UX Collective’s “Transition Animations: A Practical Guide” is an in-depth exploration of the application of transition animations in product design. The article, written by Dongkyu Lee, serves as a comprehensive manual for designers looking to integrate thoughtful and effective animation principles into their projects. With a focus on principles that can be applied immediately to the design process, the guide is handy for user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) designers, motion designers, and product teams keen on refining their product’s interactivity and overall feel.
The article delineates six key principles for crafting better transition animations:
- Fade in and out with opacity to provide precise feedback during state transitions.
- Scale to add liveliness and direct attention to elements.
- Maintain consistent directionality to ensure transitions make contextual sense within the product design.
- Balance speed to keep users engaged without causing confusion or irritation.
- Prioritize, order, and group transition elements to guide user focus and maintain a clean interface.
- Establish spatiality, considering the “invisible” space beyond the screen to improve user mental modeling and interaction.
Each principle is buttressed with detailed explanations and visual examples demonstrating their implementation in a mobile app context.
