Motion Designer

About Saltmarsh Studio

Saltmarsh is an independent brand and product design practice of twenty-two people, working mostly with museums, publishers and climate organisations. We have taken on three identity projects this autumn that all need moving image, which is more than our current freelance arrangement can carry. This is a six-month contract at three to four days a week, with the possibility of a longer arrangement afterwards.

What you'll do

• Translate static identity systems into motion: logo behaviour, transitions, title sequences and the small interface moments that make a brand feel alive.
• Produce finished animation for exhibition environments, social campaigns and film titles, working to real installation deadlines.
• Write motion guidelines that sit alongside the static brand guidelines, so a client's team can extend the work without us.
• Collaborate with the brand designers early, while the identity is still being drawn, rather than being handed a finished logo to wiggle.
• Commission and direct sound where a piece needs it, working with composers we already have relationships with.
• Handle delivery specifications for a range of outputs, including large-format screens where the usual assumptions do not apply.

What we're looking for

• Three or more years of professional motion design work with a reel that shows craft rather than trends.
• Expert command of After Effects, and enough Cinema 4D, Blender or equivalent to work in three dimensions when the idea calls for it.
• A real understanding of typography in motion, including how to keep something legible when it is moving.
• Experience delivering to spec for print-adjacent and environmental contexts, not only social formats.
• Self-management. This is a contract engagement and you will be trusted to run your own schedule.
• Based in the United Kingdom or Ireland and able to invoice as a sole trader or through a limited company.

Nice to have

• Experience with exhibition or installation work, particularly multi-screen setups.
• Comfort with Lottie or similar formats for handing animation to web and product teams.
• Illustration skills that let you originate imagery as well as animate it.

Benefits

• A coworking stipend if you would rather not work from home.
• An asynchronous studio with two fixed collaboration afternoons a week and no other standing meetings.
• Day rates negotiable within the stated band depending on scope and experience, invoiced monthly.