Micro Animations in Product Design as a Way to the User's Heart

In today's digital age product designers are constantly striving to create user experiences that could be both functional and emotionally engaging. One design element that has emerged as a powerful tool in achieving this goal is micro animations.

Micro animations are small, subtle animations that are integrated into a product's user interface. They are used to convey feedback, provide context and enhance the overall user experience bringing product close to what we call Minimal Lovable Product (MLP).

In this article we will explore the importance of micro animations in product design as a way to reach a user's heart (bring product closer to MLP) and increase product’s metrics.

Let’s talk about how micro animations affect a product generally and user experience in particular.

Feedback

Animations indicate to users that their actions are completed, profiles are registered or verified, etc. That makes users feel more in control of their experience and relieves anxiety or anger while completing their tasks.

For example, when user shazams a song in a loud bar and the App can’t recognise a song, the animation and constantly changing text show user that the shazamming process is still running.

Improved Navigation

Animations also play a role in improving navigation within the product and guide the user through the product. Seems like it's obvious today, but animated transitions from current page to the next page (e.g., when user taps the cell to view the content) show how exactly user may return to the previous page. It is simple as that: just swipe back — from left to right. That’s where animations suggest the solution and improve user experience.

Imagine, if there aren’t transition animations in a product. Here in Ozon Bank the next page just appears overlaying the previous. That may (even for a fraction of a second) confuse a user.

Enhanced Understanding

Micro animations also help improve the user's understanding of the product's functionality.

Animated onboardings demonstrate how the product works and draws the attention to new features promoted by stakeholders (e.g., to increase some metrics).

VN uses animated onboarding to helps users better understand how the video editing process works.

Premium features promotion may look better with micro animations. They provide users with all necessary information about values that will be received after premium activation. Telegram promotes its premium very delicate, so that users may already “feel the taste” of its features.

Personality and Brand Identity

Micro animations help create a sense of personality and brand identity. Users constantly bumping into consistent animations may get used to them and start feeling the brand voice translated by product team through an App or Web interface. This strengthens the brand awareness and consequently makes users more loyal to the product.

These colourful gradients and dynamic strokes are really associated with Apple Music and no other music streaming platforms. Animations have a meditative effect on users, look very nice and smooth.

Delight and Surprise

Micro animations help create a sense of delight and surprise establishing a positive emotional connection with the product. For example, when 4th season of “Stranger Things” was released Spotify created “Stranger Things Official Playlist”, which was full of animations delivering new emotional experience to users.

Empathy and Connection to Product

Not only good UX copyright or friendly UI establish human-oriented user experiences in product. Micro animations may express sympathy and understanding to users. Accordingly, users feel human-like support from the product they’re using.

For example, if Shazam can’t recognise a song, there appears a very disappointing message: “We didn’t quite catch that, try again”. If there was an animation of a sad smile, the text wouldn’t be perceived like something formal and insincere. The animation of the smile would tell user “Hey, I’m also sad, you’re not alone here, I support you. Let’s try again”. It may have decreased the frustration (even if a little bit) from a negative user scenario.

Emotionally Engaging User Experiences

Dynamic animations and interactions evoke different positive emotions, such as excitement, joy, or wonder. It creates a stronger bond between the user and the product making it memorable and appealing

For example, one of the main Premium features in Telegram is the access to an enormous library of emoji animations, reactions and statuses. The “ecosystem” of all motion design of Telegram is based on it and being successfully sold to Premium users.

In Beatstar, which I play everyday (ahah), there are lots of animations that make gaming process simply fun and emotional. I literally feel how this box is opening and I really want to touch it.

Animations in a product may have a significant impact on various metrics at the same time. Unfortunately, it could be difficult to count the specific results.

For example, there was an animation of like in Spotify. It was smooth and had a tactic feedback, so that user really could physically feel this liking experience.

How exactly could product managers/designers count the effectiveness of animation implementation? If I say “just count the numbers of like clicks before and after the animation implementation and compare them”, I would be wrong.

Animation is just a part of this whole experience.

To estimate the result of animation implementation, we should also consider:

So, there is no clear answer to the question: “How exactly do micro animations affect the metrics in a product?”. It’s all about overall user experience with lots of factors and relations, which should be considered while counting the results of animation implementation.

tNPS

User loyalty may increase, because micro animations make overall user experience better.

Retention

Being more loyal or interested in product, user returns to it more willingly.

Time Spent in a Product

Also correlates with previous points. If the user is loyal to the product, then the average Time Spent in it may increase.

Jobs/Tasks Success or Conversion

Sometimes micro animations help user achieve the final steps of current User Flow. For example, Mac OS through (as for me, annoying enough) bouncing animation indicates, when the task isn’t completed. So, a user is literally forced to finish the started process.

Activation

Thanks to micro animations, users better understand a product, premium features, product values during onboarding. It may lead to increased number of registrations.

Adoption

Micro animations reduce the number of days, during which users adopt to new functionalities across the product. So, the usage of new features also increases.

Micro animations integrated into the product create both functional and emotionally engaging user experiences that bring the product closer to the Minimal Lovable Product (MLP).

Good micro animations require a certain level of motion design skills (Lottie, Json, After Effects), practice and patience, but the results from their implementation in the product will exceed all expectations.

#motiondesign #design #productdesign #animations #microanimations #userexperience