Motion design earns its place when it helps the audience understand, feel, or remember something.
Start with the story beat
Before choosing an animation style, I look at what changes in the story. A reveal may need anticipation. A transition may need to compress time. A graphic may simply need to hold still long enough to be understood.
Movement is not the message. It is the way the message arrives.
Use contrast deliberately
Fast motion feels faster beside a quiet moment. Large type gains impact when the previous frame leaves room for it. Contrast in timing, scale, and density makes a system feel authored.