13.1 Principles of Motion Design
3 min read•august 9, 2024
Motion design principles are the secret sauce of engaging UIs. They bring static elements to life, guiding users through interfaces with natural, fluid movements. From to , these techniques create animations that feel intuitive and responsive.
, pacing, and are the building blocks of effective UI animations. By mastering curves, perfecting animation durations, and crafting natural trajectories, designers can create interfaces that are not just functional, but delightful to use.
Animation Principles
Foundational Animation Techniques
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Top images from around the web for Foundational Animation Techniques
Blender Animation - Squash&Stretch Ball on Vimeo View original
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Amrit's Character Animation Page: Squash & Stretch Bros. View original
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objective c - UIView Animating a 2D Bouncing Ball (Squash & Stretch) in iOS - Stack Overflow View original
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- Anticipation prepares viewers for upcoming action by showing preparatory movements
- Follow-through extends motion beyond the main action to create natural, fluid movement
- exaggerates deformation of objects to convey weight and flexibility
- adds subtle movements to support the main action, enhancing realism
- Includes hair swaying or clothing rippling as a character moves
- amplifies key elements of motion to create more impactful and expressive animations
- focuses on creating visually pleasing and engaging character designs and movements
Applying Animation Principles in UI Design
- Anticipation in UI animations signals impending changes (button hover effects)
- Follow-through adds polish to UI transitions (menu items continuing to move slightly after opening)
- Squash and stretch brings life to UI elements (icons compressing when clicked)
- Secondary action enhances UI feedback (ripple effect spreading from touch point)
- Exaggeration draws attention to important UI elements or actions (bouncing notification icons)
- Appeal in UI design creates visually harmonious and inviting interfaces
Timing and Pacing
Easing and Motion Curves
- Easing adjusts the rate of change in animation to create more natural, dynamic motion
- Timing controls the speed and rhythm of animations, affecting perceived realism and impact
- (also known as ease-in and ease-out) gradually accelerates and decelerates animations
- Mimics real-world physics where objects rarely start or stop instantly
- maintains constant speed throughout animation, often appearing unnatural
- combines gradual acceleration at the start with deceleration at the end
- allow fine-tuned control over animation speed at different points
Implementing Effective Timing in UI Animations
- (100-200ms) convey responsiveness for small UI changes (button clicks)
- (200-500ms) suit most standard UI transitions (menu openings, page transitions)
- (500ms+) emphasize important changes or create dramatic effects
- across similar UI elements maintains a cohesive feel
- can create hierarchy and guide user attention
- Simultaneous vs. of multiple elements affects perceived complexity and flow
Motion Paths
Designing Natural Movement Trajectories
- create more natural, organic movement compared to straight lines
- Reflects how objects move in the physical world (falling leaves, bouncing balls)
- arranges elements and motion to guide viewer attention effectively
- Considers composition, timing, and spatial relationships between elements
- can convey efficiency or mechanical movement (robotic arm)
- add dynamic energy to animations (loading spinners)
- combine arcs with changes in direction (realistic ball physics)
Implementing Motion Paths in User Interfaces
- Arc motion enhances natural feel of draggable UI elements
- Staging guides users through multi-step processes or onboarding flows
- Combine different motion paths to create complex, engaging animations
- Particle effects often use multiple motion paths simultaneously
- Motion paths can reinforce brand identity and personality in UI animations
- Consider device orientation and screen size when designing motion paths for responsive interfaces
Key Terms to Review (26)
Anticipation: Anticipation is a design principle that involves creating an expectation in the user about what will happen next in a sequence of interactions or animations. This principle helps in guiding user behavior by preparing them for upcoming actions, making interfaces feel more intuitive and fluid. Anticipation not only aids in enhancing user experience but also contributes to the overall effectiveness of animations and transitions in digital design.
Appeal: Appeal refers to the quality or attribute of a design that attracts, engages, and resonates with an audience, making it visually and emotionally compelling. This concept is vital in creating designs that not only catch the eye but also evoke a positive response and connection, enhancing user experience and communication.
Arc motion paths: Arc motion paths refer to the curved trajectories that objects follow when they are animated, often creating a more natural and dynamic movement. This technique is crucial in motion design as it enhances visual storytelling by adding fluidity and realism to animations, making them more engaging for viewers. Arc motion paths can be applied to various elements, including characters, objects, or camera movements, enabling designers to control how movement unfolds over time.
Bouncing motion paths: Bouncing motion paths refer to the visual trajectory that an object follows when it appears to bounce off a surface, creating a dynamic and engaging animation effect. This type of motion mimics the physical properties of elasticity, where an object compresses upon impact and then expands back to its original shape, generating a sense of realism. Understanding bouncing motion paths helps designers convey energy and excitement in animations, enhancing user experience and storytelling.
Consistent timing: Consistent timing refers to the uniformity in the speed and rhythm of motion within a design, ensuring that movements are predictable and coherent. This principle enhances the user's understanding and expectation of how elements behave, making interactions smoother and more intuitive.
Custom easing curves: Custom easing curves are unique mathematical functions that define the acceleration and deceleration of an animation, allowing designers to create fluid and dynamic motion that aligns with the intended user experience. By manipulating the timing and pacing of transitions, these curves enhance the perception of movement, making animations feel more natural and engaging. The ability to customize easing curves enables designers to express personality and brand identity through motion, ultimately improving user interaction.
Ease-in-out: Ease-in-out is a timing function used in animations that starts slowly, speeds up in the middle, and then slows down again at the end. This creates a smooth and natural transition, making the animation feel more fluid and engaging. It enhances user experience by providing visual feedback that mimics real-world movement, which helps to establish a sense of rhythm and flow in designs.
Easing: Easing refers to the way in which an animation accelerates or decelerates over time, creating a more natural and realistic movement. By adjusting the timing of motion, easing helps convey emotion and intention, making interactions more engaging. This principle is crucial in designing animations that feel smooth and responsive, allowing users to connect with the content on a deeper level.
Exaggeration: Exaggeration refers to the intentional amplification or overstating of certain features or characteristics to enhance a design's impact and create a stronger emotional connection with the audience. In the context of motion design, exaggeration helps to convey action, energy, and emotions more vividly, making animations more engaging and memorable. By emphasizing specific elements, designers can direct viewer attention and create a sense of dynamism in their work.
Fast animations: Fast animations refer to quick and fluid visual transitions in user interface designs that enhance the overall experience by making interactions feel more responsive. These animations can help guide users, emphasize changes, and create a more engaging environment, leading to improved comprehension and retention of information. By utilizing speed effectively, designers can create a sense of immediacy and excitement that captivates users.
Follow-through: Follow-through refers to the continuation of movement or action after a primary interaction, particularly in animation and motion design. It creates a sense of realism and fluidity by ensuring that elements don't just abruptly stop but rather come to a natural conclusion, enhancing user experience and visual storytelling. This principle helps in conveying momentum and weight, making interactions feel more engaging and believable.
Linear motion: Linear motion refers to the movement of an object along a straight path, where the position of the object changes with respect to time. This type of motion can be characterized by its velocity, acceleration, and displacement. Understanding linear motion is crucial in motion design, as it helps convey a sense of direction and flow in animations and visual storytelling.
Medium animations: Medium animations refer to animations that are designed to provide clear visual communication while maintaining a balance between complexity and user experience. They serve to enhance interaction by providing feedback, guiding users through processes, and making content more engaging without overwhelming the viewer with excessive movement or detail.
Motion paths: Motion paths are predefined routes that an object follows during animation, allowing designers to create dynamic movements in a visual context. By utilizing motion paths, animators can dictate the trajectory of elements on the screen, making them essential for achieving fluid and engaging animations. These paths can be straight, curved, or complex, and they help establish rhythm and timing in motion design, enhancing the overall viewer experience.
Secondary action: Secondary action refers to the additional movements or elements that enhance the main action, creating a more dynamic and engaging experience for users. By incorporating these subtle movements, designers can convey important contextual information and emphasize the primary action, making interactions feel more natural and satisfying. This concept plays a crucial role in both micro-interactions and motion design, as it helps to guide user attention and improve overall usability.
Sequential timing: Sequential timing refers to the organization of motion in a deliberate order, creating a flow that guides the viewer’s experience. This principle is vital in motion design as it influences how the audience perceives and understands the sequence of events on screen, enhancing storytelling and engagement. By controlling the timing of movements or transitions, designers can evoke specific emotions, highlight important moments, and create a more cohesive narrative.
Simultaneous timing: Simultaneous timing refers to the technique in motion design where multiple actions or movements occur at the same time, creating a cohesive and dynamic experience for the viewer. This approach emphasizes the coordination of various elements to enhance storytelling and visual interest, making the animation feel more lively and engaging. It is essential for achieving rhythm and harmony in a composition, ensuring that the audience remains captivated by the unfolding visuals.
Slow animations: Slow animations refer to the deliberate pacing of motion in design elements to create a more fluid and engaging user experience. By using slower transitions, designers can enhance the user's ability to understand changes and interactions within a digital interface, making the experience feel more natural and intuitive. This approach can emphasize important elements, guide users through tasks, and establish a sense of hierarchy within the design.
Slow in and slow out: Slow in and slow out is an animation principle that creates a more natural and realistic movement by gradually accelerating at the beginning of an action and decelerating at the end. This technique mimics the way objects move in real life, where they don't just stop or start abruptly, but rather build up speed and come to a smooth halt. It enhances the overall fluidity of animations, making them more visually appealing and believable.
Spiral motion paths: Spiral motion paths refer to a type of movement where an object moves in a spiral trajectory, either inward or outward, around a central point. This concept is crucial in motion design, as it adds dynamism and visual interest to animations and graphics, enhancing the storytelling aspect by creating a sense of movement and direction.
Squash and stretch: Squash and stretch is a fundamental animation principle that gives a sense of weight and flexibility to objects, making them appear more lifelike and dynamic. This technique involves exaggerating the shape of an object during movement, such as compressing it when it makes contact with another object and stretching it when it accelerates. By manipulating an object's shape, animators can convey emotions and actions more effectively, enhancing the overall storytelling experience.
Staging: Staging refers to the process of organizing and presenting visual elements in a way that enhances understanding and guides the viewer's attention. This technique plays a vital role in creating a clear narrative by controlling what the audience sees and when they see it, making it essential for effective micro-interactions and motion design.
Straight motion paths: Straight motion paths refer to the linear trajectories that objects follow during animation or motion design, characterized by a consistent direction and speed without deviation. This principle is essential in motion design as it creates clarity and predictability for the viewer, enhancing the overall storytelling and user experience. Straight motion paths can convey a sense of stability and directness, often used to highlight key elements or actions within a design.
Timing: Timing refers to the scheduling and sequencing of events in animation and interaction design, playing a crucial role in how a user perceives and experiences motion. It involves determining when specific movements or changes occur, which can influence the overall rhythm and feel of animations. The right timing helps create a sense of realism, engagement, and emotional impact, making it essential for effective micro-interactions and motion design.
User Interfaces: User interfaces refer to the means through which a user interacts with a digital system, application, or device, encompassing the visual layout, controls, and overall design elements. A well-designed user interface enhances usability and improves user experience by ensuring that interactions are intuitive and engaging. Motion design plays a significant role in user interfaces by adding dynamic elements that guide users, provide feedback, and create a sense of continuity within the interaction.
Varying animation durations: Varying animation durations refers to the technique of adjusting the length of time that different elements in an animation take to complete their movements. This technique helps create a more dynamic and engaging experience by allowing for differences in pacing and timing, emphasizing certain actions or elements over others. By manipulating duration, designers can evoke specific emotions and enhance the storytelling aspect of their animations.