Explainer videos are effective tools to communicate your ideas, solution, product or even services in a short amount of time to your intended audience. However, your explainer video will only be effective if it is done right in its approach, and of course, the quality has to live up to expectations so people will actually watch it.

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There are numerous approaches that you can consider when making an explainer video, be it 2 dimensional animation (2D), 3 dimensional (3D), motion graphics, live action or even just a compilation of stock footages. Your messages and visuals must be on point, straightforward and aesthetically appealing to your target audience. Whichever approach or style that you opt for, it has to be relevant to your content and branding so viewers will be able to identify with your brand.

In this article, we take a look at one of the most sought-after styles in explainer video that is line-based (or so called line-art). These videos utilized line-based illustrations and transitions. The end result is often sleek, minimalistic and creates an overall modern sophisticated look.

To help you understand this style better, we have handpicked a few of the outstanding line-based explainer videos for your viewing pleasure.

Hyatt Unbound Collection

The Unbound Collection by Hyatt teamed up with Dress Code, a full service design-focused production company to come up with a super stylish and sleek explainer video with illustrations of different destinations and experiences, stitched together with super smooth transitions that will make you want to discover more.

Mailchimp // Marketing Platform

Mailchimp partnered up with Giant Ant to create this work of art consisting of well-crafted eccentric illustrations, commissioned from artists around the world by the agency R/GA. This video clearly serves its purpose “to bring Mailchimp’s new ‘expert absurdist’ absurdly to life”, as quoted by Giant Ant.

KFC – Hand Cookin’

As a world-renowned fried chicken brand, KFC adopted thin line illustrations in this “finger lickin’ good” animation produced by Buck. Incorporating real footages of fried chicken and burgers, this is like a story that was never told before and it makes us thinking about ordering KFC for dinner.

Animated Podcast Intro Sequence

This exquisite and seamless line-based explainer video was created by the Demo Duck team for a podcast intro sequence. The animation sequence showed how individual experiences help to create warmth and human interaction, just like the host Nora McInermy who always associate with her guests using her immeasurable empathy for others.

Primavera Sound Line Up 2016

Primavera Sound is a music festival that takes place between end of May and beginning of June in Barcelona and Porto. This video was created for Primavera 2016, with a genius script to match with out-of-the-box illustrations and storyline to reveal the whole line-up of the festival. The video centred on a character’s memories about good and bad moments, about love and sadness, connected by the names of the bands lined up to play in the festival.

Zanussi – 100 Years of Storing Food

Zanussi, an Italian producer of home appliances created this lovely line-based animation to celebrate their 100 years of clever ideas and innovations, giving viewers a history lesson on their most precious household appliances.

BLACKLIST – Igor + Valentine

Combining easy-to-grasp line-based illustrations, 3D transitions and isometric elements, this video created for IBM is definitely delightful to watch.

Hive Active Heating

Hive Active Heating by British Gas is an app that allows you to control your heating at home, from anywhere with your phone. This creative, positive and perfectly crafted line-based animation shows you why line art animation works beautifully in conveying your messages.

Men’s Health // How a Bean Becomes a Fart


As a Vimeo Staff Pick video, this outstanding animation utilized simple yet fun line-based infographic for Men’s Health to tell you how bean becomes a fart, in a non-explicit and unconventional way. We love how a fart is represented by a little trumpet in the end.

Theresa’s RLS Story

What better way to raise awareness by highlighting the plight of an actual person? This cel animation with doodle style character was narrated by Theresa who talked about her struggle with Restless Leg Syndrome and how her first treatment plan worsened her condition. The story aimed to raise awareness about RLS and inform patients on finding the right treatment.

Jack Garratt: the story so far

BBC Introducing commissioned Contra Film to produce a short animated documentary of a new ground breaking British musical talent, Jack Garratt. Line-based animation fused with snippets of live action video brought the key moments of Garratt’s experiences to life.

UnitedHealth Group

This brilliant explainer video created for United Health Group is a combination of stop motion animation with line-based illustrations to talk about “Connections”. The scenes are created in a stream of connectivity through the use of objects like pencils, pegs, paper clips and thermometers.

The Sun

This video was a project at the School of Visual Arts by Jaedoo Lee, a freelance designer, illustrator and animator. It is an explainer video without voice-over but with the clever use of typographic animation (from a lecture conducted by Elon Musk at the Sorbonne in Paris for COP21), connected by line-based infographic, it manages to bring a story to life.

Bet4Talent

This is an explainer video created for Bet4Talent, a brand new startup specialized in talent acquisition for new technologies sector. To show the revolutionary search algorithm on the platform, Codea, an independent creative studio based in Barcelona utilized ingenious techniques in line-based animation combined with shape animation and some rotoscopy to create a modern and futuristic look for the video.

Curated Restaurants Now on Airbnb

Cool and hip line art characters and illustrations coupled with corky animation give this explainer video for Airbnb an edge so that it stands out from the crowd.