3 ms·

Just wondering, is motion really a good idea? It distracts, eats cpu/drains battery, can't be printed, has bad UX. User have to wait for the animation to cycl

by jopsen 5y ago

Just wondering, is motion really a good idea? It distracts, eats cpu/drains battery, can't be printed, has bad UX. User have to wait for the animation to cycle, and you can't pause it to read something if it's moving too fast.

chrismorgan 5y ago
> User have to wait for the animation to cycle, and you can't pause it to read something if it's moving too fast. That’s only badly done animations, using bad file formats like GIF or inappropriate file formats like APNG, or poorly-considered CSS or SMIL animations on SVG or HTML. It’s not difficult to use a real video format with controls to allow pausing, or to design a pause button into software-driven animation. Done well, software-driven animation can even be interactive, which can be especially good for comprehension.
- musingsole 5y ago
  > It’s not difficult to use a real video format with controls to allow pausing, or to design a pause button into software-driven animation. Countless presentations that just skipped whatever video content they had due to various technical difficulties say otherwise.
  - chrismorgan 5y ago
    What of the countless presentations that were improved by doing video content properly? I can easily think of examples in both directions. It also depends a little on context: I had in mind and was referring to user-driven media (which is fairly clearly the context here). If you’re presenting something to an audience that is at your mercy (which seems to be more what you’re talking about), then the situation is indeed a bit different—though a pause button and scrub bar are still likely to be a good investment.
    - musingsole 5y ago
      You stated videos aren't difficult. My experience with professionals presenting whatever across many disciplines really shows that to be false. I know it can be done; I've seen it. I know it can be good; I've enjoyed it. But to say "it's not difficult" is to be blind to reality.
pbowyer 5y ago
It's a good question, and motion should never be used without careful thought. In my case I've written an article about request coalescing, and the animations are to go alongside the text rather than in place of it. It'll help illustrate the concept and the pitfalls that can happen.

by jopsen 5y ago

chrismorgan 5y ago

> User have to wait for the animation to cycle, and you can't pause it to read something if it's moving too fast. That’s only badly done animations, using bad file formats like GIF or inappropriate file formats like APNG, or poorly-considered CSS or SMIL animations on SVG or HTML. It’s not difficult to use a real video format with controls to allow pausing, or to design a pause button into software-driven animation. Done well, software-driven animation can even be interactive, which can be especially good for comprehension.

musingsole 5y ago
> It’s not difficult to use a real video format with controls to allow pausing, or to design a pause button into software-driven animation. Countless presentations that just skipped whatever video content they had due to various technical difficulties say otherwise.
- chrismorgan 5y ago
  What of the countless presentations that were improved by doing video content properly? I can easily think of examples in both directions. It also depends a little on context: I had in mind and was referring to user-driven media (which is fairly clearly the context here). If you’re presenting something to an audience that is at your mercy (which seems to be more what you’re talking about), then the situation is indeed a bit different—though a pause button and scrub bar are still likely to be a good investment.
  - musingsole 5y ago
    You stated videos aren't difficult. My experience with professionals presenting whatever across many disciplines really shows that to be false. I know it can be done; I've seen it. I know it can be good; I've enjoyed it. But to say "it's not difficult" is to be blind to reality.

pbowyer 5y ago

It's a good question, and motion should never be used without careful thought. In my case I've written an article about request coalescing, and the animations are to go alongside the text rather than in place of it. It'll help illustrate the concept and the pitfalls that can happen.