The utility of motion design leverages user psychology. When a user presses a button,
can she be confident that the press was acknowledged by the UI? An easy way to ensure
her confidence is to animate the button’s transition to a depressed state. When a user is
waiting for content to load, can she be confident that progress is being made or is she left
with the unsettling feeling that the app has frozen? These are psychological expectations
that motion design can address by providing ongoing visual indications of the UI’s state.
The complementary elegance of motion design is what elevates an app from merely
looking good to feeling good. It’s the source of that “ooh ahh” feeling that reminds the
user how magical technology can be.
Let’s master both of these aspects. Let’s dive in.Utility
How do you ensure your motion design choices are valuable additions to your site? Here
are some techniques.
Borrow conventions
Let yourself be inspired by the motion design in your favorite sites and apps. Popular
motion design conventions are worth leveraging because they already hold meaning in the
user’s mind. Repeated exposure to conventions leads the user to form expectations about
how certain animations “should” look. If you use a convention for a purpose other than
what the user has come to expect, your app will feel unintuitive.