Bolt Animation

In Q1 2023 I led design on a nascent Squarespace AI effort, affording me the rare opportunity to devise its understated branding from the ground up.

The distinctive lightning bolt's terminated tips echo our in-house font, Clarkson giving it a unique character, which I imbued with life through a series of playful animations.

A wiggle designed to echo a cheerful cartoon phone eagerly ringing, inviting attention. An outline gracefully meandering along the jagged edge conveys the AI diligently working. A decisive striking bolt punctuates task completion leaving it ready for more, and the inert, broken silhouette of the inactive bolt

The animations were made in CSS and SVG which I handed over to engineering. The reference animation above I made in After Effects as part of the brand book for Squarespace Copilot.

Finding moments like this to blend pragmatic functionality with fun, aesthetic appeal around an intuitive and visually engaging user experience is when I love what I do the most.