Daisy Loader
Motion Designer, Coffee & TV
Daisy Loader, Motion Designer, Coffee & TV / Photography by Tash Hicks
Brought up on Disney films, it was inevitable that London-based motion designer and animation director Daisy Loader would end up in the world of animation. Starting as a runner, her enthusiasm, creative ideas and technical skill have propelled her up the ranks at Coffee & TV and into a range of broadcast and brand projects. From Instagram visuals for L’Uomo Vogue’s Utopia issue, to attention-grabbing graphics for the Motion Awards Live 2020 and a charity campaign supporting NHS Heroes during the pandemic, her work effortlessly spans genres and makes her a talent to watch.
Were you interested in design and animation from a young age?
I grew up watching countless Disney films and would also spend hours watching Flash-made stick man animations on YouTube. Being a part of a generation who have grown up alongside the internet and computers, it’s second nature to experiment with making stuff.
You started as a runner at Coffee & TV before moving up to Motion Designer and Animation Director. How did that come about?
I was drawn to Coffee & TV’s personability, culture and the team. Our Creative Director, Steve Waugh, and Senior Motion Designer, Ed Kevill-Davies, took me under their collective wing and had faith enough to throw me in at the deep end on projects. Four years later, here I am in a career that I never thought I could have, working with people that I class as a family.
What’s the appeal of motion design as a creative medium?
Motion design can be whatever you make of it. I’m first and foremost a designer and idea creator, so my favourite part of a project is the start when I’m collating ideas and mocking up style frames with After Effects. It’s all about being experimental, talking to people, absorbing culture, making models, taking pictures, and drawing.
Creating work for social media means capturing people’s attention fast or they’ll scroll past. You need to flip the “normal” way of creating an ad on its head, and deliver the important information at the beginning.
How important is making meaningful work, such as your campaign for NHS Hero Support?
As a new charity, the client needed us to help build their brand identity and highlight the need for PPE during the lockdown in an engaging and poignant way. I really wanted to make a difference and get people to donate, so I used textures emulating cut-out pieces of paper to make the campaign feel handcrafted and human.
How did you cope in 2020 and what are your hopes for this year?
I threw myself into work and took advantage of the fact that I work in an industry that hasn’t been demolished by the pandemic. As many shoots were cancelled last year and are still so restricted, my skills and visual effects have really been needed to drive the creative for a lot of campaigns. That said, I miss face-to-face collaboration and working with clients directly to discuss ideas. I’m looking forward to getting back to this and going to the Old Coffee House on Beak Street with my friends and colleagues.
Interview by: Selena Schleh
