Developing Universal Real-Time Motion Language
Overview
As ESPN’s brand-new premier college football broadcasts, SEC on ABC reaches a nationwide audience across a wide range of teams and college venues. My primary focus during this redesign was to develop a universal motion language that could be applied consistently across all new insert graphics based on early-stage concepts, creating a cohesive visual identity while remaining flexible enough to adapt to every graphic type. Over the months leading up to the season, I worked on transforming our old College Football insert package animation into something more exciting and elevated, one that felt distinct to this new program, while ensuring accessibility and clarity for the audience.
ROLE
Real-Time Graphics Developer​​
COLLABORATORS
Visual Storytelling (Design), Animation, DMED (Technology), Domestic Production (Studio/Event), College Production (Event), Senior Graphic Developers
RESPONSIBILITIES
Develop a universal motion language across all SEC on ABC insert graphics
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TIMELINE
2024 College Football Season
The Challenge...
SEC on ABC needed to establish a distinct visual identity apart from our old College Football package. The core challenge was to design a universal motion language that could be applied consistently across all insert graphics, creating cohesion without sacrificing flexibility across different graphic types and storytelling moments while matching the vision of creative directors.
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The essential question for the team to solve was: "How can we transform concepts into tangible solutions to match the massive anticipation of this brand new program?"
These were some of the insert designs presented to the team for brainstorming
Our Approach
To conquer the problem at hand, the team got together with our collaborators and decided on three core directions to ground ourselves in before developing:
1. IDENTIFY CORE PACKAGE ELEMENT
To establish the motion language, we needed to decide on one element that is used throughout our entire package.
2. GROUND CONCEPT IDEAS IN INSERT REALITY
Despite having a collection of concept ideas at our disposal, we need to recognize the limitations of insert graphics due to its unique real-time nature
3. ITERATIVE FEEDBACK LOOP FROM USERS
Constant communication with our end users (producers and directors) to iterate on the best solution
Slider Type graphic
Main graphic types we needed to consider...
Fullscreen-information type graphic
Lower Third type graphic
Locator type graphic
Solution
I decided the core element present and recognized across the entire SEC on ABC branding, and can be incorporated as the foundation of the universal motion language for our on-air "insert" package, was the SEC Shield. It was a fundamental building block for the brand, and the shield shape was integrated heavily across all designs and concepts. It worked perfectly in motion as the shape to bring everything onto the screen.
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Another design element I wanted to leverage in the animation, alongside the shield shape, was sheens. The brand was built around subtle but elegant gradients, especially in our insert package, so it needed something equally subtle and elegant to be introduced onto the screen. The sheen worked particularly well; it injected a bright and energetic feel to the graphics while offering a strong contrast that charged the bright colors and worked over dark backgrounds.
I began the exploration with Fullscreen-Information type graphics since they took up the largest amount of space on screen, and would be a great reference point for other graphics
With the animation fundamentals set, now was the time to consider the context. Unlike traditional animations, real-time "insert" graphics exist in a unique place since they need to be templatized and ​flexible. We only build the base system, but the colors, logos, and player information are filled out manually by production operators before the actual game airs, which means the animation needs to work with all college team colors, from bright red to black, and various layouts that exist in one graphic.
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While speaking to our users during the iteraive feedback cycle, we were also made aware that the graphics are often shown during game breaks, which means we needed to condense all of the on-move animation time to roughly 90-120 frames to give our production crews the flexibility to play the graphics out promptly before taking them off the screen and jumping back into the game.
Impact
Throughout the inaugural SEC on ABC season, the broadcast relied heavily on the scalable, universal motion language that I spearheaded to support all insert graphics across the show. This approach allowed production teams across the United States to create consistent on-air storytelling moments week after week while maintaining a cohesive visual identity across a wide range of teams, college venues, and game scenarios. By designing motion behaviors that could be applied universally across graphic types, the package balanced creative flexibility with reliability in fast‑paced live environments.
The success of the insert package helped establish SEC on ABC as a distinct and polished broadcast in its first season. Internally, the animation look received strong feedback from art directors, producers, operators, and directors for its clarity, adaptability, and ease of use, reinforcing its value as a reusable foundation for future seasons. The broadcast’s visual and production excellence was further recognized with a nomination for Outstanding Live Sports Series at the 46th Sports Emmy Awards, underscoring the impact of a scalable, user‑centered design approach in live television.