Motion design systems, UX motion choreography, motion audits and how to document motion. Issue #459 ⢠June 4, 2024 ⢠[View in the browser]( [Smashing Newsletter]( Kalà méra Smashing Friends, How do we design consistent UX motion in our digital products? How do we audit, embed and document transitions and animations in our design systems? And what makes for compelling animation while also respecting accessibility needs? [SmashingConf Antwerp 2024](
Meet [SmashingConf Antwerp 2024]( a friendly conference for people who love waffles, chocolate, fries and UX. In this newsletter, we look into UX motion — guidelines, practices and tooling to design, refine and document animation. And if youâd like to dive deeper into motion, design and UX, we have a friendly [SmashingConf Design & UX]( coming up in the magical city of Antwerp ð§ðª this year. Along with our upcoming [Smashing Meets Web Design]( next week, weâll swoosh you away with practical insights into design! [Meets Web Design](
Join us for free with [Jay Demetillo and Rachel Gogel]( on June 18. In the upcoming weeks and months, we have a few friendly workshops and conferences coming up, and perhaps youâd like to join in as well: - [Ask-Me-Anything UX With Vitaly Friedman]( a free 1.5h session coming up today, on Jun 4,
- [Designing For Complex UI Masterclass]( with yours truly (online workshop, 5Ã2.5h + Q&A). June 20 – July 2
- [SmashingConf Freiburg 2024]( ð©ðª — The Web, Sep 9–11
- [SmashingConf New York 2024]( ðºð¸ — Front-End & UX, Oct 7–10 Happy reading and animating, everyone — while respecting accessibility needs, of course! — [Vitaly]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Guide To Animation In UX How can we create UI animations that feel natural and donât distract users from the task they want to perform? In his [practical guide to animation in UX]( Taras Skytskyi explains all the rules and principles you need to be aware of to create delightful animation effects that feel just right. [The ultimate guide to proper use of animation in UX]( The guide covers everything from animation duration and speed to easing and choreography. Youâll learn to adapt your animations to different screen sizes and platforms, how to read animation curves, and how to guide your usersâ attention when transitioning from one state to another. The guide isnât about specific use cases but rather universal principles that you can apply to all kinds of interface animations. A must-read. (cm) --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Motion In Design Systems At first glance, motion might seem too complex to integrate into a design system, so it is often left out of the discussion. However, with the right strategy, the workflow isnât much different than the one you use to define color palettes or typographic scales. To help you overcome motion paralysis, Caleb Barclay shares a [step-by-step guide to including motion in a design system](. [5 steps for including motion design in your system]( Calebâs approach involves five steps, from deciding what to add to the design system and establishing motion principles to defining a library of motion building blocks and preparing translation specs with everything developers need to build a prototype. A comprehensive roadmap that comes in handy for any design system that includes some motion. (cm) --------------------------------------------------------------- From our sponsor Upcoming Workshop: Frontend Issues With Backend Solutions [Sentry](
Frontend issues are often triggered by backend problems. [Join us]( as we discuss common sources for poor web vitals and how to use Tracing to connect issues through your stack at the code-level. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. IBM Motion Design The [IBM design system]( is a wonderful example of enhancing a brandâs voice through motion design. It defines the foundational principles of IBMâs animation vocabulary and the feeling animation should evoke. [IBM Design Language]( The IBM Design Language differentiates between productive motion, which appears professional, confident, smart, and efficient, and expressive motion, which evokes more personality and emotion. Combined, they provide a compelling contrast. The design system also dives deeper into how to apply classic animation principles to graphic forms and tips and techniques that are universally applicable to animation. With examples, dos and donâts, it is a great overview of what makes good animation. (cm) --------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Upcoming Workshops and Conferences We run [online workshops on frontend and UX]( be it accessibility, performance, or design patterns. In fact, we have a couple of workshops coming up soon, and we thought that, you know, you might want to join in as well. [Smashing Online Workshops](
With [online workshops]( we aim to give you the same experience and access to experts as in an in-person workshop from wherever you are. As always, hereâs a quick overview: - [Accessibility for Designers]( ux
with Stéphanie Walter. June 3–12
- [Design Token and UI Component Architecture]( workflow
with Nathan Curtis. June 6–14
- [Advanced Modern CSS Masterclass]( dev
with Manuel MatuzoviÄ. June 24 – July 8
- [Designing For Complex UIs]( ux
with Vitaly Friedman. June 20–July 2
- [Design Patterns For AI Interfaces]( ux
with Vitaly Friedman. July 9–23
- [Fast and Budget-Friendly UX Research & Testing]( workflow
with Paul Boag. Jul 11–25
- [Successful Design Systems]( workflow
with Brad Frost. Aug 27 – Sept 10
- [Smart Interface Design Patterns](
Video + Live UX Training with Vitaly Friedman
- [Jump to all workshops →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Motion Audits And Designing Core Actions Lacking resources on how to set up a motion system, Dushyant Dubey researched different design systems to create a detailed plan on how to tackle the challenge. In his case study â[Building a motion design system for a product company]( he grants insights into the strategy and how he and his team applied it when building the Blade motion design system. [Building a motion design system for a product company]( The case study covers the entire process from planning and running a motion audit to defining motion parameters and implementing motion tokens that encapsulate specific motion behavior for component interactions. It also features plenty of examples of micro and macro interactions. A great reference to keep close. (cm) --------------------------------------------------------------- From our sponsor Build And Store Your Surveys And Forms In-House With SurveyJS
Simplify data collection in your JavaScript application with [SurveyJS]( UI components. Create and style dynamic JSON-based forms using a fully integrated form builder that features a CSS theme editor and GUI for conditional rules and form branching. Maintain full control over your respondents' data. [Try our free full-featured demo]( to experience the power of SurveyJS firsthand! --------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Atomic Motion Design Another practical guide on how to set up a motion design system comes from Aviad Shahar. He shares step-by-step tips for breaking complex animations down into organisms, molecules, and atoms to create a [consistent and reusable animation system](. [Motion Design System â A Practical Guide]( Aviadâs approach consists of four steps that build on top of one another. First, you define standard duration tokens, then standard easing and basic animations. The basic animations can then be used to define more complex animations, and finally, by combining a couple of basic animations, you get animation patterns. If you want to see what the system looks like in action, the guide includes some practical examples. (cm) --------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Motion Design Almanac How does the static become dynamic? How does something dead become alive? The [Readymag Design Almanac]( explores exactly these questions through the expertise of six designers and artists. [Readymag Design Almanac]( To get to the ground of web animation, the experts, among them interaction developers, animators, illustrators, and product designers, dive deep into how to attract the viewerâs eye, reduce cognitive overload, and build visual hierarchies by applying motion. They explore animation influences from tech, art, and film and look at the work of pioneers from the history of animation. A slightly different look at animation and the animation craft. Inspiration is guaranteed. (cm) --------------------------------------------------------------- From our sponsor âFrontend Nation: The Biggest Free Online Frontend Event Everâ [Frontend Nation](
Join the largest online frontend dev community gathering. Our 4-day conference features 3 days of talks from 65+ experts, plus 1 day of live coding challenges across Vue.js, React, and Angular. [Register for FREE today]( — you won't want to miss this. --------------------------------------------------------------- 8. UX Motion Choreography Another design system to dive into for all things animation comes from the folks at Brainly. With an effective duration scale, choreography guidelines, micro and macro animations, slowed-down previews, accessibility considerations, and a duration calculator, their Pencil Design System is a fantastic example of what a design system with a [focus on UX motion]( and [animation]( can look like. [UX Motion]( While motion plays a crucial role in enhancing interactions and engaging users, implementing it can be a costly undertaking. To help you lower the cost of implementing motion, Brainlyâs Lead UX Motion Designer, Giga Khurtislava, shares insights into [how to improve the handoff process]( and improve collaboration between designers and engineers. (cm) --------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Recently Published Books ð Promoting best practices and providing you with practical tips to master your daily coding and design challenges has always been at the core of everything we do at Smashing. In the past few years, we were very lucky to have worked together with some talented, caring people from the web community to publish their wealth of experience as [printed books](. Have you checked them out already? - [Success at Scale]( by Addy Osmani
- [Understanding Privacy]( by Heather Burns
- [Touch Design for Mobile Interfaces]( by Steven Hoober
- [Check out all books →]( [Success At Scale](
Itâs here, and itâs shipping! [Success At Scale]( a new book by Addy Osmani. [Get the book]( or [browse the complete library](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Recent Smashing Articles - [The Era Of Platform Primitives Is Finally Here](
- [Ice Cream Ahead (June 2024 Wallpapers Edition)](
- [In Praise Of The Basics](
- [Decision Trees For UI Components](
- [Best Practices For Naming Design Tokens, Components, Variables, And More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Thatâs All, Folks! Thank you so much for reading and for your support in helping us keep the web dev and design community strong with our newsletter. See you next time! --------------------------------------------------------------- This newsletter issue was written and edited by Cosima Mielke (cm), Vitaly Friedman (vf) and Iris LjeÅ¡njanin (il). Sent to truly [smashing]( readers via [Mailchimp](.
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