|
This blog highlights why 2D explainer videos are powerful storytelling tools for brands. They simplify complex ideas, boost engagement, and drive conversions through creative visuals and clear narratives. Featuring 15 standout examples, it explores how motion graphics, emotional storytelling, and smart marketing make 2D videos essential for modern communication.
|
Explainer videos have become an effective method of storytelling in the digital age especially in 2D. Having vivid animations, simplified communication, and interesting characters, these videos make it easy to sell simple products or services, as well as complex ones in an entertaining, clear, and memorable way.
Being a technological start-up, an educational startup, or even a non-profit company, a 2D explainer video can demonstrate your value in a few seconds, which could not be said about the traditional advertisement.
The style that uses animation in these videos is not the only difference because they are effective in telling tales. They distill information, appeal emotionally to the viewer, and make a request without even using two minutes. Whether it is a startup that wants to enter a market in which there are already many players or a worldwide giant introducing a new feature, everyone is utilizing 2D explainer videos in a way that will increase engagement, result in conversions, and foster loyalty.
In this article, we’ll explore 15 examples of 2D explainer videos that masterfully combine creativity and clarity. These examples are one of the best animated explainer videos that offer not only entertainment but also insight into how great animation and storytelling can lead to successful campaigns.
The advantage of the 2D explainer videos consists in the combination of animation with narrative form. In most cases, most audiences are not interested in reading a lengthy description of the product, or finding their way through a confusing guide. They desire something that is visible, quick and comprehensible. That is when 2D explainer videos take the stage.
These are videos that are animated in character based or motion graphics to guide the viewer through a storyline. They present a problem and introduce a solution and demonstrate the benefit of it to the viewer without boring him. Selling is not selling alone, but it is storytelling.
A common trait among the best 2D animation examples is their ability to simplify abstract or technical subjects. Whether it's explaining a mobile app, a new fintech solution, or an internal business process, they turn complexity into clarity. They also offer consistent visual branding, which helps build trust and recognizability over time.
The demand of the 2D explainer videos in various industries is also demonstrated by their intense utilization. No matter what you do (in SaaS, healthcare, e-learning, or logistics) they will help you sum up your message and make it easily digestible, visual, and emotional.
Let’s dive into the top explainer videos that effectively combine creative visuals with strong messaging. These different types of explainer video examples highlight how 2D animation can be used in various contexts, from SaaS to education to entertainment.
Legal service offerings are often complex and difficult to communicate clearly. Clearlake Law needed a way to showcase their Legal Department as a Service model in a way that felt both professional and approachable. This is where video marketing for lawyers becomes essential.
This motion graphics explainer uses clean, industry-specific visuals and a clear voiceover to simplify the message. It turns a dense legal pitch into an engaging narrative, making the service easy to understand and trust.
A strong example of a B2B explainer video, ideal for legal tech, enterprise services, or consulting firms aiming to present layered offerings in a streamlined, high-conversion format.
Customer service is often seen as a cost center rather than a growth driver. Salesforce set out to change that perception by highlighting how Desk.com helps businesses deliver faster, smarter support.
This witty, fast-paced 2D explainer video uses bold visuals and rapid transitions to turn customer support into a dynamic, business-critical function. It makes efficiency and responsiveness feel exciting, not routine.
A sharp example of a product marketing video, ideal for SaaS tools, CX platforms, or support tech looking to reframe backend services as essential to scaling and success.
Modern teams often struggle with scattered workflows and lack of alignment. Asana’s challenge was to show how its platform brings clarity and coordination at scale, without overwhelming the viewer.
This stylized 2D explainer video turns abstract ideas like productivity and alignment into a clean, visual narrative. With a calm pace and structured design, it reframes Asana as not just a tool, but a catalyst for focused teamwork.
This is a strong example of a brand mission video, perfect for product launches, thought leadership content, or investor presentations that aim to inspire as much as inform.
One of the biggest challenges in ecommerce is turning one-time buyers into loyal, repeat customers. Mailchimp tackled this by showcasing how their integration with Shopify can automate follow-ups and drive ongoing engagement.
Through approachable 2D explainer video, the video breaks down automation, product recommendations, and email triggers into a simple, relatable story, showing how busy store owners can scale without added effort.
This is a smart example of a feature-focused integration explainer, ideal for Shopify apps, email platforms, or ecommerce tools aiming to boost adoption and educate users on high-impact use cases.
Many businesses struggle with adopting cloud technology due to its complexity and steep learning curves. Oracle’s challenge was to position its Cloud Coach Clinics as a hands-on, supportive solution that demystifies cloud transformation.
This 2D explainer video solves that by guiding viewers through a clear, step-by-step journey. Minimalist visuals and smooth transitions reinforce Oracle’s role as a trusted partner, making an abstract service feel accessible and actionable.
This is a great example of a customer success explainer, ideal for B2B onboarding, post-sale training, or enterprise software walkthroughs where trust and clarity are key.
Educators often struggle to find high-quality, creative teaching resources in one place, and Adobe wanted to change that with the relaunch of its Education Exchange. The challenge? Getting teachers excited about an abstract platform.
This animated video solves that by transforming the offering into a story about empowerment. The playful, hand-drawn visuals and upbeat pacing create a warm, human connection while clearly showing the platform’s value.
It's a strong example of a community-building explainer, perfect for education platforms, nonprofits, or social impact brands looking to engage audiences through emotion and storytelling, not just feature lists.
IBM needed to unify its global brand presence through a consistent, scalable design language. The challenge? Communicating the purpose and impact of illustration across teams and platforms.
This animated video solves that with clean motion, minimal storytelling, and systemized visuals, showing how illustration isn’t just decoration, but a core tool for clarity, empathy, and brand identity.
This is a great example of a brand guidelines explainer, perfect for internal design systems, creative onboarding, or enterprise-level storytelling where consistency, clarity, and creative alignment matter.
Managing customer service workflows across tools can be frustratingly complex. Babelforce + Zendesk tackle that challenge by integrating voice automation with CRM support, streamlining everything from call routing to ticketing.
This explainer uses clean 2D explainer video and clear visual metaphors to show how automation reduces manual tasks and empowers support teams. It turns an integration pitch into a relatable, problem-solving story.
A strong fit for tech integrations, B2B SaaS explainers, or support automation platforms, this video shows how animation can bridge the gap between technical functionality and everyday benefits.
Organizations often struggle to turn scattered data into meaningful, actionable experiences. Qualtrics needed to communicate how their Operating Framework bridges that gap by connecting feedback to real-time decision-making.
This sleek 2D explainer video breaks down a complex ecosystem into a logical, visual flow, making abstract concepts like experience management feel tangible and structured.
It’s a great example of a strategic framework explainer, perfect for enterprise platforms, CX tools, or data-driven service providers looking to simplify layered systems and showcase their value clearly and confidently.
Planning projects in spreadsheets leads to misalignment, missed deadlines, and zero visibility. Asana’s challenge was to introduce Timeline as a smarter, more intuitive way to visualize work from start to finish.
This vibrant 2D explain video uses smooth transitions and real-life scenarios to show how teams can map out dependencies, adjust plans, and stay in sync. The animation simplifies features into clear, engaging moments.
A strong example of a feature launch video, ideal for product updates, SaaS onboarding, or workflow management tools looking to show how functionality translates directly to team success.
Modern work feels chaotic, emails, meetings, and tools scattered everywhere. Slack set out to show how their platform brings sanity to that madness by centralizing communication and simplifying collaboration.
This fast-paced, character-driven animation exaggerates the chaos of modern work before seamlessly introducing Slack as the calming, organized solution. The humor and stylized visuals make the message stick.
It’s a standout brand awareness video, ideal for product intros, culture marketing, or campaigns targeting overwhelmed teams looking for clarity, speed, and cohesion in the way they work.
Collaborating on automations can be messy, especially when workflows are hard to replicate or share. Zapier tackled this by introducing Zap Sharing, making it easier for users to pass on time-saving workflows.
This vibrant animation uses bold color, expressive characters, and minimal UI visuals to break down a technical feature into an easy, relatable story. The tone stays light while the message stays clear.
It’s a great fit for feature announcements, SaaS tutorials, or community-driven platforms looking to drive engagement and boost adoption through shareability and ease-of-use.
For enterprise customers, the cloud can feel like an abstract, overwhelming shift. Microsoft needed to showcase its cloud as more than storage, it’s a platform for innovation, agility, and smarter business.
This visually striking animation uses metaphor-driven storytelling, light bulbs, clouds, and connected cities, to make the unseen feel powerful and human. The vibrant art direction turns tech into vision.
A standout example of a visionary brand film, perfect for enterprise tech companies, digital transformation messaging, or future-of-work narratives that aim to inspire decision-makers and communicate scale with elegance.
Designers often face the challenge of building consistent, intuitive experiences across platforms. Google’s Material.io was built to solve this, offering a unified design system to streamline UI development and maintain visual harmony.
This elegant animation uses tactile, modular visuals to bring the design principles of Material to life. Each movement reinforces structure, clarity, and interaction in a way that feels tangible and inspiring.
A perfect design system explainer, ideal for product teams, developer onboarding, or brand toolkit rollouts looking to simplify adoption and showcase the power of design consistency.
Scalable email delivery can be a nightmare for growing businesses, broken APIs, deliverability issues, and poor support. Twilio SendGrid set out to fix that by offering a developer-friendly email API trusted by leading brands.
This clean, technical animation highlights flexibility, speed, and support, showing how developers can build confidently from MVP to global scale. The visuals match the no-frills power of the platform.
A perfect example of a developer-focused product explainer, great for API-first tools, SaaS platforms, or infrastructure products that need to communicate reliability, performance, and ease of integration.
When you apply the 2D explainer video in your marketing, you do not just obtain the images. It causes your brand to sound alive and talks with a voice. Whether it is product demo, education or stories about the brand, explainer videos will bring up more visibility, trust and sell.
Here’s how businesses use it effectively:
Particularly, startups can gain a lot out of using 2D explainer videos since they have higher ROI in the context of the relatively low investments required to produce them. And as the bar of entry tools such as AI voiceovers or web animators goes up, the barrier of entry goes down.
The effectiveness of stunning explainer videos in marketing isn’t just anecdotal. Statistics show that pages with explainer video content saw average visit duration rise by 83% (zelios), and videos increase the likelihood of a purchase by up to 85% (wipstar). So if you’re not using video yet, get in touch with a cost-effective 2D animation company right away because you’re leaving conversions on the table.
Across all these examples and strategies, one thing is clear: the success of a 2D explainer video depends on how well the explainer video production is and how smartly it’s used.
Let’s recap key lessons:
From animated video examples like Dropbox to emotionally-driven platforms like Headspace, these campaigns have one thing in common: they respect the viewer’s time and intelligence.
The time is tight and competition is increasing, so 2D explainer videos are becoming more significant than ever. They are also optimized to mobile screens, they can be re-used on different platforms, and provide large ROI even to small companies.
Your choice of the motion graphic video format you use can be B2B or the explainer videos you use on social media, but 2D explainer videos let you handle your story like never before. It also makes your brand appear human and accessible, which static visuals and text lack most of the time.
So if you're looking for a versatile, high-performing tool to tell your story, now is the perfect time to estimate explainer video cost and invest in 2D explainer videos. They’re not just a trend, they’re a staple of modern digital communication.