Fafa
Q&A | Fafa
Motion Designer
Published
May 2025
Fafa is making waves in motion design, proving that creative application trumps mere tools. Immediately embracing Cavalry, they're bringing innovative perspectives to the field. Their work is marked by a keen eye for detail, especially in the natural and flowing movement between elements, precisely paced.
Now working with the globally situated flatwhitemotion (China/Qindai & Australia/Sydney), a studio that shares their appreciation for playful and detailed motion, we explore what makes Fafa's work stand out and the differences between After Effects and Cavalry.
01
How were you exposed to motion design?
I was majored in Computer Technology with a focus on programming during collage time. One day, I saw the opening animation of “TED x Ningbo” in 2016, and I learned that it was created by a famous Chinese motion graphic artist, Somei. The opening animation was designed with minimalist style and fluent motion which fascinated me. At that moment, I thought: "This is exactly what I want to do in the future." Since then, I’m self-learning motion design through online resources, even today.
“I tend to merge Chinese Daoist philosophy within my motion design. It is better for exploring the balance in-between movement and stillness on both visual perception and sensation.”
02
You seem to have an intuitive approach to motion. How did you develop your style?
I really enjoy the process of breaking down different motion design works because each designer is unique on style and techniques. So that, if there are projects with similar design, I can quickly reference to different design approaches with variations on animation expression.
Also, I tend to merge Chinese Daoist philosophy within my motion design. It is better for exploring the balance in-between movement and stillness on both visual perception and sensation. With these concepts, I hope to develop a motion style that represents the Daoist philosophy. Still working on it.
03
What has been your biggest challenge that you overcame?
Workflow modification.
When I first joined Flatwhitemotion, I wanted to make everything perfect! You know. Wish to polish the animation and design that is delicate enough on EVERY SINGLE DETAILS. But for a project, I just can’t do it. It’s business. I need to satisfy the client’s requirements as well as potential audience.
Therefore, it’s important to strategize design with scenario that is convincible for both client and audience. Such as, design style, animation style, transition style, motion board, and so on. That’s why I’m really grateful for our team, they offered me tons of valuable advice and support. It helps me better navigate design in right direction.
“ Since Cavalry is vector-based design software, I can combine various effects to create animations, especially for graphic design work.”
04
How does Cavalry compare to programs like After Effects?
In After Effects, I work more as an animator, but in Cavalry, I found myself become more intuitive on both design and animation. It allows me to maintain a solid design style with motion creation. Since Cavalry is vector-based design software, I can combine various effects to create animations, especially for graphic design work. At the same time, Cavalry offers flexible parametric control, which reduces the workload for animation. While as in After Effects, you might need a lot of expressions for the same tasks. That’s why I typically work on progressive task in After Effects, but play creative work in Cavalry.
05
What excites you about the future of motion design?
With the technology development, I believe there won’t be any crucial technical problem for both artistic work and design production. Therefore, motion design can focus more on conceptual exploration and creative expression. Especially with blurry line in-between 2d, 3d, and live action, the design strategy and workflow will be more dynamic that opens up greater possibilities for project collaborations on many degrees.
For instance, I’ve always in love with how Giovanna Crise combines motion design with urban elements in her projects. She illustrates a friendlier daily urban environment with motion design. I believe motion design will lead to an exciting creative expression future with diverse media applications.
