In Illustrator, I took my simple two-tone 2D logo and made a more complex version – which itself was influenced by an older iteration of the logo. I made sure each element drawn in Illustrator remained separate, so that when I moved them all over to After Effects I could have them sit in any position in 3D space.

In After Effects I put the logo elements together in 3D. I expanded the black tape so that it had depth, and put it behind the front face and in line with the sides, so that it appeared to be sitting inside the VHS. 

The front face itself actually has some subtle depth to it which is not particularly noticeable. The ‘clear plastic’ portion that you can see the tape behind is actually deeper than the blue face surrounding it, which is accurate to an actual VHS. This is one example – a number of elements have subtle depth that, again, just isn’t very noticeable. 

I gave the finished tape a small rotation animation to show it off in 3D and added a light source to flash across it as it turned.