Project Description

Microsoft commissioned me to develop a series of motion graphics concepts for an internal R&D initiative centred on visualising the relationship between artificial intelligence and human creativity.

The brief called for four distinct conceptual directions, each exploring a different metaphor for AI; I went for: pattern recognition, neural network structures, visual hallucinations, and a butterfly courtship dance — the last as a poetic representation of the generative, back-and-forth dynamic between a human and an AI co-creator.

The butterfly concept resonated most strongly with the Microsoft team: two entities in an improvisational dialogue, each influencing the other, their interaction producing something neither could generate alone. This became the conceptual foundation for the developed direction.

From there I moved into look development and motion language. The early exploration phase covered a wide range of materials, geometries, and lighting treatments. Through iteration with the Microsoft creative team, the visual language was progressively refined toward a softer, more ethereal aesthetic — grainy textures, soft blooms, shapes that almost disappear in the background.

The project involved multiple rounds of styleframe development, animation tests, and look-dev renders. Most details and outputs remain under NDA due to the confidential nature of the work.

For more abstract 3D motion work see Kids' Toys Morphing and Isometric Cities.