UI Animation

Tasteful UI animation with proper timing, accessibility, and performance.

Quick Start

Technique Decision:

• Simple transition? → CSS/Tailwind (transition-*, animate-*)
• Enter/exit with unmount? → Motion + AnimatePresence
• Gesture-driven? → Motion springs
• Layout changes? → Motion layout prop

Default: Start with Easing Decision Tree → Duration Guidelines → Implement → Add a11y → Verify

Core Principles

1. Natural Motion: Mimic physics. Avoid linear easing - nothing moves at constant speed.
2. Purposeful: Every animation must add meaning. If you can't explain its benefit, remove it.
3. Fast: UI animations under 300ms. Hover effects under 150ms. Over 500ms feels sluggish.
4. Interruptible: Use springs for gesture-driven animations - they handle interruption gracefully.
5. Accessible: Always respect prefers-reduced-motion. Non-negotiable.

Workflow

Step 1: Classify Animation Type

Type	Examples	Technique
Micro-interaction	Button press, toggle, checkbox	CSS/Tailwind
Enter/Exit	Modal, toast, dropdown	Motion + AnimatePresence
Layout change	Accordion, reorder, expand	Motion layout prop
Shared element	Tab indicator, card expand	Motion layoutId
Gesture	Drag, swipe, pull-to-refresh	Motion springs

Step 2: Choose Timing

1. Use Easing Decision Tree below to select curve
2. Use Duration Guidelines to select timing
3. For gestures, use Spring Animations config

Step 3: Implement

1. Check references/recipes.md for copy-paste patterns
2. Apply timing from Step 2
3. Wrap unmounting elements in AnimatePresence

Use ui_to_artifact when starting from a design screenshot or mockup. Use ui_diff_check to compare expected vs implemented UI.

Step 4: Accessibility (Required)

1. Check prefers-reduced-motion with useReducedMotion() or motion-safe:
2. Simplify to opacity-only for reduced motion users
3. Verify focus timing (move focus AFTER animation starts)

Step 5: Verify

• Exit animations run (not instant unmount)
• opacity: 0 elements have pointerEvents: none
• Focus moves after animation starts, not before
• Only animating transform and opacity

Easing

Decision Tree

What triggers the animation?
│
├─ User action (click, tap, open)?
│  └─ Use: ease-out (fast start, slow end = responsive)
│
├─ Element moving on-screen (tab switch, reorder)?
│  └─ Use: ease-in-out (accelerate then decelerate)
│
├─ Continuous/looping (spinner, marquee)?
│  └─ Use: linear (constant speed appropriate here)
│
├─ Gesture-based (drag, swipe, pull)?
│  └─ Use: Spring animation (physics-based, interruptible)
│
└─ Hover/focus effect?
   └─ Use: CSS ease, 150ms (subtle, immediate)

Quick Reference

Purpose	CSS	Tailwind	Duration
Modal/drawer enter	cubic-bezier(0.32, 0.72, 0, 1)	ease-out duration-200	200ms
Modal/drawer exit	cubic-bezier(0.32, 0.72, 0, 1)	ease-out duration-150	150ms
On-screen movement	cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1)	ease-in-out duration-200	200-300ms
Hover effect	ease	ease duration-150	150ms
Button press	—	active:scale-[0.97]	instant

Pro Curves

Name	Value	Use Case
Vaul (buttery)	cubic-bezier(0.32, 0.72, 0, 1)	Sheets, drawers, modals
Emphasized	cubic-bezier(0.2, 0, 0, 1)	Material Design 3
Snappy	cubic-bezier(0.25, 1, 0.5, 1)	Fast UI transitions

Avoid: Built-in ease-in—starts slow, feels sluggish.

Duration Guidelines

Type	Duration	Notes
Micro-feedback	100-150ms	Button press, toggle, checkbox
Small transition	150-250ms	Tooltip, icon morph
Medium transition	200-300ms	Modal, popover, dropdown
Large transition	300-400ms	Page transition, complex layout
Maximum	<500ms	Exceptions: onboarding, data viz

Key Rules:

• Exit faster than enter: 200ms enter → 150ms exit
• Hover = fast: Under 150ms
• High-frequency = instant: Keyboard nav, scrolling—<100ms or none

Spring Animations

Duration-based (Recommended)

Easier to compose with other timed animations. Use visualDuration (time to visually reach target) and bounce (0 = no bounce, 1 = very bouncy).

Feel	Config	Use Case
Snappy	{ duration: 0.3, bounce: 0.15 }	Tabs, buttons, quick feedback
Standard	{ duration: 0.4, bounce: 0.2 }	Modals, menus, general UI
Gentle	{ duration: 0.5, bounce: 0.25 }	Smooth, human-like flow

Physics-based (Legacy/Advanced)

Use when integrating with physics libraries or when precise control over spring dynamics is needed.

Feel	Config	Use Case
Snappy	{ stiffness: 400, damping: 30 }	High-frequency interactions
Standard	{ stiffness: 300, damping: 20 }	Framer Handshake convention
Gentle	{ stiffness: 120, damping: 14 }	react-motion preset

Gotcha: stiffness/damping/mass overrides duration/bounce. Pick one approach—don't mix.

Layout Animations

The layout Prop

Add layout to animate position/size changes automatically. Use layout="position" for text (prevents distortion).

Prop Value	Effect	Use Case
layout={true}	Animates position AND size	Default for flexible elements
layout="position"	Animates only translation	Text/icons that shouldn't stretch
layout="size"	Animates only dimensions	Fixed-position expanding panels

Shared Element Transitions (layoutId)

Elements with matching layoutId animate between each other when entering/exiting.

Critical Trap: Duplicate layoutId values cause elements to teleport across the page. Use unique IDs per context or wrap in <LayoutGroup id="...">.

Layout Gotchas

• Text distortion: Apply layout="position" to text elements
• Border radius: Can warp during scale—Motion auto-corrects, but test it
• SVG elements: layout doesn't work on <path>—use manual morphing

Gesture Gotchas

Problem	Solution
Touch scroll conflicts	dragPropagation={false}
Element snaps back	Check dragConstraints + dragElastic
Momentum feels wrong	dragMomentum={false} for precise UIs
One-direction only	dragElastic={{ top: 0, bottom: 0.5 }}

Swipe dismiss: Check BOTH distance AND velocity—users expect flicks to work.

Accessibility

prefers-reduced-motion (REQUIRED)

import { useReducedMotion } from "motion/react"

const shouldReduce = useReducedMotion()
const variants = shouldReduce 
  ? { opacity: 1 }                    // Fade only
  : { opacity: 1, scale: 1, y: 0 }    // Full animation

Tailwind: motion-safe:animate-pulse / motion-reduce:transition-none

Best practice: Don't disable—simplify. Remove spatial movement, keep opacity.

Focus Management

• Move focus AFTER animation starts: requestAnimationFrame(() => ref.focus())
• Restore focus to trigger on close
• Don't animate inside aria-live regions

Touch Targets

Standard	Size	Tailwind	Physical
Material Design	48×48 dp	min-h-12 min-w-12	~9mm (recommended)
Apple HIG	44×44 pt	min-h-11 min-w-11	~7mm
WCAG 2.2 (AA)	24×24 px	min-h-6 min-w-6	~5mm (minimum)

Why? Average adult finger pad is ~9mm. Targets below 7mm cause "fat finger" errors. Use Material's 48dp for cross-platform; Apple's 44pt is iOS-specific minimum.

Performance

Golden Rules

1. Only animate transform and opacity—GPU-accelerated
2. Never animate: width, height, top, left, margin, padding
3. will-change sparingly—only during animation, remove after
4. Blur thresholds:
   • ≤10px: Safe for animation
   • 11-20px: May cause jank on mobile/4K—test thoroughly

   • 20px: Avoid for real-time effects; use pre-blurred images instead

5. Prefer CSS over JS for simple transitions

Key Traps

• Height animation: Use layout prop, not animate={{ height }}
• Invisible but clickable: opacity: 0 still receives clicks—add pointerEvents: "none"
• will-change everywhere: Causes layer explosion, mobile crashes

See references/recipes.md for detailed examples.

Examples

Copy-paste patterns organized by category in references/recipes.md:

• Common UI Patterns: Button press, modal enter/exit, error shake, staggered lists, accordion
• Touch & Interaction: Accessible touch targets, hover on touch devices, instant tooltips
• Layout Animations: layout prop, layoutId shared elements, collision fixes
• Radix UI Integration: forceMount pattern, asChild, origin-aware popovers
• Accessibility: Focus timing, focus restoration, reduced motion variants
• Performance: Height animation (use layout), invisible-but-clickable fix, will-change
• Exit Patterns: popLayout with forwardRef, SSR hydration (initial={false})
• Gestures: Swipe dismiss with velocity check, elastic drag boundaries

AnimatePresence

Mode	Behavior	Use Case
sync (default)	Simultaneous enter/exit	Crossfades, overlays
wait	Exit completes before enter	Page transitions, tabs
popLayout	Exiting elements leave flow	List removals (with layout)

Exit Animation Trap

Exit animations require AnimatePresence—without it, unmount is instant:

// ❌ Exit never runs
{isOpen && <motion.div exit={{ opacity: 0 }}>...</motion.div>}

// ✅ Wrap in AnimatePresence
<AnimatePresence>
  {isOpen && <motion.div exit={{ opacity: 0 }}>...</motion.div>}
</AnimatePresence>

SSR: Use <AnimatePresence initial={false}> to prevent animation on page load.

Anti-patterns

Don't	Do Instead	Why
scale(0) start	scale(0.9) or higher	Avoids "popping" effect
linear for UI	ease-out or springs	Linear feels robotic
Animations >500ms	Keep under 300ms	Feels sluggish
Same tooltip delay	First: 400ms, subsequent: 0ms	User mental model
Skip reduced-motion	Always motion-safe:	Accessibility
Animate layout props	Use transform: scale()	Performance
Excessive bounce	bounce: 0-0.2	Unprofessional

tailwindcss-animate

Tailwind v4: Define keyframes via @theme in CSS, not config.

Category	Classes
Enter	animate-in fade-in zoom-in-95 slide-in-from-top
Exit	animate-out fade-out zoom-out-95 slide-out-to-top
Timing	delay-150 duration-500
Fill Mode	fill-mode-forwards fill-mode-backwards

Integration with Other Skills

When	Skill	Why
After implementing	code-quality	Ensure code passes checks
Reusable patterns	docs-write	Document component API
Before committing	git-commit	Use feat(ui): or style:
Integration issues	search	Look up latest patterns

Output

• Artifacts: Code changes only (no .ada/ outputs)
• Modifications: Component animations, CSS/Tailwind styles, Motion configs
• Type: Workflow skill (guidance only, no scripts)

References

Internal

• references/recipes.md - Copy-paste patterns, integration examples, detailed traps

External

• Motion Documentation
• Material Design 3 Motion
• Apple HIG - Motion
• tailwindcss-animate
• easings.net - Easing function cheat sheet