Jessica Buck - 2023 Portfolio

Hey there, I'm Jess!

I'm a Florida-based motion designer with a passion for all things creative, especially involving animation, typography, and color. I have just graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design's Motion Design department and try my best to use the opportunities I am given to push myself and grow as a motion designer.

Check out my reel & work below :)

Remember the Beautiful 

Remember the Beautiful is my final senior thesis and final project as a student, truly a culmination of all we have learned. During our senior year, Motion Design seniors at the Ringling College of Art + Design will select one of their many previous explorations to develop. We were challenged to create a final original work that evokes an emotional response from the viewer. This project should show experimentation, self-expression, and pursuit of an individual aesthetic.

I spent a considerable amount of time exploring various options to ensure that my project's visual style matched my concept and message. After much experimentation, I landed on Direction 03 as it perfectly aligned with the tone I wanted to convey. To bring my scenes to life, I dedicated a significant amount of time to creating the scenes in 3D using Cinema4D. After that, I rotoscoped over them using Procreate and Photoshop before finally compositing everything in After Effects.

When it came to creating the styleframes for my project, I found myself drawing inspiration from my own memories and personal photographs. After all, this project is a tribute to the people and experiences that have shaped my life, so it only made sense to feature them in the artwork. By using real-life moments and snapshots as the foundation for my design, I was able to capture the essence of the memories that I hold dear and bring them to life in a way that is both heartfelt and visually stunning.

Hall of Femme

With Art of the Title, my design partner and good friend Sol and I were tasked to create a title sequence along with internal graphics for the documentary film Hall of Femme. Game-changers, Rule-breakers, and Power-players, this 9-part documentary series shines a spotlight on the most influential women in the history of modern music. 

This concept has a strong emphasis on the impactful women themselves, highlighting their names with bold type, and shining a spotlight on the women individually, alongside more of a grunge and collage approach, to bring attention to the “rule breakers” and their strong, electric, and even rebellious attitudes.

This project includes a mix of stop motion, live footage, and dynamic Adobe After Effects animation. The incorporation of stop motion in this title sequence pays homage to traditional animation techniques, mirroring the way it nods to the enduring influence of these women who have made significant contributions to music in the past and continue to do so today.

Full Credits include Audio by Kelly Warner; Design by Jessica Buck & Sol Bourdeau García; Animation by Jessica Buck

Awarded a National Gold ADDY Award for this piece in 2023

PINC Conference Opener

Ringling College of Art + Design’s in-house Design Center invited me and fellow motion designer Yael Bloom to work on the branding for Sarasota's PINC Week 2023. As part of the motion graphics team, we worked with a specific focus on creating and animating the opening titles that will play throughout the conference taking place in December of 2023. As the conference breaks into new waters and expands its reach, we created this year's concept to revolve around breaking through, visually from 2D into 3D, which was a departure from previous years. 

Our objective was to design something distinctive that would unify the green world of PINC's renowned branding. Given that PINC is a celebration of People, Ideas, Nature, and Community, we ensured that our opening titles embraced and reflected these themes, thus elevating PINC into a multi-dimensional experience that it truly is.

Perplex - FutureProof '23 Branding

Perplex is an cohesive and comprehensive conceptual branding for Ringling College of Art + Design's Motion Design conference FutureProof 2023. In creating this with fellow motion designer Kaisin Qiu, the entirety of this project includes all aspects of design, animation, and branding that are to be created for a motion design conference, including an animated title opener, posters, merch, speaker slates, and more. This piece was honored as a finalist in the selection of the ultimate branding of FP23.

This piece was honored as a finalist in the selection of the ultimate branding of FP23

Fluidity - Microsoft Wallpapers

My fellow motion designer and good friend Kaisin Qiu and I were tasked to design a collection of static wallpapers for a potential upcoming OS update on the Windows platform. We created both light and dark mode versions of each wallpaper, incorporating subtle motion elements to add depth and visual interest. Throughout the design process, we ensured that the branding aligned with Microsoft's guidelines and prioritized user-friendliness.

With both a light and dark mode, Kaisin and I really wanted to explore concepts that were opposite yet related to these two modes. After much brainstorming, lots of exploration, and further development on the concept, we considered the range between light and dark and how fluid that can truly be, which is how we landed on gradients, interesting texturing, and abstractness of movements. 

Thank you!

Thanks a ton for taking the time to check out my work!
 

:) Jess