A love story between Scienseed and the most amazing way of communication

Have you ever heard the expression ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’? Then an animation must be worth millions, cause that’s how motion graphics actually work: simulation of movement created by an uncountable series of pictures in animation. And it’s our most popular format here in Scienseed.

When this company started, it wasn’t as big and glamorous as it is today.

 

It was more like three people working tirelessly from home, each on their computers, determined to establish a scientific agency in a competitive world. But translating science into clear, engaging content is challenging. As a company, our role was to explain scientific papers, craft compelling press releases, and elucidate complex laboratory processes for our clients.

And we realized that animations were the best way to bring all of this together. Soon, we fell in love with this format because it’s incredibly versatile. It allows for the use of many different languages, it’s modern, and it takes creativity to unexpected places. There’s so much to design: scenes, transitions, characters… And what’s best: it maintains a complexity on screen that is easy to understand and, combined with the narrative, makes even the most scientific and challenging topics accessible to everyone.

Reaching millions of views

At Scienseed, we use motion graphics for countless purposes, having already produced over 200 of them. We’ve developed advertising campaigns and use motion graphics for dissemination, or even as press releases. This was particularly effective with an IRB Barcelona project titled ‘Targeting metastasis-initiating cells through the fatty acid receptor CD36’. While the topic’s complexity posed challenges for a traditional press release, our animation not only clarified how tumor cells depend on fat to start metastasis but also attracted over 55K views on YouTube— way more than what we could have achieved with just a mention in two or three newspapers.

We have also conducted awareness campaigns like “Not Alone“, a video launched for the Bern Convention to shed light on the challenges posed by climate change and propose solutions to mitigate the impact of rising temperatures.

And of course, communicating scientific papers remains our biggest challenge, with Amazing Moments in Science (AMIS), standing out as one of the series we are most proud of. Some of these episodes have achieved millions of views, covering topics ranging from the photoelectric effect to the origin of vaccines, dinosaurs’ extinction, DNA structure, and even the arrival on the moon.

Creating these impressive animation series for BBVA Open Mind proved to be an extraordinary journey, not only for showcasing the fascinating aspects of science but also for us as a team. Managing a project of this magnitude involves coordinating design, deepening our scientific understanding, and dealing with numerous details and complexities.

So, a long time has passed since we created our first motion graphic almost 10 years ago. Luckily, it caught the eye of what would become our first client, leading to our initial European project . And it would not be our last. We have created countless motion graphics and learned about so many topics that we probably have enough conversation material for years.

We also owe a lot to the motion master, Jesús Fernández (Txus), who was responsible for creating and designing a significant portion of them. Here’s how he feels about our favorite format: “When we first started making videos, we had to find a way to differentiate Scienseed, while getting the work done. But naturally, we started to fit the pieces together and shaped the style of animations you see today. The team worked well together and moved in the same direction. Every person who has been part of Scienseed has contributed to this style. It’s wonderful to see how some of the animations about the latest scientific discoveries have reached so many people.”

And even though we had to say goodbye to Txus as he moved on to new and amazing adventures, we still have an incredible team—Clara, Irene, and Julia—that continues to exceed expectations with each new animation we deliver.

That’s why motion graphics are our format of the month, and even of the decade. We are grateful to do what we love most and to impact so many people with our projects. Besides, we’re still learning all the time—after all, we’ve completed more than 200 motion videos already, but who’s counting?