Motion Graphics Designer — Documentary Podcast Visual System

We're a podcast production agency with over 100 shows in our network, and we're building the visual identity for a new narrative documentary podcast (insurance industry, Planet Money/Search Engine format). We need someone to design the system, not just one episode's graphics — and we're looking for a long-term creative partner, not a single gig. We need a consistent visual language that carries across episodes: opening titles, lower-third treatments for data/stats, interview presentation, and how we visualize complex information (insurance markets, financial flows, timelines) in a way that's clear and genuinely engaging — think Cleo Abram's channel as the quality and style bar. Timeline: we're on a tight deadline and need someone who can start immediately. Scope: The immediate engagement is for one episode, with two concrete deliverables: - The finished graphics for this episode — opening titles, data visualization, complex transitions, video integration, delivered as alpha channel files at 2K. - A reusable visual system — the style guide, title templates, and data-viz framework behind those graphics, documented and handed off so future episodes can be produced from it without starting from scratch. This isn't just "design with reuse in mind" — the system itself is something we own and can hand to the next designer if needed. What you'd own: - Full graphics system: opening titles, data visualization, complex transitions, video integration - A documented style guide/template framework (fonts, colors, spacing, example templates) or organized reusable project files — happy to align on format - Final assets as alpha channel files at 2K, built to drop cleanly into our editor's timeline (they handle simple titles/lower thirds; you own everything more complex) What we need from you: - Availability to start immediately given the timeline A portfolio showing systems thinking — recurring visual identities across multiple pieces, not just single polished one-offs - Strong, clean data visualization — legible, on-brand, not cluttered - Comfort taking client style references and translating them into an original system, not templated stock motion graphics - No obvious AI-generated visuals — we need original, brand-consistent design work - Ability to work from an editor's timeline structure and turn around approved assets on a schedule Process: Graphics get client-approved before handoff to our editor, so expect a review/revision step built in — not a one-shot delivery. If you've built a visual system for a show, brand, or ongoing series (not just a single video), we want to see it.