09
Motion
If you think motion design shouldn’t be an afterthought or a nice to have, you landed in the right place. Motion brings focus on the right details and elevates our visual language.
Our motion design system is an expression of our brand values, it creates a consistent and coherent language across all media platforms and it’s a strong guide for anyone producing motion content at Pleo, as well as streamlining production.
MOTION PRINCIPLES
Whether we use gentle and subtle movements or bold attention-grabbing motion, our core creative concept is rooted in our brand principles:
01
Painless, frictionless and effortless
Fluid, dynamic, sharp and expressive transitions make the experience flawless. Effortless is everything that never distracts.
Attention and precision are crucial; we don't leave things to chance. The careful focus on details and accuracy in motion is what brings the final piece together.
02
Going beyond
Motion is a powerful tool to delight the eye. We go beyond, finding moments of unexpected fun and magic.
03
Effective and empowering
Motion for us is not just about looking good; it’s about making sure we communicate effectively and leave a lasting impression, whether it’s a video, a presentation or any other animated format. We live by the mantra: never overcomplicate, animation never gets in the way, it gives a sense of empowerment.
ANIMATED LOGO
Our animated logo is a dynamic, playful expression of our static horizontal wordmark. The animated logo can add visual interest to designs that allow for motion and to bookend content like presentations, adverts, and videos.
STANDARD VERSION
Pleo is Europe’s go-to spending solution. We automate tedious spending processes, giving money and time back to teams to focus on value-adding work.
ABRIDGED VERSION
Meet Pleo: Europe’s leading business spending solution that simplifies spending for everyone at your company. Give your employees a smart company card to buy the things they need so you can forget about missing receipts. Get real-time spend visibility, feel in control of your finances and slash your admin thanks to automated expense management, invoices, and reimbursements. Join the 30,000+ companies using Pleo to focus on the work that matters.
MOGO
noun. Our logo but this time, musical. We worked with the quite wonderful analogue electronics pioneer José Orozco Mora to produce this little ditty. You’ll find our mogo stamped at the end of our branded videos and maybe one day on TV.
TYPOGRAPHY
Always consider the environment you’re animating the text in, is it an ad? Is it an explainer video? Is it a campaign? We’ve put some examples in place.
BEHAVIOUR
When putting things in motion, keep in mind some basic animation principles: setting, timings and action. Avoid too many things happening at the same time, or jittery animations. We aim at creating movements that feel relaxed or exciting at times, depending on the context.
CURVE: EASE IN
CURVE: EASE OUT
EASING
OFFSET
SCALE
OPACITY
11
Photo/Video
Welcome to Pleo’s photography and videography guidelines. In this section, we’ll take you behind the scenes of what goes into every photo and video shoot at Pleo. From our philosophy to the rules we live by, it isn’t always as simple as point-and-shoot.
The fintech industry is overrun with flat product renders and over-stylised imagery. However, our focus is always on people and their work. When shooting campaigns or events, we use real customers and models spanning a range of different ages, body types, genders, and ethnicities.
Our photos should have a loose editorial feel and be as natural as possible, capturing everyday people in everyday life. They should be confident, approachable and human.
RULES TO LIVE BY
01
We always authentically capture customers – nothing should look like stock imagery.
02
We aren’t afraid to shoot from fairly close up. This makes things feel more casual and intimate.
03
Facial expressions should showcase confidence – we want the subject to project ease and be in control. They should always look natural, avoiding clichéd poses.
04
The composition should reflect candid moments. It should feel like we’re capturing their everyday life, making it feel authentic and spontaneous.
05
Our use of a hard flash is to fill up the whole foreground and background, keeping the colours consistent, alive and with high levels of contrast.
06
Nothing is hidden behind blurry backgrounds. We keep the foreground and background relatively sharp.
07
Strike a balance in the amount of visual noise in the background – an organised mess is what we’re striving for. It should be rich in detail but shouldn’t be distracting.
08
Mix both asymmetrical and symmetrical shots. Asymmetry adds a more dynamic, un-staged feel. Meanwhile, symmetry heroes the individual by putting them front and centre, literally.
KEEP IN MIND...
01
Relatability
We do this by showcasing people in realistic situations, avoiding unnatural exaggeration and overacting. The mundane struggles, moments of joy, and daily life seen through our lens are believable and evoke memories of lived situations.
02
Background
What’s happening in the background should be simple. Using the space smartly is key to the success of photography. A certain degree of imperfection is also welcome, but avoid messy environments which can occur with hard flash photography.
03
Clothing
There is not one universal answer on how to achieve this, however, the broader our base is, the more relatable we’ll be. People should be dressed in contemporary clothes and not *overly* trendy or cool. We should be relatable to the industry and place they are working in.
04
Props
We consider the environment and equipment used in the industry photographed. Not every business has the latest Macs or iPhones. The right furniture, props, and location, can elevate the overall feel of the photography.
CAPTURING THE FINANCE LEADER
Finance leaders and admins should always be captured at ease and in control. These forward-thinkers should have a sense of relief when using Pleo, and this should be conveyed through photography.
STANDARD VERSION
Pleo is Europe’s go-to spending solution. We automate tedious spending processes, giving money and time back to teams to focus on value-adding work.
ABRIDGED VERSION
Meet Pleo: Europe’s leading business spending solution that simplifies spending for everyone at your company. Give your employees a smart company card to buy the things they need so you can forget about missing receipts. Get real-time spend visibility, feel in control of your finances and slash your admin thanks to automated expense management, invoices, and reimbursements. Join the 30,000+ companies using Pleo to focus on the work that matters.
CAPTURING THE PLEO PRODUCT
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
Regular signs of usage, covers, or protection sleeves are welcome as they make it more authentic and human.
We’re mindful when taking photos with flash. It makes dust and fingerprints a lot more visible, so make sure to clean the surfaces.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
We aim for diversity in product photography and we achieve this by:
Straight to the point
Brush and stroke
When photographing devices for UI mock-ups, we consider the angle of the screen. It should feel natural and readable for the viewer to see. If hands are involved, for example typing on a laptop, we make sure they’re captured in actual motion. And we avoid covering the screens with our hands or objects. Additionally, we aim to have alternate versions of the photo. I.e. the same photo with different devices (fx. swap laptops from Mac to Windows). UI is added in post-production.
Spending scenario
Brush and stroke
Our main focus is on the interaction between a phone or laptop and the Pleo app. We don’t capture the screen, instead, we place the app UI next to the subject or device. We keep in mind the space around for placing the UI next to the object, for which mid and wide angles are ideal.
Eagle eye perspective =
admin seeing spending in real-time
We make sure to frame photos from the leveraged point of view, this gives us a better perspective of what is happening in real-time. We want to focus on the act of spending, fx. taxi, coffee, meeting etc. as shown in examples. It’s like being on the spot when the expense occurs.
HOW TO MOCKUP UI IN PHOTOGRAPHY
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
First things first, we always make sure we’re using an updated version of the UI.
When using Photoshop, we play with opacity, fill, and screen mode. We always consider keeping natural light reflections captured on a photo to make it look more realistic.
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
We capture the Pleo product in real-life environments.
Our features shown in photography/videography should be displayed on computers or mobiles according to the industry we’re targeting. For example, engineers or finance most likely work on PCs, rather than Macs.
Particularly in wider shots showcasing a work environment, desktops might look more interesting with signs of life on them. Whether that’s a drink, notebooks, or plants.
Finally, we always look for opportunities to add easter eggs…
Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
Passers-by looking to explore good brand work
