Motion in Design
Motion is the subtle force that brings an interface to life. In our design system, we harness motion to clarify functionality, guide users, and create smooth and delightful interactions.
Purposeful Motion
Motion serves a greater purpose than mere aesthetics. It's a storytelling device that directs focus and maintains continuity throughout the user experience.
Do's:
Integrate motion that complements user actions and reinforces the narrative of the interface.
Apply motion to draw attention to changes, guiding the user through their journey seamlessly.
Don'ts:
Avoid motion that distracts or confuses, ensuring that every movement has a clear and beneficial role.
Responsive Motion
Responsiveness in motion design means feedback and interaction that feels immediate and direct, mirroring the natural dynamics of the physical world.
Do's:
Ensure motions feel snappy and reactive, matching the speed and urgency of user input.
Design feedback animations that offer real-time confirmation of user actions.
Don'ts:
Prevent laggy or slow transitions that make the interface feel sluggish and unresponsive.
Snappy Transitions
Transitions should be quick to keep up with the user's pace, ensuring a fluid experience without unnecessary delays.
Do's:
Use brisk animations for transitioning elements that the user frequently interacts with.
Employ snappy movements for modal and pop-up entrances and exits to maintain a lively interface.
Don'ts:
Do not let transition animations linger longer than necessary, which can impede the user's workflow.
Thoughtful Animations
Animations are the heart of a dynamic interface, used to highlight changes and support the storytelling within the user journey.
Do's:
Craft animations that are meaningful and assist in conveying the status of operations.
Utilize animations to soften the introduction of new elements on the screen, easing cognitive load.
Don'ts:
Avoid over-animated features that can overwhelm or mislead the user's understanding of the interface.
Timing and Easing
The essence of a good animation lies not just in its visual appeal but in its timing and the natural flow it emulates.
Do's:
Match animation timing to the expected pace of user interaction, creating a rhythm that users can intuitively follow.
Select easing that reflects the movement’s purpose, whether it’s to alert, to confirm, or to delight.
Don'ts:
Shun timings that conflict with the user's expectations or that disrupt the flow of interaction.
Feedback through Motion
Every motion should provide feedback or suggest a result of an interaction, aiding the user in understanding their influence on the interface.
Do's:
Introduce motion that gives clear and immediate feedback, such as a button's reaction to being clicked.
Utilize subtle motion cues for background processes, assuring users that the system is working as expected.
Don'ts:
Avoid using motion that doesn't correspond to or contradicts the user's action, which can lead to confusion.
Navigational Motion
Motion can guide users, enhancing the navigation experience by providing visual cues that map out the journey within the interface.
Do's:
Use motion to signify a transition from one major section of the interface to another, maintaining a clear sense of spatial orientation.
Design navigational cues that are consistent with the overall movement and flow of the interface.
Don'ts:
Refrain from implementing motion that disrupts the navigational flow or misguides the user off their intended path.
Loading Indicators
Loading animations are a critical aspect of interaction design, offering users reassurance that their actions are being processed.
Do's:
Apply loading indicators that are lively and reflect the duration of the process, mitigating user impatience.
Ensure loading animations are harmonious with the design language, providing a cohesive experience.
Don'ts:
Evade overcomplicated loading animations that may give a false sense of longer waiting times or system inefficiency.
Easing and Duration
Selecting the correct easing and duration for animations ensures a natural and coherent experience throughout the interface.
Do's:
Choose easing and duration pairs that complement the type of transition, whether it's I entering, exiting, or moving within the screen.
Maintain consistency in easing choices to form a reliable and predictable motion language.
Don'ts:
Avoid erratic changes in motion speed or easing that can jar the user's experience or detract from the content.
Guidelines
When it comes to timing, consider the following guidelines based on best practices:
For actions where immediate feedback is necessary, such as button clicks or toggles, use a quick duration, generally around 100-200ms. This ensures the interface feels responsive and snappy.
For elements entering or leaving the screen, like modals or notifications, a slightly longer duration of 200-300ms can be suitable. This allows the user to process the change without causing a distraction.
For more emphasized transitions, perhaps involving larger shifts in layout or the introduction of a new element, durations might extend up to 500ms. This gives weight to the change and draws the user’s attention appropriately.
Easing, the rate of change during an animation, should also be carefully considered:
Use standard easing for uniform motion, to convey a sense of reliability.
Accelerate or decelerate easing can be used to reflect natural movements — for instance, elements might accelerate as they move towards a point of focus and decelerate as they settle into place.
As a guiding principle, the goal is to align the motion with the user's expectations and the logical flow of interactions. These timing and easing recommendations can be adjusted based on user feedback and specific interaction contexts within your product. Always test animations with real users to ensure the motion feels natural and enhances the overall experience.