What We Do:

We can help you become an explanation specialist.

Common Craft Membership

Start your life as an explainer with Common Craft Membership. Prices start at just $49 per year. It provides:

Cut-Outs:

Make your presentation or video remarkable with 800+ digital images in Common Craft Style, plus Know-How resources for using them.

Download a Sample

Ready-made Videos:

Educate others with 50+ ready-made video explanations that you can embed on your website or download for offline use.

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VIEW MEMBER PLANS & PRICING• or •Download
Fact Sheet(.pdf)

We Wrote the Book on Explanation

The Art of Explanation

A book by Lee LeFever

The Art of Explanation will help you become an explainer.

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The Explainer Network

Our network of custom video producers can create short, animated videos that make your product or service easier to understand.

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↓ What We Do ↓

The Common Craft Blog

This blog is where we announce new videos & talk about the power of explanation & the change it can create. 

Know-How Screencast - Animate Cut-outs in PowerPoint (Basic)

Posted by: leelefever on May 8, 2013- 7:44am

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Categories: cut-outs, DIY, Know-How, powerpoint, screencast, software

This short video shares the basic steps to animating Common Craft Cut-outs using PowerPoint.  It is part of series focused on helping you make Common Craft Style videos and presentations using common tools.  

Note: the "custom animation" functionality used below may appear differently in various versions of PowerPoint, but the basic ideas should be consistent across versions and in tools like Keynote. Watch:

Reading this in email?  Watch here. 

Want to get started? Check out our library of Common Craft Style Cut-outs.

This video is part of the "Know-How" section of Common Craft, where we share our expertise through guides and other resources. Find more Know-How.

We Are All Just Drooling Dogs

Posted by: leelefever on May 2, 2013- 8:49am

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Categories: animation, Explanation, pavlov, science, teded, video

The blog It's OK to be Smart pointed me to this animated TedEd video that explains how humans are not that different from Pavlov's dogs.  Like a dog that is trained to salivate when a bell rings, we too learn to react to events and stumuli. We may not drool, but may fall in love.  Watch:

Email Readers can watch here.

More about the genius of dogs at Brainpickings.

Funny Computer Explanation from the 90s

Posted by: leelefever on April 25, 2013- 10:09am

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Categories: history, humor, technology, tv

There is just something funny about the not-too-distant past, especially when it comes to explaining technology. Here the interestingly named (and still in the media) Kim Komando explains computers for a TV audience in a series called Komputer Kindergarten. The editing is choppy, but still fun to watch.

Email readers can watch here. Via Gizmodo.

Interview: Lee Interviewed by Andrew Warner at Mixergy

Posted by: leelefever on April 24, 2013- 11:09pm

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Categories: business, Interview, media, mixergy, podcast

Andrew Warner at Mixergy is one of the best interviewers I know.  He's thoughtful and has a knack for asking that extra question that really challenges you to think deeply.  In this interview, we discuss Common Craft and how the business has evolved as we've built a membership service. The interview went places that I didn't expect and I came out out it seeing my own perspectives in a different light.  

I've embedded the interview below (transcript)

I spoke with Andrew back in 2009 as well. 

About Common Craft

We provide ready-made videos, cut-outs & know-how that can help you become a better explainer.

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Improve Your Explanations

The Art of Explanation

A Book by Lee LeFever

Learn More