NIVETHA KANNAN | MY WORK

MOTION REEL

Art Direction & Animation & Design & Editing

00:05 Tobin’s Spirit Guide opening | Animated & Designed for Sony’s Mobile app, “Ghostbusters World”

00:09 Texting Animations | Animated & Designed for Hulu’s show, “Dollface”

00:12 All onscreen was Animated & Designed by me for clients like Disney, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.

00:14 Pepe The frog Animations | Animated & Designed these Pepe the Frog Animations to promote the “Feels Good Man” Documentary

00:16 Invincible Social Post animations | Animated & Designed to promote the Amazon Prime Series "Invincible" 00:20 Elle Fanning IG Stories | Animated and Designer for Hulu’s show, “The Great”

00:28 Wall of Giphy Stickers | Animated & Designed all the stickers shown

00:30 Title build animation | Animated

00:32 Hello Kitty flying sequence | Animated & Designed

00:24 Hello Kitty beating competition sequence | Animated & Designed

00:37 Famous Franchise ‘Versus’ Sequences | Animated and Designed

00:41 Toy car blasted | Animated and Designed

00:42 Animated the paper puppets to look “as life-like as possible”

00:47 Twitter Animation | Modeled the birds, textured & rigged them, and Animated them all in blender

Audio Credit: Barbarian empire dub by Mastermind XS licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

THE TOYS THAT MADE US ANIMATIONS

Netflix | Animations | Documentary | 2017-2018

I had the immense please of working under Arthur Jones of Future Smells to create assets and animated segments for the Netflix original documentary: The Toys That Made Us. Starting from gathering images of retro TVs, Rifles, action figures, etc, I composed many of the animated segments from the show using photoshop and animated everything using Aftereffects- it truly was a multi step project.

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SNAGGLETOOTH BRANDING & LAUNCH CAMPAIGN

Design & Animation & Direction | Brand | 2024-2026

Throughout 2024-2026, I helped market the launch of Snaggletooth- a tiny pet treat business! After creating videos, countdowns, and printouts for the launch, I continued to partner with them to create holiday posts, merchandise, event builds, & more!

The best visuals Snaggletooth had at this point was the photography- expensive photography, I might add! I made the expense count by really leaning into the photography on launch. Integrating text into these photos allowed me to showcase the product, the bright colors, and the expressive personality of the brand.

Our inserts and freebies made the brand POP in physical spaces.

I wanted these buttons to be something you’d actually want on your bag. At the same time, I wanted it to convey the brand’s personality. I designed and illustrated these buttons to first and foremost convey the playfulness and personality of the brand.

The launch video we created leaned into anime-vibes on a budget. I used flavorful motion to help the low-budget assets look high-impact.

Sustaining the Brand

Since 2024, I've created more motion work, new photo eidts; and more social work for this brand

I concepted this video to build on one of the most unique visual motif this brand uses- comics! This ambitious video pulls together IRL footage; photography; and SFX to create an engaging celebration post!

How does the brand look like at a trade show?

I had no idea... but I figured it out! Loud; bright; and personality forward. That’s what I kept in mind while designing the Superzoo display for Snaggletooth.

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GOOGLE CLOUD MLB SOCIAL CAMPAIGN

Google | Motion | Design | Direction | 2022

During my time at Battenhall, I art directed several social posts for Google Cloud to promote their partnership with MLB. Our client had a very specific vision for these social cards, which is reflected in the explorations we did to create them. Initially, I leaned into the “stats/data” angle by creating bespoke “jitter” animations for the text. However, the client wanted a more stylish approach, inspired by the Google NEXT campaign. In response, I created visual explorations that aligned more closely with their feedback, making the campaign feel more stylish and focused on baseball rather than data. In the end, I worked closely with the Art Director on the client’s side, who provided clear static directions for each design. I was responsible for art directing the motion elements. I led a team of three designers to complete the project. I personally worked on two of the videos, while the others were animated and edited by our talented freelancers, with my art direction guiding their work.

VISUAL EXPLORATION 1: Initially, I leaned into the “stats/data” angle by creating bespoke “jitter” animations for the text.

VISUAL EXPLORATION 2: The client wanted a more stylish approach, inspired by the Google NEXT campaign. In response, I created visual explorations that aligned more closely with their feedback, making the campaign feel more stylish and focused on baseball rather than data.

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DOLLFACE LAUNCH CAMPAIGN

I created the following designs at This is Tommy for Hulu's launch of "Dollface"- a highly anticipated show produced by Margot Robbie with a star studded cast.

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THE GREAT

HULU | Motion | Design | 2020

In 2020, I had the immense pleasure of leading the design work we did at Tommy promoting the launch of Hulu's critically acclaimed series "The Great." The show was an incredibly quirky period piece which relied on an amazing cast to delivery smart jokes and timely social commentary. To highlight this, our team created funny video pieces; sassy giphy stickers; and a plethora of off-the-beat social graphics to welcome audiences into the show's zany world.

Below are a set of stickers I designed using green screen footage of the cast. Our amazing creative lead decided which sayings and scenes we should focus on and I designed and animated them on Photoshop and AfterEffects

Here is a set of Birthday wishes for the cast of 'The Great' which were posted on the show's social channels.

The video below displays two Pinterest ads I concepted and made in After effects. The ad is intended to, at first, look like it is part of the normal Pinterest UI but it is disrupted in the middle till the disguised ad itself is destroyed and replaced with something that looks more like a traditional ad.

Our team was given a number of green screen and casual footage of cast members asking viewers to 'swipe up.' I cleaned up this footage to create engaging Instagram stories for the show.

The below video is a compilation of narrative cuts I edited together to go on "The Great"'s social channels. The trick was to convey as much as possible within 15 seconds which is the time limit on Instagram stories. Each of these stories also has a 1x1 version for in-feed posts.

The following videos were a group of Instagram stories our team at Tommy concepted which juxtaposes what is 'expected' in certain situations in the show with what actually happens. This was a challenging group of videos to design and edit since they needed to fit within the 15 second IG Story limit.

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INVINCIBLE

Amazon Prime Video | Social Media Campaign | Design & Editing & Animation | 2021-2024

During my time at Tommy and Battenhall, I led and directed my team to create the social media campaign for Invincible. This campaign involved video editing in Premiere, compositing and designing in Photoshop, and animating in After Effects. I guided my team through this project by setting the initial look and feel of the assets shown below. We had significant creative freedom in choosing which characters to feature and which scenes to highlight. I ensured that each asset effectively portrayed characters and plot details relevant to the overall tone and message of the marketing campaign.

My team at Tommy suggested creating weekly episodic posters for each new episode of Invincible. These were originally a fun spoof on typical Marvel-style superhero posters for social media. To our surprise, fans loved them and eagerly anticipated each new poster. In fact, the demand was so high that Amazon ended up producing merch based on these designs. To create each poster, I combined episode stills and enhanced them with shading, overlays, and lighting effects. When needed, I also illustrated characters myself to fit the final composition.

My team at Tommy was tasked with creating countdowns for the Invincible premiere. We decided to style them as aged comic book covers, zooming in on the issue number to represent the countdown. My job was to bring this idea to life. I always love taking a simple brief and going hard on it. After designing vintage comic covers using existing illustrations, I went above and beyond by adding 3D effects to give them a sense of movement, and creating laser beam ‘attack’ effects in After Effects that burst from the covers for added impact.

My team at Tommy pitched the idea to turn key battles in the Invincible show into fun video game themed social videos. My task was to make this come into reality. I started in photoshop by designing out all the screens I wanted - the start screen, the battle screen, the versus screen, etc. I then created 8-bit versions of things like the logo and the characters using a combination of effects and manual illustration. I then brought the piece into aftereffects where I really got to play with the animation. I edited the video + sound in premiere to finish it all off.

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VISUAL DIRECTION

Design & Animation & Art Direction | Proposals

The following are visual directions included in proposals I've done at my past companies for various clients.

BRIEF : For Tommy’s pitch for Respect, I had to develop a visual style before the film’s release or even a trailer—relying purely on my interpretation of what the movie might look like.

STAKES : While pitch materials aren’t final, they’re a chance to prove an understanding of the film’s tone and showcase design skills. Strong visuals can help sell the creative approach to the client.

MY APPROACH : Below, you’ll find the visual style I proposed for the movie’s social campaign. I drew inspiration from Aretha’s life—her resilience, glamour, and the depth of her journey. To reflect this, I combined Hollywood glitz with a deep blue-purple gradient, evoking both royalty and melancholy. The rich effects also served to highlight our design capabilities, reinforcing the pitch’s strength.

BRIEF : At Battenhall, we pitched a social campaign for the kids' show Karma’s World. While we received posters, show stills, and a style guide, the social media design was left entirely up to us.

STAKES : The campaign needed to appeal to young audiences while staying true to the show’s themes. It was important to create a look that was fun, engaging, and visually distinct while respecting the established brand identity.

MY APPROACH : I drew inspiration from popular young women’s brands—sparkles from Barbie, gradients and icons from Monster High, and bold typography from Dora. To honor the show’s hip-hop roots, I also studied rap album covers and shows, incorporating bold textures and visuals. Finally, I blended these influences with the official Karma’s World style guide to create a cohesive, exciting social media look.

Battenhall Industry Talk Visual Direction

BRIEF : I was tasked with designing Battenhall’s industry presentation proposal, ensuring it aligned with the agency’s established visual style while elevating its impact.

STAKES : The presentation needed to be both engaging and authoritative—reflecting Battenhall’s identity as a social agency while positioning the company as a knowledgeable industry leader. Since the audience consisted of other industry experts, the design had to balance creativity with professionalism.

MY APPROACH : I combined Battenhall’s signature bold colors, icons, and shapes with inspiration from magazine and newspaper layouts. Drawing from The New York Times, I blended the dynamic nature of social media with the structured, timeless appeal of editorial design—creating a presentation that was both visually compelling and credible.

BRIEF : Holsem Coffee approached Battenhall for a social media campaign creative playbook. While the brand’s visuals were already well established, my role was to refine them into a compelling deck and create engaging social media assets.

STAKES : The challenge was to ensure the campaign not only reflected Holsem Coffee’s strong brand identity but also resonated emotionally with viewers. The visuals needed to feel both inviting and dynamic while maintaining the brand’s wholesome aesthetic.

MY APPROACH : I emphasized imagery of people alongside coffee to build an emotional connection with the audience. To keep the visuals engaging, I incorporated textures and organic shapes, enhancing the brand’s warm and inviting feel. The result was a social media playbook that stayed true to Holsem Coffee’s identity while making the content more interactive and visually appealing

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