The Florida Mayhem is a franchised team in the Overwatch League, a tier 1 esport. The Mayhem brand balances modern esports grit with a chill Miami Vice look and uses a non-traditional (in esports) pink and blue color palette.I created a series of gameday animations for each of the team's sixteen regular season games. In addition, for the team's video content, I designed and animated series intros, end cards, and other assets. I also created template files for social media use and worked on other miscellaneous projects and assets.
Although unique gameday animations were not originally planned, I felt that the templated approach that most franchises (and indeed, the 2020 Mayhem) used was prone to growing dull long before the end of the season. I thought it necessary to give fans something to look forward to every game. Such an approach would also help fans mentally distinguish each game by adding to the "storyline" of the team (e.g. capitalizing on player rivalries and using players likely to feature prominently in the match).
In my 2020 Gameday animations, every enemy team is characterized either as an enemy (such as a phoenix or sasquatch) or a location (such as the Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, or a sea of blue flames). I relied on neon vector elements, similar layouts, and other shared elements to anchor the branding. Using my signature 2.5D style, I blended real life player photo with vector backgrounds and pictures of game characters, creating a half-in, half-out environment that explored the players' positions as both real athletes and in-game superstars.Many of the team's fans are not only fans of the Mayhem but fans of the Overwatch League as a whole. For many organizations in [e]sports, gameday graphics rely entirely on their own brand. While this produces consistency, I thought that properly presenting the opponent teams would produce a clearer storyline and allow fans to better connect with our matches and players. Thus, I took on the challenge of balancing storytelling while maintaining the consistency and strength of the Mayhem brand.
I created various animated and static assets to complement the bevy of video content that was published over the season. To do so, I worked with Mayhem staff to turn their content ideas into actual assets. Each presented a unique challenge; for instance, the Mayhem on the Mic series required a multilingual intro using gaming terminology that didn't come off as pedantic or uncool. Then, the television test screen stinger for the same series needed to be humorous without grabbing too much attention, or, again, coming off as uncool. In other words, the Mayhem brand demanded a difficult, subtle balance of whimsy and coolness. To achieve this, I relied largely on speed and acceleration in my animation-- alternating between a leisurely crawl that evoked slow summer nights on Miami beaches and quick, snappy zooms and slides that kept the animation lively.
Referred to internally as "by far the easiest to navigate", the prediction, standings, and stats templates I created are deceptively simple to use. They each consist of copious layers organized into individually labelled color-coded modules.My priority with templated content was ease of use. Clear instructions on how to use the templates were also included with every file. In the case of the prediction graphics, upwards of 7,000 layers were used, with files split so that they wouldn't be obtrusively slow to modify. This degree of layer use allowed the layman end users to merely click a number of toggles to achieve the desired result without needing to sift through dozens of color correction layers.
motion graphics
My philosophy to motion design is simple: vibrant, exciting, emotional. I don't shy away from experimentation.For audio, please use the player controls on the individual videos.
The Florida Mayhem is a professional esports franchise competing in the Overwatch League, the highest tier of Overwatch gameplay. For their 2021 roster reveal event, I had the opportunity to create an all-new visual identity.The goal of the event was to reveal the 2021 roster in a more personal fashion. Normally, roster additions are announced to fans on Twitter. This event would reveal and interview each player individually, thus connecting the Korean players to their Floridian and Western fanbase. The opportunity for fans to ask the coach and general manager questions would also help to reassure a fanbase anxious over a 2021 season lacking in both concrete operational details and their star main tank player from the previous season.As such, the event needed to appear friendly yet composed; refreshing yet familiar.This feel would need to be maintained across all the graphics: a spiraling list that included overlays, background screens, stingers, transitions, graphics for multiple social platforms, and various informational graphics. Simultaneously, the assets intended for broadcast would need to be technically modular enough to fit any given scene.
As I was given the go-ahead to deviate from the usual brand style for this event, I chose to combine Miami Vice vaporwave elements and bright pastel colors to create a style that was both nostalgic and vibrant. Although the pink and blue were both in line with the Mayhem color swatch, the normal brand style used black as a primary color. Using the pink and blue as primaries reflected the refreshing, youthful feel of the roster, which included both new and old players.To achieve this style, I combined three separate typefaces: one classic Outrunner cursive font, one blocky "gamer" style font, and one Windows 95 inspired font. The Windows 95 font also needed to be compatible with Korean text to accommodate the bilingual nature of the event.
To further this blend between the retro and the new, I created a Windows 95-inspired window overlay in After Effects, complete with buttons. These vector shape-based overlays were fully modular, allowing the production team to use them in multiple scenes. To make them feel more friendly and vibrant, I made use of color by using the blue and pink colorway in the title bar and text and opting for warmth in the shadows and highlights.
MISFITS GAMING
Misfits Gaming is a gaming and entertainment company. I created various assets, including social media graphics, wallpapers, banners, and video assets for their use.
FLORIDA MUTINEERS
Florida Mutineers is a tier 1 franchised esports team competing in the Call of Duty League and owned by Misfits Gaming. I created various assets, including social media graphics, wallpapers, and video assets for their use.
graphic design & art
Here are a variety of graphics I designed in my spare time.
TRIUMPH GAMING
Triumph Gaming is an esports and entertainment franchise. I created social media graphics for them in the second half of 2019.
V-Dere Debut
V-Dere is a content production group of VTubers. For their debut, I animated a teaser trailer and reveal trailer.I focused on a bright, airy mood that emphasized the talents' cuteness and lighthearted charm. As pre-existing solo talents, each of the four talents had disparate branding and art styles. I tied them together through color blocking and compositing techniques that equalized their brand colors and drew attention to their respective features.
For the first trailer, my aim was to draw attention to specific details (or "charm points") of the new VTuber models and to establish the group dynamic. I used a standardized layout for all talents to emphasize their new nature as a group. I then developed their niche within the group using Japanese -dere style catchphrases and targeted use of keywords ("Fun", "Sweet", etc.).I also animated 9:16 vertical versions for promotional social media release.
For the final video, each talent had an individualized segment featuring a hand-drawn animation. Here, I storyboarded and timed the video, then animated the model shots, character descriptions, intro and outro, group shots, and pre-animation filler for extended shots.The aim of a VTuber PV is to attract new viewers to the individual talents, so I aimed to emphasize each talent's uniqueness. I took a more photo-realistic approach and constructed anime-style parallax scenes using primarily 2D vector-based assets in 3D space.
My responsibilities included storyboarding, design, and motion animation. All motion graphics in the trailers were created by me. The hand-drawn animations and Live2D models were provided by the client.
about me
Hello! This is Bluebell!I'm a motion designer who specializes in vivid, vibrant visual storytelling. I've primarily worked in the digital entertainment industry, with a particular focus on esports, music, and VTuber media. I juggled client work with getting my degree from the University of Cambridge, and I've been freelancing for clients all over the media industry ever since. For the past five years, I've been professionally producing motion graphics and static graphic design for broadcast, video, print, and social media use.I animate in After Effects. 2.5D parallax is my specialty, but I'm stylistically extremely flexible. I love warm, vibrant colors and dynamic movement.As seen on: Champion of Design Royale: Motion, judge of Design Royale: LogosSoftware: Adobe Creative Suite (After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Audition, Acrobat, Camera Raw), Audacity, Assembly, Google Suite, ProcreateI've worked with: Misfits Gaming (+ Florida Mayhem, Florida Mutineers, Aimsey, Tubbo, Ranboo, and more), Activision Blizzard, V4MIRAI/Brave Group, V-Dere, OW World Cup Team Netherlands, Creator Clash, Andbox/NYXL (+ NY Subliners), SEG Esports, LA GuerrillasFavorite games: Minecraft, Overwatch, Splatoon, Fire Emblem, and GeoGuessr!Please feel free to contact me at bluebell (a t) bluebell.graphics or on any of the options listed on my contact page!
Illustration by @27_orange_lily on Twitter
contact me
If you're interested in working with me, you're in the right place! You can fill in the form, contact me on Twitter, or simply send an email to bluebell (a t) bluebell.graphicsIf you are considering me for a long-term project or position, you can also use this form, though DMs or email are probably more reliable.Thank you for considering me for your project!
social media & stream graphics
I've created both social media and stream graphics for a variety of clients.
banners
Banners for social media use. Illustrations were provided by the respective clients.
stream assets
Stream packages for client use in broadcast. Packages contain full screens and various standalone elements.