Product Launch Explainer
Ruff Haus is a branding and design firm based in San Diego, helping small to mid-size businesses solve unique challenges with creative, but practical solutions.
This two-minute explainer introduces Teal, a new digital product from JTB Business Travel. Designed for trade shows and YouTube, it communicates the product’s core value and how it streamlines business travel management for corporate teams.
Role – Motion Design Lead
Tools – After Effects, Premiere Pro
Design Constraints
The explainer needed to serve two distinct contexts at once:
• Trade show context: No-audio playback in a high-distraction environment, where visuals needed to capture attention from passersby.
• Online context: A narrated marketing video requiring clear explanation of features and benefits
At the same time, the product was still in development, where some features could not yet be shown through real UI. Motion needed to clearly communicate the value of the new product while differentiating it from existing systems across both viewing contexts.
Motion Strategy
The motion approach focused on balancing immediacy and explanation.
• Trade show context: Large, bold typography and high-contrast motion were used to capture attention from a distance.
• Online context: Voiceover and carefully paced timing were integrated to explain complex features and benefits that could not be communicated visually alone.
Visual metaphors replaced unavailable UI, allowing key benefits to be communicated clearly even before the product was fully available.
Key Motion Decisions
• Communicating complexity without overload
Concepts such as policy management, budgets, safety, and technical coordination were represented through motion that conveyed complexity without sacrificing readability. Timing and easing were carefully tuned to balance emotional impact with clarity, ensuring information remained legible even in fast-paced sequences.
• Typography as a Communication Tool
For benefits that were difficult to visualize, motion-driven typography was used to reinforce key messages and maintain momentum in both silent and narrated viewing contexts. Text motion provided a clear, scannable way to communicate value while keeping attention focused and reducing reliance on complex visuals.
• Visualizing an Incomplete Product
Because the product was still in development, motion graphics were used to represent concepts that could not yet be shown through real UI. Abstract diagrams, spatial relationships, and metaphor-based animation communicated ideas such as global deployment and centralized control without relying on finished screens.
• Contrast Between Current State and Future State
Visual contrast was used to clearly differentiate existing pain points from the proposed solution. Stock footage was curated to show the same personas experiencing frustration in the current state and confidence in the future state, reinforcing the product’s value through emotional contrast.
• Brand Alignment & Visual Language
The visual direction avoided traditional corporate aesthetics in favor of a more contemporary, human tone. Stock footage emphasized remote and hybrid work environments, aligning the video with how modern teams operate today.
• Call to Action Clarity
The video concludes with a clear, readable call to action, using motion to guide attention to JTB’s website and support easy follow-up after viewing.
Outcome
The explainer was successfully used at the BTSE trade show and received positive feedback from key stakeholders. Following the event, the video continued to be used as a marketing asset on JTB Business Travel’s YouTube channel, supporting ongoing product awareness beyond the launch.
Credits
Design Direction and Product Assets – Ruff Haus
Stock Assets – Licensed via iStock
Music – AudioCoffee
Voiceover – Gina Scarpa
