Responsive and Intuitive Page Elements Make a Design Usable
If a design element makes a website feel more friendly or gives subtle hints
as to what’s happening, then this adds to its usability. Look at the simple
example below from Design Informer:
On the Design Informer website, hover over the search box in the top right,
and you’ll notice it brightens up. This is not intrusive in any way, and it
looks especially elegant in WebKit browsers, because the brightening
animates with CSS3. The default look of the search box could be a bit
brighter to improve the general usability of the site, but in this specific case
the idea counts more than the execution.
This very simple effect conveys to the user that this is a usable element, and
it makes the search box more inviting. It’s a ridiculously simple technique
but has a very powerful effect.
But just because you can use an animated effect does not mean you
should. If, as in the case of Design Informer, the effect makes the UI more
intuitive and responsive, then it is justified. This statement by Stuart
Thursby sums it up well: