Lottielab

Lottielab is a London-based company, founded in 2021 by Andrew Ologunebi (CEO) and Alistair Thomson (CTO), that is positioned to address the complexities of web and application-based animations. The founders identified a significant market gap stemming from their own frustrations with creating high-quality motion graphics. They observed that while the Lottie file format—a JSON-based animation file—was gaining widespread adoption, its creation process was heavily reliant on Adobe After Effects, a tool not originally intended for this purpose, which presented a steep learning curve and cumbersome workflow.

Andrew Ologunebi's background includes a First Class degree in Product Design and Management from Aston University, coupled with experience in leading SaaS products. Alistair Thomson holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Bath and possesses expertise in building graphically-intensive products, honed through years as a freelance game developer and running his own software studio. Their combined expertise in design, user experience, and graphics-intensive software development provided a solid foundation for Lottielab's mission.

The company offers a web-based, collaborative motion design platform specifically for creating and editing Lottie animations. This browser-based tool is designed for product teams, including designers and developers, enabling them to create, manage, and deploy animations for websites and applications more efficiently. Lottielab's business model centers on providing a more accessible alternative to existing animation workflows, aiming to become the standard tool for Lottie creation. The platform targets a wide range of clients, from individual designers to large tech companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, and TikTok, who are on the platform's user waitlist.

Lottielab's core product is a feature-rich animation editor that operates directly in the browser, eliminating the need for software downloads. Key features include direct import from design tools like Figma, a pen tool, shape libraries, and an 'animate mode' for streamlined keyframe creation. A significant differentiator is its interactive Lottie editor, which allows users to embed interactivity—reacting to clicks, hovers, and scrolls—directly into the animation file, a process that previously required custom code and external libraries. The platform supports real-time collaboration, version control, and exporting animations in various formats, including Lottie JSON, GIF, and MP4. By simplifying the entire workflow from design to deployment, Lottielab aims to save companies time and resources in the animation production process.

Keywords: motion design, Lottie animation, web animation, app animation, collaborative design tool, animation editor, vector animation, interactive animations, Figma plugin, user interface animation, micro-interactions, product design tool, animation workflow, After Effects alternative, JSON animation, SaaS, design technology, digital experience design, interactive media, animation for developers