Interview with Vikash Arjan, Chief Creative Officer - Anideos

Vikash Arjan  

Chief Creative Officer, Anideos

Give us a quick overview of Anideos. When and how did you begin this journey?

A US-based leading animation company, Anideos has experience creating top-tier animation for 2000+ clients of different industries. The company has expertise in making incredible animations of multiple types such as 2D, 3D, architecture, explainer, motion graphics, products, whiteboards, and many more. Anideos is undoubtedly at the forefront of innovation in the field of animation.

Embarking on my journey back in 2012, I took my first steps as a junior animator and graphic designer. While my parents envisioned a different path for me, destiny had a unique adventure in store. Fueled by my passion for art, design, and animation, I gradually honed my skills and immersed myself in the captivating world of animation, transforming my passion into a fulfilling career.

Fast forward to 2019, the year Anideos was born. By then, I had already established a stable career and joined Anideos as the Chief Creative Officer from its inception. Being part of Anideos has been an incredible and exhilarating chapter of my life. Along the way, I have worked on countless exciting projects, tackling challenges head-on and delving into unexplored realms of knowledge.

What is your role in the management and development of Anideos?

Anideos is an animation company, and my role is crucial as many others. I look after the entire animation and design department. Plus, I have to coordinate with other departments like sales and marketing.

My primary responsibility is supervising the creative aspects of two departments: video production and marketing. I instruct direction, blocking, and execution to my design and animation team. What else I ensure to the company is:

•    Timely deliveries
•    Productive increase
•    Latest tech implementation
•    New software learning

What's been your biggest creative challenge?

There have been many! But I don’t consider them as big as when I worked on a telecom company project. The challenge was the demanding deadline.At Anideos, we were accustomed to working within the tried-and-true Maya production pipeline, but the circumstances demanded swift action and creative problem-solving.

The complexity of the project, coupled with the time constraints, left us with no choice but to change the pipeline from traditional Maya to Unreal Engine for quick project delivery.Yet, this decision presented a formidable obstacle – our team was in a learning phase and never worked on Unreal Engine before. So, it was a risky gamble, as failure would mean starting anew with Maya, and time was already short. The stakes were high, and the pressure was intense.

And the project succeeded! The success of that project not only showcased our adaptability and resilience but also taught us that sometimes, the greatest rewards lie just beyond our fears.I am glad that we took that risk!

How do you evaluate the success of a creative campaign, and what metrics do you prioritize?

As a Chief Creative Officer, my role in evaluating the success of a creative campaign focuses on the artistic and strategic aspects. Here are some key considerations and metrics that I prioritize when evaluating the success of any creative campaign:

• Creative Excellence: I always assess the creative work based on its artistic quality, originality, and innovation. I consider the concept, design, storytelling, visuals, and overall impact. This evaluation is subjective and relies on your expertise and artistic judgment.

• Alignment with Brand and Message: I always look closely at how well the creative campaign aligns with the brand identity, values, and messaging. Like, does it effectively convey the intended message or story? Does it maintain consistency with the brand's visual and tonal guidelines? This assessment helps ensure the creative work strengthens the brand's positioning and communicates the desired brand image.

• Strategic Objectives: Then, I evaluate whether it successfully addressed the target audience, met marketing goals, or supported broader business objectives.

• Audience Engagement and Response: Measure how the audience may respond and engage with the creative campaign or particular animation. Usually, our branding team takes care of it and looks at metrics such as social media interactions (likes, comments, shares), video views, website traffic, or user-generated content related to any campaign or animation. These metrics allow me to learn how well the creative work resonated with the target audience and whether it sparked meaningful engagement.

• Industry Recognition: Assess if the creative campaign has received industry recognition, awards, or positive press coverage. Such external validation indicates the campaign's impact and effectiveness within the creative industry.

• Stakeholder Feedback: Seek feedback from key stakeholders, including the client, marketing team, and other relevant departments. Consider their perspectives on the campaign's or animation's success in meeting the overall goals. Their feedback can provide valuable insights into the campaign's effectiveness and areas for improvement.

As a Chief Creative Officer, I have to coordinate with different departments; I think it's essential to strike a balance between subjective assessments of creative excellence and objective evaluations tied to strategic objectives and audience response.

How do you think about and approach branding for a company or product?

My approach to branding for a company or product revolves around understanding the client’s business objectives, conducting thorough research, and developing a comprehensive brand strategy.

I rigorously believe in conducting competitive analysis, which actually helps me create an outstanding visual identity and brand voice that align with the company's values and resonate with the target audience. By collaborating with cross-functional teams, including designers, animators, and brand experts, I ensure the branding efforts are cohesive and consistent across all touch points.

Ultimately, my goal is to create a strong and differentiated brand identity through animations that not only communicate the company's values but also drive business growth.

What strategies do you use to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your team while staying within budget constraints?

The strategies I use to maximize my team's effectiveness and efficiency while staying within budget are encouraging my team to research and never stop learning. My team and I regularly read updated articles.Reading updated articles offers numerous benefits:

• Firstly, it keeps us well-informed of the latest industry trends, emerging technologies, and consumer insights, allowing us to stay ahead of the curve and adapt creative strategies accordingly.I also purchase tutorials that feel crucial for growth and do mentor meetings.

• Secondly, it inspires and sparks innovative thinking by exposing us to new ideas, design techniques, and successful creative campaigns. Additionally, reading updated articles fosters continuous learning and professional development, expanding our knowledge base and offering fresh perspectives.

• It also facilitates networking opportunities, enables our team to understand competitors' activities, enhances communication and collaboration, and cultivates thought leadership.

Ultimately, staying informed through updated articles empowers me and my team to drive creative excellence, maintain a competitive edge, and make informed decisions that contribute to the success of our clients and Anideos.

How do you keep your team motivated and productive under high pressure and tight deadline?

Keeping your team motivated and productive during high-pressure situations and tight deadlines is crucial and challenging. So, in such a situation, I do certain things, like:

• As we all know, communication is the key. Therefore, I encourage my team to communicate, encouraging collaboration, creativity, and idea-sharing.

• Then, usually, I break down the tasks into manageable segments and establish a realistic timeline before the original one, ensuring each team member understands their role and responsibilities.

• I offer support and resources to alleviate any obstacles or challenges they may face. We also do team meetings after the brief approval.

• Encourage regular breaks and promote work-life balance to prevent burnout.

• Lastly, celebrate milestones and successes along the way, reinforcing an optimistic and motivational atmosphere. By implementing these strategies, I nurture a motivated and productive team even under high-pressure situations and tight deadlines.

What design programs are you most comfortable using?

Well, there are many, such as:

•    Adobe Suite
•    Maya
•    Davinci Residue
•    Blender
•    Figma and more.

What challenges have you faced in brand development? How did you overcome them?

In the exhilarating journey of brand development, we encountered a formidable challenge that tested our creative prowess. Initially, our website was custom, and as Anideos is a creative brand, it has illustrations, lotty (GIFs), animated characters, and other animations, which caused it to become heavy, compromising its load time, speed, and overall performance.This issue also affected SEO and leads.

To overcome this challenge, our entire animation and design team worked on images, illustrations, and animation dimensions and reduced it. Yet, despite every valiant effort, the desired transformation evaded us.

So, our expert developers used the WP Rocket plugin (free version);the free version proved to be a temporary respite. Then, the team tried the Nitropack plugin, the free version, first, and it worked; then, we bought the paid version that helped us boost the ranking and speed of our site. Moreover, we also changed the image format from PNG and JPEC to WEBP, which was a suitable format. This was the challenge, and this is how we overcame it.

With our website now a beacon of swiftness, we stand proud, having emerged stronger and more agile in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

How do you keep your team up-to-date with the latest creative trends and tech?

I think that as a leader, it is crucial to hold the key to unlocking a world of inspiration and innovation for your team. So, I consider continuous learning and exploration to keep my team up-to-date with the latest creative trends and technology. And as I mentioned earlier, I encourage them to read more articles, blogs, to actively seek out industry news, and follow thought leaders and industry experts. This definitely helps us all to stay competitive and updated!