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Great Animations by Emil Kowalski

A comprehensive guide on creating effective and impactful animations for web and mobile applications, covering principles such as natural feel, speed, purpose, performance, interruptibility, and accessibility.

Great Animations by Emil Kowalski

Use Case

Designers who code would find this resource invaluable for several reasons:

  1. Improving User Experience: The article provides insights on how to create animations that enhance the overall user experience, making interfaces more intuitive and engaging.

  2. Performance Optimization: It offers guidance on creating performant animations, which is crucial for maintaining smooth and responsive interfaces.

  3. Accessibility Considerations: The resource emphasizes the importance of making animations accessible, ensuring that the design is inclusive for all users.

  4. Technical Implementation: It provides code examples and explanations for implementing animations using CSS and JavaScript libraries like Framer Motion, which is directly applicable for designers who code.

  5. Design Principles: The article covers important design principles specific to animation, such as natural motion, purposeful use, and interruptibility, which can elevate the quality of a designer's work.

  6. Best Practices: It shares best practices and common pitfalls to avoid when implementing animations, helping designers make informed decisions in their projects.

  7. Inspiration: The numerous examples and demonstrations serve as inspiration for creative and effective ways to incorporate animation into user interfaces.

By studying and applying the concepts from this resource, designers who code can significantly improve the quality and effectiveness of their animated interfaces, leading to better user experiences and more polished products.

Overview

Great Animations: A Comprehensive Guide for Design Engineers

Emil Kowalski's "Great Animations" is an invaluable resource for design engineers looking to elevate their animation skills and create more engaging user interfaces. This comprehensive guide dives deep into the principles that make animations truly great, offering both theoretical insights and practical implementation tips.

Key Highlights:

  1. Natural Feel: The article emphasizes the importance of creating animations that feel natural and organic, enhancing user understanding and engagement.

  2. Speed and Performance: It provides insights on crafting fast, snappy animations that improve perceived performance and responsiveness.

  3. Purposeful Design: The guide stresses the need for meaningful animations that enrich the user experience rather than overwhelm it.

  4. Technical Optimization: It offers valuable tips on creating performant animations, including the use of hardware-accelerated properties and techniques.

  5. Interruptibility: The article explains why interruptible animations are crucial for a smooth user experience and how to implement them.

  6. Accessibility: It highlights the importance of making animations accessible to all users, including those who prefer reduced motion.

  7. Practical Examples: Throughout the guide, interactive examples and code snippets are provided, allowing readers to see the principles in action and implement them in their own projects.

For design engineers, this resource bridges the gap between aesthetic design and technical implementation. It not only explains why certain animation principles are important but also demonstrates how to apply them using modern web technologies. The article's focus on performance and accessibility ensures that readers can create animations that are not just visually appealing but also inclusive and efficient.

By studying and applying the concepts from this guide, design engineers can significantly improve the quality of their user interfaces, creating more engaging, responsive, and user-friendly digital experiences. Whether you're working on web applications, mobile interfaces, or any interactive digital product, the principles and techniques shared in this article will prove invaluable in your design and development process.

How to Use

To make the most of this resource:

  1. Read thoroughly: Go through the entire article to understand all the principles of great animations.

  2. Experiment with examples: The article includes interactive examples. Play with them to understand the concepts better.

  3. Implement in projects: Try incorporating these animation principles in your current or future projects.

  4. Use code snippets: Utilize the provided code examples for CSS and JavaScript (Framer Motion) in your work.

  5. Check performance: Use the performance tips to optimize your animations.

  6. Ensure accessibility: Implement the accessibility considerations in your animations using the provided media query technique.

  7. Revisit and refine: Keep this resource bookmarked and revisit it when working on animation-related tasks to refine your approach.