Free file · from the reel

Make your logo move in Gmail

22% of the world's population uses Gmail, and your profile picture shows next to every email you send. Make it a moving logo and your email catches the eye in an inbox full of still pictures. Here are the full steps.

4tools
6steps
10minutes

Why it works

Your picture shows next to your name
In a Gmail user's inbox, your profile picture is the first thing they see, before the subject line.
Everyone else's picture is still
Most companies and people have a still photo or a coloured letter, so anything that moves pulls the eye.
It costs nothing
No designer and no paid software for the conversion. Try it and compare your open rate before and after.
STEP 01 · PREP

Prepare your logo

A clear, square image of your logo (PNG or JPG). A full background works best, because Google shows the picture inside a circle.

Tip: keep the logo in the middle of the image, away from the edges, so nothing gets cut off inside the circle.
STEP 02 · GEMINI

Let Gemini animate the logo

Open Gemini, upload your logo, choose the video creation tool, and paste this prompt:

IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS · on your screen
Let Gemini animate the logo
THE PROMPT · copy it
Animate this logo. I want a simple, smooth motion with no big changes to the logo. Keep the same background and colours, and make it a few seconds long.
Note: video creation in Gemini is part of the paid plans (Google AI Pro). If your account is free and you don't see the video option, any AI tool that animates images will give you the same result. The key is a simple motion.
STEP 03 · DOWNLOAD

Download the video

When the video is ready and you like the motion, download it to your device (an MP4 file). Here's an example of the result we want: clear motion without changing the logo:

IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS · on your screen
Download the video
STEP 04 · CONVERT

Turn it into an animated GIF

  1. Search Google for MP4 to GIF.
  2. Open CloudConvert (the first result), click Select File and choose the video.
  3. Click Convert and wait a few seconds.
  4. When you see FINISHED, click Download.
IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS · on your screen
Turn it into an animated GIF
THEN · next
Convert
THE RESULT · what you get
FINISHED
Open CloudConvert ↗
STEP 05 · GOOGLE ACCOUNT

Upload it as your account picture

WHERE · the path
myaccount.google.com›Click your photo (camera icon)›Change›Upload from computer›Choose the GIF
IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS · on your screen
Upload it as your account picture
Open Google Account ↗
Tip: use the Google account you send client emails from, so the picture appears next to your emails.
STEP 06 · TEST

Test and compare

  1. Send an email from your account to another address you own and see how the picture looks in the inbox.
  2. If you use an email tool that tracks open rates, note your open rate before the change.
  3. After two weeks, compare it with your open rate now that your picture moves.
An honest note: the picture only shows for Gmail users, and whether it shows animated or still is up to Google and can vary from place to place. So test it yourself and compare your own numbers rather than relying on claims.

✅ Final checklist

ℹ️ Note: the screenshots are from our accounts at the time of writing; interfaces may change slightly with updates. This guide is not affiliated with Google.

📚 We have more than 20 other free guides

More free guides? Tap here ↗
✦ Nadr Community

Want to learn more?

In Nadr Community we teach Claude, content creation and ads step by step, across 5 tracks we keep improving (lessons are in Arabic):

Mastering ClaudeDesign with AIMaking ads and videosMarketing with AIAutomation and a customer-service agent
Join Nadr Community →skool.com/nadrai
✓ Copied