Andreas Wannerstedt – “You should never underestimate the power of sharing”

An oddly satisfying interview with Andreas Wannerstedt

Andreas Wannerstedt is a motion graphics designer from Stockholm, Sweden.

His hugely popular animated Instagram videos are Oddly Satisfying, both in name and in nature. Sharing these videos has resulted in Andreas obtaining some great commissions from high-profile brands.

You can see a lot more from  Andreas Wannerstedt is in his website and Instagram.

Looking back at your portfolio, it is more graphic design orientated. When did you start to experiment with 3D modelling, and how did your current style develop?

I was introduced to graphic design and 2D animations back in 1999, when I stumbled across software like Photoshop and Flash, and I did a lot of web design and branding for a couple of years. I started to glance at 3D modelling and animation around 2007, when I was getting a bit frustrated by the limitations of 2D animations, and after seeing ‘The Third & The Seventh’ by Alex Roman a couple of years later, I got really hooked by 3D and it’s possibilities.

I started to experimented a lot with lighting and materials, and for a couple of years I was very much into architecture visualisations and photo realistic renders, and that has affected my style for sure, even though I tend to go towards a slightly more abstract look & feel nowadays with more focus on colour palettes and materials. My current style is the product of all the puzzle pieces I collected during the journey, and now I finally have the technical knowledge to realise all ideas that I envision.

In terms of the animation, what drew you towards these hypnotic loops?

Since we are surrounded by so much chaos in our everyday lives and media, I wanted to create animations that were the direct opposite to this, so I began experimenting with different animations and motion patterns where things just worked together in perfect harmony. The fact that I’m currently focusing on shorter loops depends heavily on social platforms like Instagram, where this is very suitable.

A lot of your work is comprised of personal projects, so what have been the challenges when clients such as Google commission you, assumedly with a specific brief??

Actually, I usually get a lot of creative freedom nowadays when a client commission me, which I’m really happy about, but I also do tons of commercial projects in all kinds of styles and with very specific briefs. This is not something I post on my social channels or in my portfolio very often though, because I really prefer to showcase the projects that I’ve been a part of during the entire process.

People have responded extremely positively to your animations on social media. How has that affected your work?

This has affected my work a lot, most of my clients nowadays reaches out to me after seeing my work on Instagram and it have opened a lot of doors for sure. With the help of social media, there’s a lot of potential to reach a lot of people which makes it easier to get accepted as an artist, especially if you find your own niche. You should never underestimate the power of sharing.

And finally, if you died and were reincarnated as a song, what would that song be?

Hmm, that’s a tough one. Maybe ‘Arcadia’ by Apparat.