In 2022, our team set out to create a new visual style for Aceable that reflected our brand’s personality, something playful, distinct, and engaging that could stand out in the e-learning space. What started as a request for a Real Estate promo video quickly evolved into a full brand language now used across all of Aceable’s verticals and channels.

At the time, Aceable didn’t have a clear visual identity beyond basic brand colors and typography. As our media presence grew, this gap became more obvious. Our content lacked personality and failed to show how fun and engaging our courses really are. The marketing team’s request for a new promo video for the Real Estate vertical became the perfect opportunity to establish a new look and feel that could scale across campaigns and platforms.

I collaborated with another motion designer throughout the early development of the style. After a brainstorming session where we both gravitated toward collage-style art, he created the initial storyboards while I provided feedback. We split the animation for the first video, and he handled sound design and final delivery. From there, the mixed media style became a shared toolkit, we would either split projects or take them on individually depending on the scope.

We explored a fully illustrated style but ruled it out due to the time and specialization it required. Instead, collage and mixed media stood out as a unique, efficient, and fun approach. We pulled inspiration from several artists, most notably Ariel Costa, whose work blended photography and bold vector design.

• Photoshop & Illustrator for photo editing and vector elements
• After Effects for animation
• Adobe Audition for sound design
• Premiere Pro for stitching and final delivery

Initially, we relied heavily on stock photography, which often felt repetitive or mismatched. To solve this, I began integrating AI tools into the workflow:

• MidJourney to generate unique people and scenarios
• Gemini for fast and accurate variations of images
• Sora for object creation, video generation, and creative brainstorming
• Adobe Photoshop AI tools to refine details (removing backgrounds, fixing hands, adding objects, etc.)

This shifted the workflow dramatically, saving time, ensuring brand consistency, and unlocking creative options that stock alone couldn’t provide.

We prepared alternate style pitches for stakeholders, but the mixed media approach was approved right away, it was visually fresh, more efficient, and unlike anything competitors were doing.

The first Real Estate promo video launched with great reception, leading to a Teen Drivers Ed promo soon after. As Aceable expanded into new verticals like Mortgage and Insurance, the style carried through seamlessly.

When the marketing team pushed for a web redesign, I created a set of mixed media illustrations for landing pages, which led me to develop the Core Image Library in Figma, a centralized, organized system where all images are stored by size and use case. This made it easier for other teams to maintain brand consistency and quickly access visuals.

Over time, I’ve created dozens of mixed media videos and assets, sometimes collaboratively, sometimes independently, all within this evolving style.