BIEN Motion Design Backs Inclusivity with School of Motion Partnership

Inclusive motion design studio, BIEN, has today announced its further commitment to inclusivity in the motion-design industry, partnering with the leading course provider for the commercial animation industry, the School of Motion. 

Committed to levelling the playing field for aspiring motion designers, School of Motion delivers world-class online education for artists around the world. Stripping away costly tuition fees and the timetable demands of typical college education, they have democratised access to the industry by making their courses affordable and flexible, allowing students to learn the basics of motion design within a matter of months, as opposed to years. 

School of Motion currently offers a Community Inclusion Scholarship, to provide educational resources to historically underrepresented groups within the motion design industry, with successful applicants receiving a free place on a course of their choice. In an extension of this offering, BIEN will offer eight students who have completed their first course an additional scholarship for a second course of their choosing. 

Selected recipients will be given career counselling, a portfolio review, industry tips, and access to the BIEN Motion Survival Kit (BIEN MSK). This provides in-depth materials and resources designed to give up-and-coming motion designers an inside look at everything required to navigate the field after graduation. 

The new partnership is a further example of BIEN’s tactical work to improve inclusivity in the industry. This includes investing profits into a new generation of motion-graphic talent, embedding them into client projects to learn directly from senior creatives and build their portfolio. 

Hung Le, creative director, BIEN said, “The best way to move from intention to impact is to commit time and effort beyond the scholarships. Real changes don’t happen overnight with one effort - that’s why we strategically find many different ways to create change. In this, our goals align with the School of Motion’s, and we know their offerings are effective because some of our own amazing animators took classes there, and continue to level up with their courses!”

He adds, "Empowering the next generation of designers and animators who will be creating the future of pop culture with inclusivity in mind is how we “design with, not for.” This is still an experiment for us, and we hope to learn from this partnership and iterate on it. It does take a village to increase diversity and inclusion, and we are always reaching out to build that village one brick at a time.”

Alaena Vandermost, CEO, School of Motion, comments, “Part of School of Motion’s mission has always been to break down the barriers to the motion design industry and education. Our scholarship program was created in 2020 initially as a Covid Relief Scholarship, but has expanded to sustain our mission. We are honoured to be a part of so many talented artists’ stories and look forward to continuing to grow the scholarship’s reach with partnerships like BIEN.”