An app explainer should help someone understand when a service might be useful and how they could start using it. A clear situation and a few carefully chosen steps can establish that understanding more effectively than a tour of every feature.
The Peerzle project provides an example. Brandegree created a logo animation and a 2D explainer for the peer support app. The film in our portfolio follows two people from everyday concerns to a shared conversation.
Begin with a situation people can understand
An application sits within a human context. Before showing screens, identify the situation that makes its use relevant. What is someone looking for? What question do they have? What first action helps them move forward?
The characters in the Peerzle film create space for that context. The explanation moves through situations and exchanges, then into simple app interactions. The viewer has a reason to understand what appears on the screen.
Give each scene something to explain
A useful storyboard assigns a purpose to every shot. One establishes the context, another shows a gesture, another makes a change visible. If two scenes communicate the same point, ask whether both are necessary.
For a flat illustration film, the storyboard should remain close to the final visual language: characters, shapes, framing and simple actions. Elaborate cinematic staging or lengthy descriptions can make the board harder to read without helping production.
A practical test is whether someone seeing the board for the first time can describe the service and follow the sequence.
Show enough of the interface
A real screen can contain too much information for a short shot. Its representation can be simplified to make the important action visible, provided the meaning of the interaction remains accurate. The film does not need to simulate the entire app.
In Peerzle, interface moments sit within the characters’ story. They make a gesture understandable, then let the narrative continue. This balance gives the film more than a sequence of annotated screenshots.
Connect movement with the identity
Logo animation gives a brand a behaviour over time. In the Peerzle project, the transition into the puzzle-shaped symbol connects the explanation to the identity. Movement becomes a point of continuity between the film and its signature.
Another project may need a different approach. The decision should come from the mark, tone and message. A generic reveal at the end does not necessarily establish that relationship.
A perspective from Matthew Trotta
Matthew shares his perspective on working with Brandegree. His account sits beside the finished explainer, so the client’s voice has a place in the story of the project.
The film and testimonial serve different purposes: one shows the work, while the other offers a view of the collaboration.
Plan the viewing context in the brief
Establish where the film will appear, which languages it needs and whether people are likely to listen. A landing page, sales presentation and social excerpt may require different openings.
On an article page, let people choose to play the film and the testimonial, with accessible controls and captions. The surrounding copy should explain the essential points for readers who do not want to watch. Understanding the page should not depend on access to sound.
Five things to prepare before production
- The audience and situation the film needs to explain.
- The main idea someone should remember afterwards.
- The essential steps, and what can remain outside the film.
- Approved identity and interface materials.
- Languages, formats and distribution contexts.
From Tangier, Brandegree works on motion projects that make an offer or experience easier to understand. Explore the Peerzle case study
