In recent years, GIFs have become popular as a means of communication for personal and business use. GIFs are used in text messages, emails, and on social media platforms. These digital formats are a great way for an individual or a business to creatively relay information to an audience. GIFs are visually appealing and can immediately draw the attention of intended audiences through the motion that they feature. The use of GIFs can be thought of as “showstoppers” in layout design as they directly call attention to the post. GIFs demand people to stop reading the rest of the information on the screens of their devices and to watch the video that is already playing.

Living in a society where people are constantly reading information on social media platforms, companies and individuals must find ways to obtain the attention of an audience through unexpected means. One way is to let GIFS tell a visual story. GIFs can be used to showcase a funny, motivational or educational matter. Regardless of the subject of the GIF, creativity should always be sought, and it is best to keep the GIF brief in length to avoid losing an audience’s attention.

For businesses, GIFs can help engagement with a brand and should be used in marketing tactics. GIFs stand out when people are scrolling through social media feeds. They also allow a company or individual to be more relatable and interesting to a target audience as they are generally light-hearted or funny.

One journalism rule that is often stated among communicators is “show don’t tell.” The use of GIFs can effectively share a story through images that otherwise could not have been told through solely using words, and therefore, shows the audience information rather than telling them.

Steps to create a GIF:

Step 1: Create a Photoshop document

Step 2: Upload images in Photoshop

Step 3: Open the Timeline window

Step 4: Click on “Make Frames from Layers” under the Timeline panel

Step 5: Set the amount of time for each image to display under the Timeline panel

Step 6: Change the number of times you want the GIF to play under the Timeline panel

Step 7: Playback your GIF under the Timeline panel

Step 8: Export Photoshop document as a GIF

Video Tutorial: Please follow along with the tutorial below to learn how to create a GIF in under 3 minutes. The images used in the tutorial can be downloaded from below.

Download images used in the video here: https://bit.ly/2Dpz3TR