Interface Animation: Eye-Pleasing, Problem-Solving

Animation applied in user interfaces is a topic that draws high attention and provokes heated debates nowadays. Although there is a big army of those who find animation an unnecessary feature overloading user interface and making it more complicated, most users expect motion as an integral part of the interaction experience. So, designers and developers work over more and more sophisticated methods to make animation pleasant-looking and problem-solving characteristics of modern apps and websites.

Why do users love motion so much? Mostly, because animation supports the essence of actual and real interaction, it creates a level of feelings and perception close to what people have when they are interacting with a physical object in real life. This sort of feeling can boost the user experience rate of positiveness really high as the more natural the user feels, the less effort is needed to deal with the app or a website, and the clearer it is how it works. Certainly, it makes users satisfied. No secret, satisfaction, and pleasure are among top things encouraging people to use the product again.

Like everything that is put into the interface and process of interaction with it, the animation must be a functional element, not just a decor. Considering motion elements while planning user journey around the digital product, the designer should deeply analyze its potential for increasing usability, utility, and desirability of the product before making a decision to apply it in the layout or transitions. Animation in UI requires a thoughtful approach and always needs to have a clear purpose set behind. The advantages and utility of using it in the interaction process have to be obvious and outweigh the possible disadvantages. Animation should become icing on the cake, not a fly in the ointment.

Define the problem

One of the best approaches to make animation functional, not only attractive, is to reveal the problems that it can potentially solve. It can be done at all stages of the design process:

• user research will let you know who the target users are, what their age, preferences, the level of tech literacy, environments, and conditions at which the product will be used, and plenty of other factors from the users’ side that can influence user experience
• marketing research will give insights of existing products, their strong and weak sides as well as methods of forming user loyalty, which is a good basis for defining USP solving particular users’ problems as well as original ways of the product presentation and performance
• UX wireframing stage will enable to think over the logic of interaction, layout, and transitions and get the first assumptions of the points which can be strengthened with animation
• prototyping stage will reveal new aspects of live interaction with the screens
• UI design stage will provide the complex of visual presentation for the product scheme and system setting a new perspective of applying animation into the app or website
• user testing will show if the decisions made about animated elements were correct and their benefits really outweigh possible pitfalls.

At every stage, if the designer sets the goal to reveal possible big or small problems users can have, animation, as well as any other design element, can take the role of problem-solver for the case.

Let’s review some typical problems that can be solved by means of interface animation.

Problem: I want to know the action is done.

This is one of the problems that can be easily and quickly solved by animated details applied in UI. Microinteractions supported by clear finalization through motion create fast feedback for the user, making the experience positive and efficient. Navigation is also simple and intuitive. Animated buttons, switches, toggles, and other interactive elements inform the user in split seconds, activating all the potential of fast visual perception.

Hamburger button interaction

Tab Bar interaction

Add Button interaction

Switch for Toonie Alarm

Cinema App

Problem: I want to know that the action is in progress.

This is also a vast area of application for diverse motion design potential. When users interact with a digital product, they want to know what’s going on at every step. Making users wait in uncertainty is a risk of losing them. Still, when users are informed, waiting can be less annoying and stressful. So, this aspect should always be taken into account and there are many ways to support it via interface animation. It’s high time pull-to-refresh indicators came into play and showed their best.

Pull To Refresh

Preloader

Pull to refresh

Pull Down — Hourglass

Pull Down — Space Ship

Problem: I can’t see the progress and don’t understand how long it will take.

Quite often, it’s not enough just to let users know that the process is going on. They often want more: to see how fast it is progressing and how long it will take. Again, interface animation can be a great helper here. Load bars and progress bars, animated timelines, and other dynamic elements can kill several birds with one stone:

• they inform the user about the level of progress
• they can become the entertaining element, blunting the negative experience of waiting in the process of interaction

Designed and animated in an original way, they can become a viral feature that users want to share with others, encouraging more users to take action.

Timeline App

Dynamic Scroll

Problem: I don’t want to make my screen a mess.

That is a vital consideration in interface design. If the screen or page looks like a mess, overloaded with tons of data that is not clearly organized, it will require additional effort from the user to understand how it works and where the needed information can be found. The more effort, the higher chances are getting that users will go away in search of a simpler solution. In the vast majority of cases, users wish to have apps and websites that will simplify and improve their life, perhaps even do some job for them rather than take additional effort and time on interaction. Animation can be a good way to enhance interaction with various data blocks and sections and make everything feel organized even in highly data-saturated and complex interfaces.

Home Budget Dashboard

GIF for Sport App

Cards Animation

Blog App

Problem: I want to see the key things first.

Visual hierarchy and straightforward navigation are always a significant concern for designers creating an interactive digital product. Users’ attention should be immediately drawn to the key element of interaction, depending on its goal and conditions. Animated interface elements provide strong support for this aspect, enabling faster, more distinct visual marking of essential elements in the layout.

Tap bar Interactions

Home Budget App

Weather App

Resto App 

Problem: I want to feel the interaction natural.

This is the problem that most users will not be able to formulate, still, it has a great influence on user experience. If users say something like “I’m not sure what’s wrong, but there’s definitely a thing”, try thinking over a more natural interaction. Animation in the interface can create a pleasant illusion close to natural interaction with physical objects which often doesn’t need too much cognitive process. For example, if you pull the object, press it, move out the tab, the movements should feel natural.  Again, users won’t be able to see this sophisticated work accomplished by designers: they will take it for granted and the fact it makes them comfortable will be the biggest praise for design solutions.

Jewellery E-Commerce App

Book Swap App

Restaurant Menu

This sort of problem is also popular in interaction with web interfaces. The movement of layout elements as the webpage is scrolled can significantly enhance the user experience and create a sense of a single, seamless interaction rather than several separate parts or blocks on the page. All in all, it’s pleasant and engaging, and these emotions are a positive factor in user retention.

Bookshop Website

Bakery Website

Landing page animation

Capitoledge — Free Screensaver

Bjorn Website

Problem: The screen/page is boring.

Obviously, talking about interfaces, people often move the functional side and usability to the foreground, as key or sometimes even the only aspect requiring consideration. And that’s right and logical, still, it cannot nullify the fact that people are driven not only by logic. There are also significant factors, such as emotional and aesthetic satisfaction, that can greatly influence user experience. The thoughtful balance of utility and usability on the one hand, with emotion and aesthetics on the other, can result in a user-friendly product. And animation is an excellent booster in this perspective of interface design. It can mark out the beauty of colors and gradients, breathe life into the layout, make movements dynamic or viсe versa smooth, strengthen the power of UI elements with motion, and create original transitions.

Calendar App Animation

Sunset/Sunrise Animation

Cafe Coupon App

Contact List Concept

Recipes App

Toonie Stickers Jumble

Definitely, animation in user interfaces has significant potential for solving various interaction problems. Still, even the slightest piece of motion added into UI requires a thoughtful approac,h analyzing not only advantages but also possible drawbacks. Animation should support the user; that is its main goal in the interface.

Recommended reading

Various issues in applying animation in UI design have been the focus of professionals’ attention for a considerable period. Here is a collection of articles for those who would like to read more on the topic.

Guide to 6 Effective Types of Web Animation

Interface Animation. The Force of Motion

Animated Interactions. Motion on Purpose

UI Animation. Microinteraction for Macroresult

15 Animated Design Concepts of Mobile UI

How to Use Animations in Mobile Apps

Originally written for Tubik Blog