Tessa Marlow
Motion and interfaces, from the first sketch to the final frame.
- Born
- 1999, Bristol
- Based
- Rotterdam, NL
- Exp
- 3+ years
- Status
- Open to offers
Speaks English native Dutch working Spanish basic
Where I have worked
Where I studied
What I am good at
Tools I reach for
Selected work
Three recent projects from Studio Fernhalt. Six in total across motion, interfaces, print and identity.
About me
I'm a motion and interface designer in Rotterdam. I treat every interface as a sequence and every frame as a layout.
Most ideas start in a paper sketchbook.
I grew up in Bristol drawing flip-books in the margins of school exercise books, moved to Rotterdam to study animation in 2019, and stayed for the bikes, the light over the Maas and the studios.
Today I'm at Studio Fernhalt, where I direct launch films and write the motion language for client apps. Before that I animated public-sector explainers for Brimloft and laid out a quarterly magazine at Atelier Plover. The jump between print, film and product is smaller than it looks: all three are about deciding what the eye should see first, and what it should see next.
I'm good at turning vague notes into specific decisions. "Make it friendlier" usually means slower easing, warmer colour and one less thing on screen. I write those decisions down, so developers and editors can build from them without guessing.
How I like to work
Small teams, one shared storyboard and short feedback loops. I'd rather show a rough cut on Tuesday than a polished one on Friday.
- Storyboard signed off before a single keyframe
- Motion written down: durations, easings, names
- One weekly review of the whole cut, not clips
- Files handed over tidy, layers named, fonts listed
Kind words
"Tessa moved our storyboard sign-off two weeks earlier and every launch since has landed on time. Her specs are the ones developers actually read."
"She can take a council's eleven rounds of notes and still hand back a film that feels warm. We extended her contract twice."
Outside the studio
- 35mm on weekends
A secondhand rangefinder and one roll a week, mostly harbour cranes and other people's dogs.
- Thursday life drawing
I help run a two-hour session in Katendrecht. Short poses are the best timing practice I know.
- Long rides
Rotterdam to the coast and back on a steel bike that is older than I am.
Want the full story behind a project?
Each case study covers the brief, the decisions and what I'd change next time.
Experience
Three roles across motion, interfaces and editorial design. Open a role for responsibilities, highlights and the work it produced.
two years and counting at Fernhalt
Across all three roles
- 41 finished films, from 6-second promos to 3-minute explainers
- 12 product interfaces, five of them with a full motion spec
- 3 magazine issues sent to press on deadline
- No missed launch dates in two years of client work
References
Creative directors and producers from all three studios are happy to talk. I share their details once we've had a first call.
Education
Four years of animation and interaction design in Rotterdam, two years of art and graphics in Bristol before that, and a few short courses since.
I still use my first-year storyboard template.
20234 years, full-time
Maasveld Academy of Art & Design
BA Animation & Interaction Design cum laude Rotterdam, NL
My graduation project was Tidewater, a four-minute hand-drawn short about a lock keeper, with an interactive script viewer that let the audience scrub between storyboard, animatic and final frame. It screened at the graduation show and became my first portfolio piece.
- Character animation
- Motion typography
- Interface design
- Sound for picture
- Design history
- Stop motion
Student representative for the animation course in years three and four. Exchange semester at a Lisbon art school in spring 2021, focused on printmaking.
2019Sixth form
Haverleigh Sixth Form College
A levels in Art, Graphic Communication, English A*, A, A Bristol, UK
Life drawing, screen printing, photography and a first look at page layout. I designed the catalogue for the student-curated graduation show, which is where I found out I liked grids as much as drawings.
- Life drawing
- Screen printing
- Darkroom photography
- Page layout
Short courses
- 2024Advanced motion typography
Two-week intensive, Rotterdam design week. Kinetic type systems and variable fonts.
- 2025Sound for picture
Ten evening sessions on foley, mixing and cutting to music.
- 2025Accessible motion for interfaces
Online workshop on vestibular safety, reduced motion and focus order.
See how the training shows up in the work.
Expertise breaks down the five things I'm hired for and the tools behind them.
Expertise
Five things I'm hired for, what each one includes, and where you can see it in the portfolio.
storyboards are the secret weapon
Launch films, explainers and social cutdowns, from script read-through to final mix. I direct, animate and cut, and bring in sound and voice when the film needs them.
- Hero films of 30 to 120 seconds
- Cutdowns for every placement
- Silent versions for screens
Product screens and the motion between them. I design the flows, then write a motion spec with named transitions, durations and easings that developers can build from directly.
- Core flows and component states
- Motion specs and prototypes
- Reduced-motion alternatives
Seen inTillpot
Pencil boards first, animatics second. Sign-off happens here, when changes are cheap.
- Thumbnail and clean boards
- Timed animatics
Seen inSmall Hours
Magazines, catalogues and posters built on strict grids that survive being animated later.
- Grids and paragraph styles
- Picture editing, duotones
Seen inBrakwater
Small identities with a pattern or a gesture at the centre, designed to be produced by the client.
- Pattern and stamp systems
- Packaging and print guides
Seen inBrandhout Coffee
Tools I reach for
Categories rather than brand names, because the software changes and the craft does not. The bar shows how deep I go; the label shows how often.
Also comfortable with
- Lottie and Rive handoff
- Variable fonts
- Colour grading
- Voice-over direction
- Print production
- HTML and CSS prototypes
- Workshop facilitation
Services
Four ways to work together. Prices are starting points for a typical scope, excluding VAT. Every enquiry gets a written quote within two working days.
agencies welcome, I'm happy to work under your name
How a project runs
- Call
Thirty minutes on goals, audience, budget and dates. Free, and no deck needed.
Week 0 - Storyboard
Pencil boards and a timed animatic. We sign off here, before animation starts.
Week 1 - 2 - Production
Animation or design in full. One review a week, always of the whole piece.
Week 2 - 5 - Handover
Masters, cutdowns, named source files and a short written spec.
Final week
- OctBooked
- Nov1 slot
- DecOpen
- JanOpen
Availability
One slot left in November, then open from December. Full-time roles can start from 1 December.
Questions people ask
Portfolio
Six projects across motion, interfaces, print and identity, from 2023 to now. Each one has the brief, the decisions and the deliverables.
the night train is my favourite
Showing 6 of 6 projects
Nothing matches that yet.
Try another discipline, or search for a client, a year or a material like "paper" or "ink".
Contact
Tell me a little about the project or the role. I reply within two working days, usually with a few questions and a rough timeline.
coffee is on me if you're in Rotterdam
Thanks.
This is a demo, so nothing was sent. On the live site your message comes straight to me and I reply within two working days.
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