motion-design

name motion-design description Applies motion design principles to create emotionally-driven, technically sound animations and transitions. Provides timing, easing, choreography, and Disney animation principles adapted for UI. Use when creating animations, transitions, micro-interactions, loading states, page transitions, scroll-triggered effects, or any motion work. Works with CSS, Framer Motion, GSAP, Lottie, Spring, or any animation system. license MIT metadata {"author":"LottieFiles","version":"1.0.0"} Motion Design Skill When to Apply Use this skill when: Creating UI animations (buttons, cards, modals, page transitions) Designing micro-interactions and feedback animations Building loading, success, or error states Animating illustrations or decorative elements Planning scroll-triggered or progress-based animations Establishing brand motion identity Choreographing multi-element sequences Decision tree: Does it serve a functional purpose (feedback, guidance)? → Timing rules for responsiveness Does it express brand personality? → Motion Personality archetypes Does it tell a story or guide attention? → Disney principles + choreography Is this a complex multi-element scene? → 1/3 Rule + stagger patterns Quick Reference: 8-Step Checklist Before creating any animation: Emotional target? — joy, calm, urgency, elegance Motion Personality? — Playful, Premium, Corporate, Energetic Primary property? — position, scale, rotation, opacity Duration? — see duration table below Easing family? — entrance=decelerate, exit=accelerate Hero element? — apply staging principles Secondary + ambient layers? — add richness 1/3 rules? — motion distance, simultaneous elements Three Pillars (CRITICAL) Every animation must satisfy three pillars before any technical decisions: Pillar Question Drives Emotional Intent What should the viewer FEEL? Easing, timing, amplitude Visual Narrative What's the micro-story? Setup → Action → Resolution Motion Craft How do we make it believable? Physics, secondary motion, paths Three motion layers (flat animation = missing layers): Primary : Main action the viewer follows Secondary : Supporting richness (shadows, icons shifting) Ambient : Background life (gradients, subtle pulses) Deep dive: director/core-philosophy.md Motion Personality Select ONE archetype per project. Apply consistently. Archetype Duration Easing Overshoot Keywords Playful 150-300ms ease-out-back 10-20% fun, whimsical, bouncy, cute Premium 350-600ms cubic-bezier(0.4,0,0.2,1) 0% elegant, minimal, luxury, sophisticated Corporate 200-400ms cubic-bezier(0.2,0,0,1) 0-3% clean, professional, business, dashboard Energetic 100-250ms ease-out-expo 15-30% dynamic, energetic, bold, exciting Default : Corporate for UI, Playful for illustrations. Brand Motion Identity — define three constants: Signature easing : One curve for 80% of animations Duration palette : 3 durations (quick / standard / slow) Entrance pattern : One consistent entry style Deep dive: director/motion-personality.md Property Selection Effect Goal Primary Property Secondary Properties Entrance/Exit position opacity, scale Emphasis/Attention scale rotation (subtle), opacity pulse State Change opacity, color scale (press feedback) Direction/Flow position rotation (follow path) Depth/3D Feel scale + shadow position (parallax) Loading/Progress rotation (spinner) scale, opacity pulse Success scale (pop) color, rotation (checkmark draw) Error/Alert position (shake) color, rotation (wobble) Simplicity threshold : Use the minimum properties needed. One = direct. Two = polished. Three+ = potentially overwhelming. Deep dive: reference/property-selection.md Duration Table Element Type Duration Rationale Tooltip / micro-feedback 80-120ms Must feel instant Button press / toggle 120-180ms Responsive feedback Icon transition 150-250ms Clear state change Card enter / exit 200-350ms Spatial awareness Modal / dialog 300-400ms Focus shift Page transition 400-600ms Context switch Dramatic reveal 600-1200ms Theatrical build Distance scales duration : 100px = base. 200px = 1.3x. 400px = 1.6x. Enter > Exit : Entrances 30-50% longer than exits. Users care about what appears. Interactive feedback : Hover: <100ms Press: <150ms Release/settle: 200-300ms Error shake: 300-400ms (2-3 oscillations) Deep dive: reference/timing-easing-tables.md Easing Selection Directional rules : Entrance → decelerate (fast start, gentle landing): ease-out family Exit → accelerate (gentle start, fast departure): ease-in family On-screen → smooth both ends: ease-in-out family Looping ambient → seamless: sine-based ease-in-out Industry standards : Standard Cubic Bezier Use For Material Design 3 (0.2, 0, 0, 1) Default on-screen MD3 Emphasized (0.05, 0.7, 0.1, 1) Entrances, attention MD3 Accelerate (0.3, 0, 1, 1) Exits, dismissals Apple HIG (0.25, 0.1, 0.25, 1) Standard iOS Snappy UI (0.2, 0, 0, 1) Fast, decisive Gentle float (0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) Ambient, background Bounce settle (0.175, 0.885, 0.32, 1.275) Overshoot, playful Material-based easing : Material Duration Scale Overshoot Rigid (metal, stone) 1.2x 0% Elastic (rubber, gel) 0.8x 15-25% Fluid (water, paint) 1.5x 5% Paper (cards, sheets) 1.0x 3-5% Gas (smoke, fog) 2.0x 0% Glass (brittle) 0.9x 0% Deep dive: reference/timing-easing-tables.md Common Patterns Button Press (Playful) Anticipation : Scale to 0.97 (50ms, ease-out) Squash : Scale to [1.04, 0.96] (100ms, ease-in) Follow through : Overshoots to 1.02, settles to 1.0 (spring, 200ms) Secondary : Shadow shrinks during press, icon shifts down 2px Total : ~150ms press + 200ms settle Card Entrance (Premium) Start : 20px below target, opacity 0 Path : Slight curve (10px X offset at midpoint) Easing : ease-out-cubic deceleration Follow through : Shadow arrives 50ms after card Secondary : Content fades in 100ms after card lands Staging : Other cards dim to 80% Success State (Playful) Primary : Scale pop with ease-out-back Secondary : Checkmark draws in Ambient : Subtle particle burst Color : Green fill Total : 300-400ms Error Shake (Corporate) Primary : Position oscillates 2-3 times, ±10-15px horizontal Easing : ease-in-out for sharp stops Color : Red tint Total : 300-400ms No overshoot : Errors feel firm More patterns: patterns/entrance-exit.md | patterns/state-feedback.md Choreography Essentials Coordinated entry : Lead with the hero — primary element enters first or most prominently Spatial consistency — all elements enter from same direction Counter-motion — hero moves right → ambient moves left at 20-30% speed 1/3 Rule (distance) : No motion travels more than 1/3 of screen without a keyframe change. 1/3 Rule (elements) : With 3+ elements, no more than 1/3 in active motion simultaneously. Stagger budgets : Pattern Delay Total Budget Use Case Micro cascade 20-40ms <200ms List items, grid cells Standard 50-100ms <400ms Cards, panels, nav Dramatic 100-200ms <600ms Hero sections Wave 30-60ms <500ms Data visualizations Critical : Total stagger must stay under 500ms. Deep dive: director/choreography.md Emotion-to-Motion Map Emotion Character Path Easing Duration Joy Bouncy, arcs Curved, upward ease-out-back 200-400ms Calm Smooth, flowing Gentle curves sine ease-in-out 500-1000ms Urgency Sharp, fast Straight lines ease-out 100-200ms Sadness Slow, downward Drooping curves cubic ease-in-out 600-1200ms Surprise Sudden, expanding Radial outward ease-out-expo 150-300ms Elegance Slow, controlled Long arcs (0.4,0,0.2,1) 400-700ms Playfulness Bouncy, irregular Arcs, squiggly ease-out-back 200-350ms Path as language : Angular = tense. Curved = friendly. Spiral = whimsical. Diagonal = purposeful. Vertical = growth/weight. Horizontal = progress. Deep dive: director/emotion-mapping.md Weight Classification Weight Examples Duration Overshoot Easing Heavy Modals, overlays 300-500ms 0% Gentle, high damping Medium Cards, panels 200-350ms 3-5% Moderate Light Tooltips, badges, icons 80-200ms 5-15% Responsive Quality Rules CRITICAL — never break Never linear for spatial movement — always use easing curves (linear only for spinners, progress bars) Never opacity-only for important state changes — combine with position or scale Never exceed 1/3 screen without intermediate keyframe Always three motion layers — primary + secondary + ambient HIGH — strongly follow Match duration to element type (see tables) Use directional easing (ease-out entrance, ease-in exit) Apply Disney principles (especially anticipation, follow-through) Maintain consistent personality across scene Full checklist: reference/quality-checklist.md Troubleshooting Quick Reference | Problem | Likely Cause | Fix |