The digital marketing space is crowded with tools, many voiced in similar terms, and Houston risked being perceived as just another analytics product. The team needed the platform to feel distinctive, capable, and essential rather than optional. At the same time, they needed to communicate a complex value proposition of speed, accuracy, and insight in a way that felt convincing and accessible to marketers with varying levels of technical expertise. The challenge was not only to explain the features but to build belief that Houston would become the strategic "mission control" for digital strategy, not just another dashboard.
The Solution
We partnered with Spindogs to reshape how motion design could serve the brand’s positioning. First came a discovery phase where we clarified the strategic objectives, which were to differentiate Houston, simplify the narrative, and build a visual system that reflected the platform’s innovation. From that foundation we developed a motion identity that combined bold 3D animation, high-energy pacing and a thematic design rooted in space exploration, reinforcing Houston’s tagline of "Mission Control for Your Digital Strategy" and highlighting the sense of a product launch. We wanted the animation to do more than just inform, so we built in moments of playfulness and personality to make Houston feel approachable and less corporate than other tools in its space. Dynamic transitions, lively interface animations and bold visual metaphors brought the product to life in a way that was both convincing and engaging. Sound design, camera movement and animation rhythm worked together to create a cohesive motion system that could flex across campaign assets, social content and future brand touchpoints.
The Outcome
The result was a launch animation that repositioned Houston as a premium, must-have strategic platform rather than a typical marketing tool. Through the motion identity we delivered, Spindogs was able to present Houston with confidence: visually vibrant, conceptually sharp and aligned to its strategic promise. The motion system extended beyond the main film into shorter social stings, creating a consistent visual language that could drive awareness and engagement across channels. Ultimately, what began as an explanation of features evolved into an experience of capability, helping Houston stand out in a competitive landscape and setting the stage for future growth and format expansion.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Asset creation
Once the visual direction was signed off, we embarked on phase one of the creative process which was to develop a bank of assets that would be used by our motion designers to bring the vision to life.
Bespoke animations
This animation was a combination of 3D assets created in blender and more traditional frame-by-frame animation created by our motion design team.
3D Models
Our concept of Houston's competitors being a universe of floating space objects began to take shape in the 3D modelling software blender. Once we'd modelled each object, we brought them into After Effects to add texture and lighting effects.
Process
Process
After our strategy and discovery sessions wrapped, our design team moved into visual development. We ran collaborative workshops to align on tone and concept before exploring aesthetic directions.
One of our key decisions was to build the visual identity around a space theme that symbolised control, exploration and insight. The theme also tied neatly to the idea of a product launch, giving the animation a sense of lift-off and forward momentum. We developed style frames to define lighting, colour palette and composition, ensuring that every visual choice supported Houston’s positioning in the market as both powerful and accessible.
We wanted Houston to feel approachable and less corporate than some of its competitors, so we introduced a playful edge to the motion identity. This came through in the pacing, transitions and the way we animated the interface elements, keeping the tone energetic and human.
In production we embraced 3D build and animation as central to the motion system. We modelled Houston’s interface elements and platform UI in Blender, creating dynamic camera moves and spatial transitions to bring the data-driven tool to life. Animation of UI flows was layered with motion-graphic elements that emphasised speed and precision, and sound design was integrated early to reinforce rhythm, momentum and narrative clarity.
This layered approach ensured the launch film was visually arresting, strategically aligned and ready to scale across formats from broadcast to social.
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