Purposeful animations

Role and purpose of animations

• Many see animations as mostly unnecessary “PowerPoint polish”; simple cross-fades or instant state changes usually suffice.
• Strong consensus: the primary justified purpose is clarifying state changes—helping users see what changed, where it came from, and where it went.
• Some argue that if you need animation to explain state, the layout might be wrong; better to redesign (e.g., change a Save button to “Saved” rather than show a toast).
• Others frame animation as “validation”: confirming what the user already knows, not conveying critical information.

Timing, frequency, and perceived latency

• Common preference for very short transitions: ~150–250 ms; many find 300+ ms noticeably sluggish.
• Repeated, high-frequency actions (launchers, save buttons, work apps) should have minimal or no animation.
• Ease-out curves can preserve snappiness by responding instantly, then decelerating.
• Some warn that too-fast transitions can look like glitches, and that non-technical users benefit from slower, clearer transitions, especially for large layout changes.

Delight, polish, and business value

• Many think “delight” is overemphasized; fancy effects often impress designers more than users and add friction.
• Others note that subtle, purposeful motion contributes to a sense of “solidness” and quality, and can reduce bounce on marketing sites.
• In B2B/enterprise tools, attention-grabbing or decorative animations are widely viewed as counterproductive.

Platform and implementation critiques

• Heavy criticism of iOS/macOS and Android for slow or uninterruptible animations (app switching, notifications, spaces, unlock, drawers, quick settings).
• Several examples where animations block interaction, misrepresent state, or cause subtle bugs (date pickers, alarms, confetti overlays, delayed expanding panels).
• Animations can look janky on lower-quality displays or non-native resolutions.

Accessibility, control, and configuration

• Strong support for global and app-level controls: disable or drastically reduce animations, especially for power users.
• Mentions of prefers-reduced-motion and OS accessibility settings, but frustration that many sites and apps ignore them or can’t reach true “zero animation.”
• Some propose adaptive UIs: more animation for novices, automatically reduced or removed as usage patterns become expert-like.

Diverse personal preferences

• A vocal group wants almost everything instant; others genuinely enjoy smooth, “juicy” motion.
• General rule emerging from the thread: never make users wait for an animation, and always let them turn it off.