What we learned about emotion, risk, and clarity in design that brands can actually use.
Our team was in Vienna for Forward Festival, two days filled with creatives who don’t just talk about ideas. They build them. From Google Creative Lab’s Julia Hoffmann to Bráulio Amado, Kelly Anna, and Mah Ferraz, every talk came back to one message: creativity is only valuable when it moves people.
Here’s what we brought back and why it matters for brands creating visual and experiential impact today.
1. Start Before You’re Ready
Julia Hoffmann (Google Creative Lab) reminded us that comfort zones kill good ideas. The work that stands out is often the one that starts rough the prototype, the messy first version.
At Plankton, this mindset shapes how we collaborate. We test motion early, build visual emotion fast, and let iteration guide us. You don’t need perfection to convince stakeholders. You need proof of feeling.
Takeaway for brands: Prototype emotions, not just ideas. Show it early. Feel it early.
2. Design with People, Not Just Pixels
Kelly Anna spoke about empathy as the true design tool. When you design with people in mind — not just for them — visuals gain meaning.
In our work translating complex products into motion, this means understanding not just what a product does, but what it feels like to use it.
Takeaway for brands: Don’t ask, “Does it look good?” Ask, “Does it feel right?” That’s where clarity begins.
3. Own Your Weird
Bráulio Amado and Mah Ferraz both said it best: your style is your strategy. In a world of sameness, distinctiveness isn’t decoration, it’s differentiation.
For brands launching new products, this is everything. The work that feels a little odd, a little personal, is what people remember.
Takeaway for brands: Authenticity looks like risk. Be okay with standing out.
4. Simplify the Complex
Aurélia de Azambuja (Base Design) showed how blending analog thinking with digital tools makes complex ideas understandable. This one hit home.
It’s what we call The Craft of Clarity: using design and motion to help people intuitively “get it.” Whether it’s a product demo, an investor story, or an experience on a tradeshow floor, clarity is the shortcut to emotion.
Takeaway for brands: If your story takes three slides to explain, it’s too long. Motion can make it one clear feeling.
5. Have Fun or Go Home
Snask reminded everyone that play is serious business. Joy is not a side effect; it’s an amplifier. Work that makes people smile travels further.
We see this in experiential campaigns, the moments that invite laughter or curiosity are the ones that drive real engagement.
Takeaway for brands: Inject emotion into the process, not just the output. People can feel the energy behind the work.
6. Take Visual Risks
Baugasm’s unapologetically bold visuals made one thing clear: attention follows courage. Safe visuals are invisible.
For us, this translates into crafting motion that pushes boundaries in lighting, camera movement, and form. In a feed full of sameness, aesthetic bravery is a business advantage.
Takeaway for brands: If your content blends in, it’s already forgotten.
7. Collaboration is the Real Innovation
Stephanie Specht closed with something simple but true, collaboration is messy, but it’s where real ideas live.
We felt that deeply. Every Plankton project is built in layers of shared energy from brand teams to architects to agencies. The mix makes the magic.
Takeaway for brands: Don’t brief vendors. Build with partners.
Why it matters
Forward Festival reminded us why we do what we do. Motion and experience design are not about pixels or polish. They’re about creating work that moves people, clarifies stories, and shapes how brands are felt — in screen, space, or something in between.
The future isn’t static. Neither are we.
Plankton helps brands turn complex ideas into emotional clarity through 3D animation, motion design, and experiential storytelling.
Always moving. Always evolving.
We’re always excited to take on new challenges in any shape or size. Don’t hesitate to involve us in your future project.
