The Client
Nansen is a blockchain analytics platform that adds wallet labels to on-chain data to provide deeper insights. Cryptocurrency investors use Nansen to find investment opportunities, perform due diligence, and protect their portfolios with real-time alerts and dashboards.
There’s an emerging desire from clients to gain deeper insights into the wallets transacting on-chain, and that’s what Nansen is here to do. Since its inception in 2019, Nansen has rapidly emerged as a foremost source of Ethereum data and analytics.
Objective
Nansen team wanted to get their name out there. They needed a video that would tell people just what they’re about in a fun yet informative way. With how complicated blockchain technology can be, simplicity was important to best visualize the entire story.
How we did it
The Style Sheet
Nansen’s all about keeping this informative, so we wanted to make the design clean but still visually appealing.
We decided on a 2.5D isometric design, with glowing elements to really make the animation pop. This was all tailored to Nansen’s own brand design, with dark colours that rest easy on the eyes.
The Storyboard (Preliminary Sketches)
To break down the concepts of blockchain technology into an approachable form, we used motion graphics to create visual metaphors for its processes.
Playing around with size, motion, and other geometrical visual elements, we created a flow that turned Nansen’s goals and functions into an animated sequence.
The Storyboard (Vector Version)
Nansen was pretty happy with the initial sketches, so it was just small tweaks that had to be made. We first adapted the designs to Nansen’s brand colors and style.
Then, after some minor visual tweaks to make it really pop, we turned the original sketches into vector images. Unlike normal images made of pixels, which can blur when resized, vector images are created with math formulas that keep them clear at any size. This ensured that the images stayed high quality even when zoomed!
Challenges
There were a couple of trip-ups and constraints in this process.
One big challenge was mixing real 3D elements with fake isometrics in a 2.5D environment. What that means is that we had to make flat images (the isometrics) look like they’re in a 3D space, while also incorporating actual 3D models into the same animation. It’s a tricky thing to pull off, but the final look was all worth it.
Another challenge? Time. We had a tight deadline of just 3-4 weeks to complete the video. But with our skilled team and speedy feedback from Nansen, we managed to hit the deadline with no quality sacrificed.
The Result
With the final designs and animations done, it was time for the finishing touches. A female voiceover was added, walking the viewer through Nansen’s mission and functions with smooth narration. We also threw in an upbeat music track that matched the motion graphics to give it that extra kick.
After the whole process, this was the completed video.
Garnering over 50,000 views just a month after release, it was a huge success, kickstarting the journeys of investing with Nansen for many people.