Michele Hratko


Sea Jelly Typeface Animation 


Inspired by being mesmerized by jellyfish in the aquarium as a child,
I created an organic typeface and animated it to reflect the movement of jellyfish. I studied a livestream of the jellyfish exhibit, and noticed that as the jellyfish move, it feels like they are popping out towards the viewer and then floating back into the distance. I recreated this movement in After Effects by changing the opacity, size, and paths of each letter.

Type Design & Animation
Time: July 2022
Role: Sole designer
Tools: Illustrator, After Effects



Reflection
This was my first time both making a typeface and using After Effects, so it was challenging but exciting to learn something new. My inspiration for the letters was the organic forms and fluidity of jellyfish. Despite the abstract nature of the forms, I tried to duplicate common elements throughout the letters such as the stem of the F copied through similar letters like the A, H, I, K, L, and M. Letters also have the same tapering strokes in the cross bars of the A, E, F, and H. Looking back on this project, I would definitely create a more consistent set of “rules” for the letters; some elements were freehanded across letters, making the alphabet feel disjointed in some places. Yet the project was a great opportunity to explore the process of designing typefaces and applying them to a broader design project.  

When animating, my biggest obstacle was creating the moving jellyfish at the beginning and organizing the layers in After Effects for all of the moving letters.




Previous
Contact
Updated June 2025