Cardboard Nostalgia: Logo Animation

Cardboard Nostalgia / Logo animation / 2021

Initials in orbit.

My role: Logo animation

Delivered: Three Lottie files (2000×2000, 60 fps) named for 2, 3 and 4-second loops, plus the collected After Effects project

Tools: Illustrator, After Effects, Lottie (Bodymovin export)

The brief

Cardboard Nostalgia, a sports-card trading business that is part of Chicago futures firm Kapital Trading, had been workshopping its logo. They wanted a sphere rotating around the company initials with a sense of depth, and shared the logo progress they had made so far.

The build

I set up the logo and the motion paths in Illustrator, then built the animation in After Effects: a swoosh that travels in and around the C and N, a looping orbit, and a shine that passes over "Cardboard" and "Nostalgia". Main, text and centre controls sit at the top of the file so the timing can be adjusted. Before settling on the final, I tested a build-in with and without a shadow and a separate swoosh pass.

The delivered experience

On June 3, 2021 I exported the final as three Lottie files named for their 2, 3 and 4-second loops, and on June 4 I collected the After Effects project for hand-off. The 3-second loop is the version shown here.

Client feedback

> Ilya exceeded expectations on every level. I would certainly use his services again and highly recommend him

— Liam Farley, Cardboard Nostalgia