Honest answers
to real questions.

Yes, all the best projects start here. You don't need a finished brief or a clearly defined scope to have a first conversation. What matters is that you have something you're trying to communicate, explain, or achieve.

We're happy to talk through options, suggest approaches, and help you work out what kind of animation or video would actually serve your goals. This happens before any commitment is made on either side. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so.

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Send us a message via the contact page with as much or as little detail as you have. We'll read it carefully and come back to you within two working days.

From there, we'll arrange a call or exchange to understand what you're working on, what you need the audience to do or feel, and what success looks like for the project. These conversations shape everything that follows, including whether we proceed and on what terms.

Not at the moment. Norburn Design currently works with UK-based clients only, because our business bank account cannot accept international payments.

Within the UK, location makes no difference. Everything is handled remotely: files are delivered digitally, feedback is handled by email or video call, and every stage of the process is documented clearly, so wherever you are, you always know what is happening and what is coming next.

If you are based outside the UK and think your project might still be a fit, you are welcome to ask via the contact page.

Both, depending on what the project is. We work with independent businesses, startups, and SMEs as well as larger organisations, and we approach every project with the same level of care regardless of scale.

What matters more than project size is whether the work is a good fit. A focused 60-second explainer for a small business can be just as interesting and impactful as a large-scale production. If you're not sure whether your project qualifies, just ask via the contact page.

The right choice depends on what you're trying to communicate and the tone you want to set - not just aesthetics or budget.

2D animation tends to feel warmer, more graphic, and more stylised. It's well suited to explainer videos, character-driven stories, and content that needs a clean, friendly look. These are typically produced more quickly and at lower cost than 3D.

3D animation adds depth, physicality, and realism. It's the right choice when you need to show a product accurately, create an immersive environment, simulate a real-world process, or deliver something with a more premium cinematic feel. It requires more production time, but the results are often significantly more impressive.

Many projects use a little bit of both, for example, a 3D character in a 2D environment, or motion graphics combined with a 3D product reveal. We'll advise on the approach that best serves your brief during our initial conversation.

An explainer video is a short animated film, typically between 60 and 180 seconds, designed to make one thing clear to a specific audience. That one thing might be how a product works, why a process matters, what a service does, or what an organisation stands for.

They work particularly well when you need to onboard new customers, introduce a product to people unfamiliar with the category, train staff on a process or policy, or replace a lengthy document that nobody reads.

If you're not sure whether your communication challenge fits the format, tell us about it and we'll give you an honest opinion.

Motion graphics is the discipline of bringing graphic design to life, by animating typography, shapes, data, icons, and brand elements to communicate information or reinforce identity. Think: an animated logo reveal, a data visualisation that builds over time, or kinetic text that punctuates a presentation.

The distinction from animation is largely one of emphasis: animation is character and narrative driven, motion graphics are design and information driven. In practice, most commercial work draws on both. A corporate explainer might use motion graphics to present statistics while an animated character guides the viewer through them.

We offer full end-to-end production, which includes scriptwriting, storyboarding, design, animation, voiceover direction, music, and sound design. You don't need to arrive with any of that in place.

That said, if you have a script you're happy with, or a preferred voiceover artist, or brand music you want to use, we're equally comfortable working with those. We adapt to what the project needs rather than insisting on a fixed workflow.

Where voiceover is required, we work with a network of professional voice artists across a range of styles, accents, and languages. If you have something specific in mind, let us know early.

Yes. If you have a brand guidelines document, share it at the start of the project and we'll use it as the foundation for all visual decisions: colour, typography, iconography, tone, and style. The goal is always for the animation to feel like a natural extension of your existing brand, not something bolted on.

If your brand guidelines don't include motion guidance (most don't), we'll propose an approach during the style frames stage for you to review and approve before production begins.

Yes. We have experience working within games engine environments, even Godot. Game engines have become an area of increasing interest within the corporate education and training sector over the past few years. If your project involves interactive experiences, virtual productions, or simply just assets, let us know and we can discuss what's possible.

Every project follows a clear sequence, with defined checkpoints where you review and approve before we move forward. In brief: concept development → script and storyboard → design and style frames → sound and music → animation → review and revisions → final delivery.

Each stage is completed and signed off before the next begins. This protects both of us. It means expensive changes late in production are avoided because all the fundamental decisions have been made and agreed early, when they're easy to adjust.

You can read a detailed breakdown of each stage on our Process page.

As involved as you want to be - with some caveats. The early stages (brief, script, storyboard, and design) genuinely benefit from your active input. The more we understand your goals, audience, and preferences at the start, the less likely we are to produce something that misses the mark.

During the animation and sound stages, most clients prefer to step back and let us work. We'll surface anything that requires a decision, but we won't ask for your approval on things we can handle ourselves.

We communicate clearly and frequently enough that you're never left wondering what's happening, but never so frequently that we become a distraction from your actual job.

At the very start, not much, a sense of what you're trying to achieve and who the audience is. As the project develops, we'll ask for: any existing brand materials (logo files, guidelines, fonts), references for the visual style you're drawn to, any copy or scripts you already have, and details about where the finished video will be used (platform, format, aspect ratio).

We'll give you a clear checklist of everything we need before each stage begins, so nothing catches you by surprise.

We have a structured feedback process rather than an open-ended email chain. At each review stage, we'll share a draft and ask you to consolidate your feedback into a single document or call: one round of consolidated notes per stage, rather than a drip of incremental changes.

This approach is more efficient for everyone and avoids the situation where responding to one note introduces a conflict with another. The number of revision rounds included is agreed upfront as part of the project scope, and is clearly documented before work begins.

We're direct about what we think is working and what isn't, and we expect the same in return. Clear, honest feedback at review stages makes the final result better.

Yes, without hesitation. If your project involves commercially sensitive material, an unannounced product, proprietary process, internal training content, or anything else you'd prefer to keep confidential, we're happy to sign a mutual NDA before any details are shared. This is standard practice for many of the projects we work on.

Simply mention it when you first get in touch and we'll sort the paperwork before the conversation goes any further.

It depends on the scope and complexity, but as a general guide:

A focused 60–90 second explainer video or motion graphics piece typically takes two to three weeks from brief to delivery, assuming reasonably prompt feedback at each review stage.

A longer or more complex production (a multi-part series, a 3D animation with custom character rigs, or a project involving motion capture) will take longer, often eight to twelve weeks or more. We'll give you a realistic timeline estimate during our initial conversation, and we'll document milestones clearly in the project agreement.

The single biggest variable in any timeline is client feedback turnaround. Projects where feedback is provided quickly at each stage always complete on time. We'll agree reasonable response windows at the outset so everyone has a clear expectation.

Tell us your deadline at the very first point of contact, before anything else. If the timeline is workable, we'll plan the project around it. If it isn't, we'll tell you honestly rather than agree to a deadline we can't meet.

Rush timelines are sometimes possible depending on current availability and the scope of the work. They may involve a premium to reflect the compression of the schedule. We won't cut corners on quality to hit a date, but we will work hard to find a solution that serves both the deadline and the work.

Yes, and we'd encourage it. If you know a project is coming, even if the brief isn't finalised yet, getting in touch early means we can hold capacity in the schedule and avoid disappointment when you're ready to start.

For clients with ongoing or recurring production needs, we can also discuss a retained arrangement that gives you priority access to production time without needing to re-engage from scratch for each project.

Honestly, it varies considerably, and anyone who gives you a fixed price for animation without understanding your brief is guessing. What we can say is that cost is driven by four main factors: the length and complexity of the animation, the visual style (2D vs 3D, character-driven vs graphic), whether we're writing the script and producing the audio, and the timeline.

A focused 60-second 2D explainer with a straightforward brief sits at a very different price point to a 3D product visualisation with custom character animation and original music. Both are things we do, and both represent good value relative to the impact well-executed animation delivers.

The most useful thing you can do is share your brief, and if you have a budget in mind, tell us. Knowing your budget isn't a negotiation tactic; it's information that lets us propose the approach that gets you the most value within your constraints, rather than proposing something you can't afford.

We work on fixed-price project agreements, not hourly rates. Once we understand your scope, we'll provide a clear proposal with a defined deliverable, a defined number of revision rounds, and a fixed cost. You know what you're paying before you commit.

This protects you from bill shock and protects us from scope creep. If the project scope changes significantly after we've agreed terms, we'll discuss the implications openly before proceeding. No surprises on either side.

Standard terms are a deposit to confirm the project and begin work, with the balance due on delivery of the final approved file. The exact split is outlined in the project agreement and varies depending on project size and duration.

For larger or longer projects, milestone-based payments may be agreed, for example, a payment on completion of the storyboard stage and another on delivery. We'll always be transparent about payment expectations before work begins.

Yes. For clients with a regular need for animation or video content, internal comms teams, marketing departments, e-learning providers, or agencies, a retained arrangement can offer both cost efficiency and scheduling priority.

Retainers are structured around your specific needs, so there's no one-size-fits-all model. If this sounds relevant to your situation, mention it when you get in touch and we can discuss what would work.

We deliver in whatever formats you need for the platforms you're using. That typically includes high-resolution master files (H.264 or ProRes MOV), web-optimised versions for embedding or social media, and format-specific exports for platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or internal LMS systems.

If you know in advance where the video will be used, tell us at the start and we'll factor the required specifications into production. If your needs change after delivery, say, you need a square crop for Instagram after originally commissioning a landscape version, we can usually accommodate this for a small additional fee.

On full delivery and receipt of final payment, intellectual property rights in the finished animation transfer to you. You own it outright and can use it for any purpose within the agreed scope without further fees or permissions.

Source files and working project files remain the property of Norburn Design Ltd unless their transfer is explicitly included in the project agreement. If you need source files, for example, to make your own edits in future, this can be arranged and will be reflected in the project terms.

Where third-party licensed assets are used (music, stock footage, voice talent), the relevant licences will be documented and passed on to you at delivery.

Yes. Post-delivery amends, such as updating a product name, changing a phone number, swapping a logo, or re-versioning for a new market, are handled as a separate piece of work, quoted on a case-by-case basis depending on the complexity of the change.

We retain the project files for a reasonable period after delivery to make future amends straightforward. If you're likely to need regular updates to your animation, it's worth flagging this at the start so we can structure the project accordingly.

We may ask to include the finished work in our portfolio and use it in promotional contexts. However, we will always ask for your permission before doing so, especially where the content is commercially sensitive or where client confidentiality is a factor.

If you'd prefer your project not to be featured, simply let us know. We respect that preference entirely and it has no bearing on how the project is approached or delivered.

We'd want to know, and we'd want to fix it. The structured review and approval process is designed specifically to surface and resolve concerns at the right stage, which is why the sign-off at each milestone matters. A direction that's agreed at the storyboard stage shouldn't come as a surprise at final delivery.

That said, if something isn't right at the end of a project, we'll have an honest conversation about what the issue is and what can reasonably be done within the agreed scope. We don't walk away from problems, and we don't hide behind contract terms. Our reputation depends on clients being genuinely satisfied with the work.