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Motion Graphics Designer

(Motion Designer, Motion Graphics Artist, Broadcast Designer, Visual Effects Designer)

Creative & Media

Salary

€32,000 - €70,000/yr

Level

Professional

Outlook

Growing

What does a Motion Graphics Designer do?

As a Motion Graphics Designer you create animated visual content — combining typography, illustration, video footage and 3D elements — for television, film, advertising, digital platforms and corporate communications. Your daily work involves developing concepts from a creative brief, building animations in software such as Adobe After Effects, Cinema 4D or Blender, and refining motion, timing and colour to achieve the desired visual impact. You collaborate closely with directors, producers, graphic designers and sound editors, often working to tight broadcast or delivery deadlines. Motion Graphics Designers in Ireland are employed by broadcast companies, animation studios, advertising agencies, post-production houses and in-house creative teams across a wide range of industries.

A Day in the Life

Listen: a day as a Motion Graphics Designer

0:00 / 0:00

You arrive at the studio just before nine o'clock, make a coffee, and open your email. There is a revised brief from a Dublin advertising agency for a fifteen-second animated end-card — the logo lockup and call-to-action text need to appear half a second earlier than in yesterday's version. You note the change in your project management tool, flag it to the producer, and get your workstation running. Adobe After Effects opens alongside the project file you were working on until six last evening. The morning is largely heads-down work. You rebuild the timing on the end-card animation, adjusting keyframes — the markers that control when movement starts and stops — and easing the motion curves so the logo doesn't snap into place but settles naturally. You render a low-resolution preview, watch it back several times, and tweak the tracking on the tagline text so it breathes with the music bed the sound editor sent over last week.

Required Education

Leaving Certificate subjects such as Art, Design & Communication Graphics, and Maths provide a strong foundation for this career. The typical entry route is an NFQ Level 8 Honours Bachelor degree in Animation, Motion Design, Digital Media Design or a related discipline, offered at institutions such as IADT, TU Dublin, NCAD, ATU, MTU and TUS. Alternatively, a QQI Level 5 or 6 PLC course in Animation or Digital Media at a College of Further Education can provide a pathway into a Level 7 or Level 8 degree programme via the CAO or direct application. A postgraduate Level 9 qualification in Animation or Visual Effects can strengthen your prospects in competitive broadcast and film sectors. Professional development is ongoing in this field; many practitioners build portfolio skills through Screen Ireland supported programmes, industry workshops and online platform courses in current software tools.

Required Skills

Career Perspective

Most Motion Graphics Designers in Ireland begin as junior designers or motion artists within a studio, agency or post-production company, building their portfolio across a range of commercial and broadcast projects. With three to five years of experience, you typically progress to a mid-level or senior designer role, taking on greater creative responsibility and leading on individual projects or client accounts. From there, experienced practitioners may advance to roles such as Creative Director, Head of Animation or Visual Effects Supervisor, or move into freelance consultancy serving the growing Irish animation and screen sector. Screen Ireland's continued investment in domestic production has expanded the range of studio and broadcast opportunities available, particularly in Dublin, Cork and Galway.

AI Impact on the job

AI-powered tools are automating some routine motion graphics tasks, such as basic text animation, background generation and colour grading, which means designers are expected to focus more on creative direction, concept development and complex bespoke animation. Generative AI platforms are being integrated into professional workflows in After Effects and other tools, accelerating certain production stages but also raising the bar for originality and creative quality. Motion Graphics Designers who develop fluency with AI-assisted production tools alongside strong conceptual and craft skills will remain highly competitive. The human ability to interpret nuanced briefs, understand cultural context and make sensitive aesthetic judgements continues to be central to the role and is not easily replicated by current AI systems.

Career Ladder

→ Motion Graphics Designer (Current role)

Employers in Ireland

Organisations in Ireland that employ people in this occupation.

RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann)

Semi-state

Donnybrook, Dublin 4

Creates broadcast motion graphics, titles and on-air visual branding.

Virgin Media Television Ireland

Multinational

Ballymount, Dublin 12

Produces animated on-screen graphics and promos for TV channels.

Cartoon Saloon

Irish company

Kilkenny City, Co. Kilkenny

Award-winning animation studio producing film and series motion content.

Windmill Lane Pictures

Irish company

Dublin 2

Designs motion graphics and visual effects for advertising and broadcast.

Publicis Dublin

Multinational

Dublin 2

Delivers animated advertising content and brand campaigns for clients.

DDFH&B (now Havas Dublin)

Multinational

Dublin 2

Produces motion design assets for multiplatform advertising campaigns.

Magnet Networks / Core Media

Irish company

Dublin 2

Creates digital and motion content for Irish media buying and brands.

Google Ireland

Multinational

Barrow Street, Dublin 4

Develops motion graphics for internal comms, marketing and YouTube content.

Accenture Song (formerly Accenture Interactive)

Multinational

Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2

Designs animated digital experiences and branded content for global clients.

Piranha Bar

SME

Dublin 8

Specialist motion design and VFX studio for advertising and broadcast.

TG4

Semi-state

Baile na hAbhann, Co. Galway

Produces motion graphics and animated branding for Irish-language broadcasting.

Rothco (part of Accenture Song)

Irish company

Dublin 2

Creates award-winning animated and motion content for advertising campaigns.

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