Celebrating Two Decades of Motion Design: Motionographer Partners with Motion Plus Design for a Landmark New York Weekend

For twenty years, Motionographer has operated without ads or corporate sponsors, serving as a singular digital publication dedicated to spotlighting motion design, animation, and the creators behind the craft. Rather than celebrating this two-decade milestone with a traditional digital retrospective, the platform has announced it will mark the occasion live and in person. The milestone will be commemorated over a packed weekend in New York City, anchored by a strategic media partnership with the globally renowned conference Motion Plus Design.

The convergence of Motionographer’s twentieth anniversary and the return of Motion Plus Design to New York City has transformed a standard conference weekend into a major cultural convergence for the global motion design community. Scheduled for late September 2026, the collaboration includes an exclusive rooftop gathering for industry pioneers, a full-day summit featuring top-tier international speakers, and a late-night anniversary celebration in Brooklyn.

Background Context and the Evolution of Motion Plus Design

Founded fifteen years ago by Kook Ewo, Motion Plus Design was established to cultivate a space dedicated strictly to the craft of motion design rather than commercial pitching. Over the past decade and a half, the event has expanded its footprint from its origins in Paris to Tokyo, Los Angeles, and recently, New York City.

The conference has built a reputation for offering deep dives into artistic processes, technical workflows, and the personal journeys of industry-leading animators, directors, and studios. Following a successful inaugural New York edition last year, the 2026 event represents the conference’s second staging in the city. The growing scale of the venue—hosting the event at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn—reflects the surging demand for physical spaces where digital artists can connect, share techniques, and evaluate the trajectory of the medium.

Motionographer’s decision to align its twentieth anniversary with this specific event underscores a shared philosophy: that the culture of motion design is best sustained through direct community engagement and an uncompromising focus on artistic integrity.

Chronology of the Anniversary Weekend Events

The anniversary weekend unfolds across a carefully curated timeline designed to balance exclusive industry networking with large-scale public programming.

Friday, September 25: Founder House and Exclusive Access

The weekend commences the night before the main conference with a private gathering on a lower Manhattan rooftop. Dubbed "Founder House," this invitation-only event is set to bring together approximately eighty individuals, including conference speakers and the architects who built Motionographer over the last twenty years. Eschewing formal corporate structures, the evening will feature projections of the current year’s Motion Awards winners looping against adjacent building facades.

To integrate its broader readership into the celebration, Motionographer and Motion Plus Design have coordinated an exclusive ticket-holder sweepstakes. Twenty seats for the private rooftop gathering have been allocated to attendees who purchase a conference ticket by Wednesday, September 23. Winners will be selected via a randomized draw managed directly by Motion Plus Design and notified via email on Thursday, September 24.

Saturday, September 26: The Main Conference at Roulette Intermedium

The core of the weekend takes place on Saturday, September 26, at Roulette Intermedium, located at 509 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Doors open at 1:00 PM, initiating an intensive afternoon of presentations, technical showcases, and creative retrospectives.

The 2026 speaker lineup highlights a diverse cross-section of contemporary motion design and technological infrastructure. The schedule features prominent independent directors, studio founders, and representatives from cutting-edge software and hardware platforms:

• 1:00 PM – Doors Open
• 1:30 PM – Opening Speech
• 1:45 PM – Mehdi Hadi
• 2:15 PM – Spenser Dickerson (Render Network)
• 2:25 PM – Saad Moosajee
• 3:15 PM – Bhakti Patel
• 3:45 PM – Danée Gosset
• 4:35 PM – Brian Yoo
• 5:05 PM – Áron Filkey (Runway)
• 5:35 PM – Rachel Brickel
• 6:25 PM – Vallée Duhamel
• 7:15 PM – Event Conclusion

The inclusion of technological partners such as Render Network and Runway highlights the increasing convergence between traditional animation artistry and emerging artificial intelligence and decentralized cloud rendering tools.

Saturday Night: The Twentieth Anniversary Party at Deluxx Fluxx

Immediately following the conclusion of the conference at 7:15 PM, attendees and the broader creative community are invited to transition to the evening’s closing event. The Mamacita Latin and hip-hop event at Deluxx Fluxx—located beneath Webster Hall—will double as Motionographer’s official twentieth-anniversary party, with doors opening at 10:00 PM.

Entry to the post-conference celebration is managed via free digital ticketing platform Dice. Due to anticipated high demand and limited venue capacity, organizers have strongly encouraged attendees to secure tickets in advance.

Supporting Production Data and Visual Identity

The visual identity and promotional materials for the 2026 conference have been helmed by a prominent production team, reinforcing the high standard of craft expected from the event participants. The official trailer for Motion Plus Design New York 2026 was produced by Yeti Pictures, under the executive production of Emmanouela Makraki and direction and creative direction by Tony Zagoraios.

The 3D design and animation pipeline for the promotional assets involved a large collective of artists, including Marios Tsaousis, Pantelis Tsiachris, Angeliki Hristoff, Eleni Margoudi, Ilias Chalkiopoulos, Argyris Nochos, and Stefanos Goudouvas. Audio branding and sound design were executed by Rabbeats, featuring original music by Stratos Diamantis and sound design and mixing by Thodoris Kordolaimis and Antonis Georgou.

Broader Impact and Industry Implications

The longevity of Motionographer serves as an accidental case study in digital publishing models within the creative industries. Surviving for two decades without traditional advertising or corporate sponsorship models demonstrates a rare sustainability anchored entirely in reader loyalty, community relevance, and an authentic editorial voice.

Industry analysts note that as digital media platforms increasingly consolidate under venture-backed models or rely heavily on programmatic advertising, independent trade publications focused on niche arts like motion design face acute operational pressures. Motionographer’s milestone highlights the viability of community-supported journalism and curation, proving that specialized platforms can endure by maintaining a strict alignment with their audience’s core interests.

Furthermore, the partnership with Motion Plus Design points to a broader trend of hybrid community building. While digital platforms remain essential for daily dissemination, the motion design industry continues to place a high premium on physical, place-based gatherings. These conferences and associated social events function not merely as educational seminars, but as critical social infrastructure for an industry largely composed of remote workers, freelancers, and distributed boutique studios.

As the motion design sector navigates rapid technological shifts—particularly the integration of generative AI pipelines and cloud-based rendering architectures—gatherings like the New York City conference provide vital forums for critical discourse. By bringing together foundational artists and representatives from next-generation software platforms, the event facilitates necessary conversations regarding authorship, copyright, technical adaptation, and the future evolution of the moving image.

Practical Information and Event Logistics

• Event: Motion Plus Design New York 2026
• Conference Date: Saturday, September 26, 2026, 1:00 PM to 7:15 PM
• Venue: Roulette Intermedium, 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
• Ticketing: Conference tickets are available via Eventbrite, with promotional discounts supplied through Motionographer partnerships.
• Anniversary Celebration: Motionographer 20th Anniversary at Deluxx Fluxx (Mamacita party), with free registration available via Dice.
• Additional Resources: The official conference trailer and complete speaker bios can be accessed via the official Motion Plus Design and Motionographer web portals.