PETSTAR
Turning Everyday Pet Videos into Shareable Music Performances
PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS
Translating Music into Visual Experiences
Overview
PetStar transformed everyday pet videos into playful, music-driven performances. Working alongside the creative team, my role evolved from motion design into concept development, translating each song into a visual experience that felt playful, recognizable, and true to its unique personality.
Timeline
2022 - 2023
Tools
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe After Effect
Notion
My Contribution
Developed visual concepts for each song and genre.
Designed themed assets, backgrounds, and motion elements.
Balanced playful visuals without distracting from the pet.
Collaborated with the art team to bring concepts to life.
Produced scalable creative assets across multiple releases.
BACKGROUND
The Woof Behind the Why
PetStar wasn't just about making pets lip-sync to music, it was about turning everyday moments into performances families wanted to share. Every song needed its own visual identity while keeping the pet at the center of the experience. The challenge wasn't designing around music—it was designing around emotion without letting the visuals overpower the star of the show.
The Bumps in the Road
Designing for Pets, Not Just Music
The visuals needed to enhance each performance without stealing attention from the real star, the pet. Every effect had to feel playful and expressive while keeping the performance easy to follow.
My approach: Instead of decorating the screen, I designed every visual element to support the performance. I carefully balanced every visual element, from props and motion accents to timing and composition, to support the music while ensuring the pet always remained the focal point.
Every Song Demanded a Custom World
Every song carried its own personality. A children's song, an 80s hit, and a holiday classic each needed a completely different visual language while still feeling unmistakably like PetStar.
My approach: I began by studying the song's mood, lyrics, genre, and cultural references before creating moodboards, defining color palettes, selecting typography, and building a visual language that could carry the emotion consistently into production.
Keeping Creativity Fresh at Scale
New songs were released regularly, which meant creating fresh concepts at a fast pace without repeating ideas or losing the app's playful identity.
My approach: I developed a flexible concept workflow that helped me move from research to moodboards and production more efficiently while adapting each design to different genres and audiences.
EXPERIENCE
From Music to Visual Storytelling
Every project started with a song, not a design brief. By interpreting lyrics, genre, rhythm, and mood, I developed concepts that guided each performance from the initial idea to the final visual experience, ensuring every design felt playful, recognizable, and true to the music behind it.
REFLECTION
Designing, Then Discovering
Looking back, this project taught me that emotion comes before aesthetics. The strongest concepts weren't the ones with the most visual effects, they were the ones that captured the feeling of the music while letting the pet remain the star.
It changed the way i think about visual storytelling, good design shouldn't compete for attention, it should amplify the experience.
RESULT
Turning Play Into Recognition
Created over 50 visual concepts across children's songs, holiday classics, nostalgic hits, and pop music, helping PetStar deliver playful, shareable experiences. The app was later recognized in Google Play Best of 2022, receiving awards for Best for Fun and Best Hidden Gems.
Credit
App under God Boy Studio Company
Viva Chu - Team Leader
Kus wanto - Art Director
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