Months in Motion - February in Motion
Welcome to Months in Motion - a monthly newsletter where we’ll look at some of our favourite projects, industry trends, emerging technologies, as well as studio updates from us. As the name suggests, we release these monthly, so subscribe and keep your eyes peeled for a new post at the start of each month!
Industry Updates - Canva Acquires Cavalry
Big news for the motion design industry this week, as Canva announced their acquisition of challenger motion design tool, Cavalry.
In a move that, seemingly, just makes sense, Canva is expanding their roster of creative pro tools to now include motion design.
Our team have been playing around with Cavalry for over a year now, and we’ve been excited about the new workflows and approaches it offers to motion design.
Some of our favourite benefits we’ve seen, over legacy tools include: smarter workflows (particularly for reversioning), external data input controls (particularly great for live event visuals), it’s also strictly motion focused and massively community led.
Acquisitions can often, and understandably, bring concerns to the future of the product, but given Canva’s track record with appointing a strong design board. And with Affinity & Cavalry keeping their original teams intact, we have high hopes for the future.
What will be most interesting is to see how the tool grows with increased funding, and how it is embedded into the Affinity platform.
One thing is for certain, Canva continues to increase accessibility to these pro tools by removing the cost barrier to entry for many aspiring designers which is great to see.
We’ve invited one of Cavalry’s founders, Adam Jenns, to join us for an upcoming podcast episode to dive into everything Cavalry and discuss the future of the tool.
Stay tuned as this is coming soon!
Favourite Projects
Apple iPhone 17e Launch
Apple’s latest series of product ads has taken an interesting deviation from its typical clean, minimalist aesthetic. Replacing their usual look with more mixed-media and retro-inspired approaches.
This makes sense, given their 17e and MacBook Neo are both their latest budget additions to the lineup. These products aren’t about feeling ‘slick’ and ‘pro-like’, but are designed to be more accessible, and this playful, more approachable design language matches that.
Internally, we have seen a big drive in demand for mixed media-based motion graphics films, and we always like to keep an eye on what Apple is putting out. More often than not, it can indicate a new style trend demand.
However, it is still particularly interesting to see Apple push such an unpolished route, as it is very off-brand for them.
Not saying this is a bad thing, the rough, mismatched style is more fun,approachable, and it’s cool to see them steer away from their usual high polish and add some more personality.
Lines - Raumkapsel Animation
This tantalisingly hypnotic film looks to visualise tension and panic attacks. The piece is powerfully intimate, leveraging a minimalist design inspired by Norman McLaren and Oskar Fischinger, combined with strong emotive sound design.
We love how powerful this film is while using such a minimal design aesthetic.
Studio Updates
We delivered another motion talk; this time, we were lucky enough to head over to Sky’s campus to deliver it to the Sky Creative team.
We’ve had a lot of exciting new projects signed off in February, too, which we can’t wait to share!
2026 is already shaping up to be our busiest year yet at the studio, with lots of exciting new collaborations on the horizon.
We can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on with you!
Dropbox, Lyft, Twitch: The Design Layer You Never Notice | Jon Howell
What makes a product feel magical?
It's rarely one big thing. It's the haptic buzz when your payment goes through. The animated rocket ship in a toast notification. The onboarding moment you skip but somehow still remember. That's brand experience design, and most people have never heard of it.
Jon Howell is Principal Brand Experience Designer at Ramp, and before that, he shaped product and brand at Dropbox, Lyft, Twitch, Robin Hood, and more. In this episode, we get into the discipline that sits between brand and product and why the best companies in the world are finally taking it seriously.
We cover the full toolkit: Rive, Lottie, ProtoPie, Jitter, haptic feedback, sonic design, AI motion identity, wearables and more. Plus Jon gives genuinely useful career advice for designers trying to break into this space.
