In this episode, I talk with Bill Holland, a motion graphics designer and video producer, about how tech writers can effectively collaborate with visual creators. We discuss what to include in a creative brief, how to give constructive feedback to designers, setting realistic expectations for animation types and budgets, and how AI is changing but not replacing visual creative work.

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Bill and I discuss how tech writers and other non-designers can effectively collaborate with visual creators. He walks through what makes a good creative brief, including the importance of assuming the designer knows nothing about your field, spelling out acronyms, clearly identifying what's most important to communicate, and providing mood boards or reference examples for style direction. We use the creation of The Not-Boring Tech Writer podcast logo as a real-world example of how the collaboration process works, from initial brief through iteration to a finished product.

We dig into the world of motion graphics and animation, where Bill explains the wide range of animation types and their associated costs, from simple text animation to puppet animation to traditional hand-drawn animation. He stresses the importance of investing in pre-production, including style frames and storyboards, to catch problems early before animation work begins. We also discuss how to give constructive feedback to designers: lead with what's working, be specific about what isn't, and reference your original mood board or brief to articulate where the disconnect is.

We also explore how to evaluate potential designers or animators when hiring, including what to look for in a portfolio and the trade-offs between hiring experienced professionals versus newer talent. The episode wraps up with a discussion of AI's role in visual creation. Bill shares his perspective as someone actively working with AI tools alongside traditional methods, emphasizing that AI works best as part of a hybrid workflow rather than as a wholesale replacement for skilled designers.

Bill Holland (also known by his alias Bill Netherlands) is a motion graphics generalist with an extensive background in video production. With an educational foundation in Art and Design, Bill has worked on every aspect of the motion process from scripting through sound mixing. His early career shooting and editing video informs his storytelling, staging, and pacing in motion graphics today. Bill has created motion graphics and editing work for clients including Google, PBS, NASCAR, the American Dental Association, and Hilton Hotels, earning multiple Telly, Communicator, and Davey awards. He previously ran his own company, Middlebranch Productions, Inc., before rebranding under the Bill Netherlands name at a fellow designer's suggestion.

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