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> even "feel" does matter to most users And I think most users would prefer software that does stuff instantly. Attaching little animations to everything is ju

> even "feel" does matter to most users And I think most users would prefer software that does stuff instantly. Attaching little animations to everything is just silly and distracting. It only happens because someone had nothing better to do but still had to look busy. These things almost universally degrade the interface and I've yet to see the actual benefit of them, aside from the fact that they draw attention to themselves and make people think "someone put some work into that". When you think about it, that is the opposite of good interface design. A good interface is one you do not notice – it puts as little as possible between user and machine.

motoxpro 3y ago
Almost no Apple interactions are without animation. It's actually hard to find something that's NOT animated on Android AND iPhone. For most users, the iPhone is one of the gold standards for "good feel". Some people like the unrealistic jumping of no animation, which is totally fine. Some people want it to "feel like a computer" not how things actually behave in the real world. It's taste. Animations that are too long or too noticeable are bad taste. But animations themselves are not bad.
- James_K 3y ago
  Switches in the real world tend to snap almost instantly from one end to the other. That is the defining feature of switches – that they don't have a slow transition between the states. This animation stuff isn't realistic, and even if it was that isn't an argument for it.
  - Slartie 3y ago
    But when you move a switch like the ones demonstrated here in the real world, you have the haptic feedback of moving the pin physically, of it "snapping" into place. And that's how you know that your switch toggling was successful. The "digital switch" does not have that. You usually don't even "move" it, as in "move the finger over the screen", but you just touch it. And your finger obscures the UI component in the moment you touch it, without any haptic feedback (except for your finger hitting the screen somewhere, but that does not necessarily mean that the switch has toggled). The animation replaces this missing haptic feedback, by your eyes seeing the switch moving, when you remove your finger after touching the screen.
    - kkoncevicius 3y ago
      I agree more with James K on this, but see your point too. Maybe this should be abstracted away such that each person can set their own preference which would be applied across all websites. Similarly how some of them respect your theme (dark vs light), they could be made to respect the animations, so that all toggles behave the same way (fast animation / smooth animation / instant). I would choose instant thou.
      - d0gbread 3y ago
        Or use a checkbox and stop trying to make toggles a thing, since they just don't translate to digital as well.
  - andrewaylett 3y ago
    I don't know about your switches, but mine definitely do need to pass through the intervening space between states. That's not an argument for slow transitions, but some transition is realistic.
    - mrob 3y ago
      The transition is already there, on the actual switch (or the deformation of the fingertip with touchscreens). The animation is a second transition played after the first one is already complete. That is not realistic.
- carlosjobim 3y ago
  There are not many animations on iOS nor MacOS. What they are is movement that corresponds to the users movements. Like opening exposé with the touchpad on MacOS is not an animation, the windows follows the movement of your fingers. Likewise scrolling is not an animation, because it follows the users movements.
iainmerrick 3y ago
And I think most users would prefer software that does stuff instantly Hmm, users certainly prefer software that's fast, but I don't know about "instantly". Feedback is important. A button that gently clicks so you know it took effect is better than a touch sensor with no feedback. Animations can serve the same purpose as that click. (And of course they can be overdone, just like a button can be overly stiff or loud.)
chefandy 3y ago
> And I think most users would prefer software that does stuff instantly User research feels differently, but with numbers. > These things almost universally degrade the interface and I've yet to see the actual benefit of them See my point about technical people and their usage perspectives. > When you think about it, that is the opposite of good interface design. Having been a professional software designer, I assure you I've thought about this. And explored it, researched it, tested it, prototyped it, interviewed people about it, built it, rebuilt it, and then did it all over again to improve it. Re-read the last paragraph in my comment. > A good interface is one you do not notice – it puts as little as possible between user and machine. On second thought, re-read the whole comment.
- James_K 3y ago
  Actually I think you should re-read my comment. I'd also love to actually see the research you're talking about here. > I assure you I've thought about this. And explored it, researched it, tested it, prototyped it, interviewed people about it, built it, rebuilt it, and then did it all over again to improve it. Oh, sorry, I didn't realise I was talking to the world expert on button animations. So do users prefer quadratic or exponential smoothing on their switches?
  - chefandy 3y ago
    > Actually I think you should re-read my comment. Ok, done. Still didn't see anything beyond assertions based on nothing but your own preference, and countering things I said without any support. > Oh, sorry, I didn't realise I was talking to the world expert on button animations. So do users prefer quadratic or exponential smoothing on their switches? Of course I didn't say I was the world expert in button animation, but I'm far beyond the age where I feel compelled to pretend random developers' uninformed opinions on design are as useful as mine. Lots of developers get really mad when people point out that that their software development expertise doesn't make them experts in all other fields, but that's a you problem.
    - James_K 3y ago
usrusr 3y ago
> A good interface is one you do not notice A good animation is one you do not notice. Subtlety that succeeds in loading off its feedback payload in your brain without exposing the transmission mechanism to the conscious level of perception. Chances are you are only complaining about the subset of animations that failed to stay under that threshold. Yes, slow, elaborate animations are bad.
- James_K 3y ago
  I agree. I don't have any issue with animations that I don't notice. So why bother with them? It seems like the best way to avoid me noticing something is not to put it there to begin with.

motoxpro 3y ago

Almost no Apple interactions are without animation. It's actually hard to find something that's NOT animated on Android AND iPhone. For most users, the iPhone is one of the gold standards for "good feel". Some people like the unrealistic jumping of no animation, which is totally fine. Some people want it to "feel like a computer" not how things actually behave in the real world. It's taste. Animations that are too long or too noticeable are bad taste. But animations themselves are not bad.

James_K 3y ago
Switches in the real world tend to snap almost instantly from one end to the other. That is the defining feature of switches – that they don't have a slow transition between the states. This animation stuff isn't realistic, and even if it was that isn't an argument for it.
- Slartie 3y ago
  But when you move a switch like the ones demonstrated here in the real world, you have the haptic feedback of moving the pin physically, of it "snapping" into place. And that's how you know that your switch toggling was successful. The "digital switch" does not have that. You usually don't even "move" it, as in "move the finger over the screen", but you just touch it. And your finger obscures the UI component in the moment you touch it, without any haptic feedback (except for your finger hitting the screen somewhere, but that does not necessarily mean that the switch has toggled). The animation replaces this missing haptic feedback, by your eyes seeing the switch moving, when you remove your finger after touching the screen.
  - kkoncevicius 3y ago
    I agree more with James K on this, but see your point too. Maybe this should be abstracted away such that each person can set their own preference which would be applied across all websites. Similarly how some of them respect your theme (dark vs light), they could be made to respect the animations, so that all toggles behave the same way (fast animation / smooth animation / instant). I would choose instant thou.
    - d0gbread 3y ago
      Or use a checkbox and stop trying to make toggles a thing, since they just don't translate to digital as well.
- andrewaylett 3y ago
  I don't know about your switches, but mine definitely do need to pass through the intervening space between states. That's not an argument for slow transitions, but some transition is realistic.
  - mrob 3y ago
    The transition is already there, on the actual switch (or the deformation of the fingertip with touchscreens). The animation is a second transition played after the first one is already complete. That is not realistic.
carlosjobim 3y ago
There are not many animations on iOS nor MacOS. What they are is movement that corresponds to the users movements. Like opening exposé with the touchpad on MacOS is not an animation, the windows follows the movement of your fingers. Likewise scrolling is not an animation, because it follows the users movements.

iainmerrick 3y ago

And I think most users would prefer software that does stuff instantly Hmm, users certainly prefer software that's fast, but I don't know about "instantly". Feedback is important. A button that gently clicks so you know it took effect is better than a touch sensor with no feedback. Animations can serve the same purpose as that click. (And of course they can be overdone, just like a button can be overly stiff or loud.)

chefandy 3y ago

> And I think most users would prefer software that does stuff instantly User research feels differently, but with numbers. > These things almost universally degrade the interface and I've yet to see the actual benefit of them See my point about technical people and their usage perspectives. > When you think about it, that is the opposite of good interface design. Having been a professional software designer, I assure you I've thought about this. And explored it, researched it, tested it, prototyped it, interviewed people about it, built it, rebuilt it, and then did it all over again to improve it. Re-read the last paragraph in my comment. > A good interface is one you do not notice – it puts as little as possible between user and machine. On second thought, re-read the whole comment.

James_K 3y ago
Actually I think you should re-read my comment. I'd also love to actually see the research you're talking about here. > I assure you I've thought about this. And explored it, researched it, tested it, prototyped it, interviewed people about it, built it, rebuilt it, and then did it all over again to improve it. Oh, sorry, I didn't realise I was talking to the world expert on button animations. So do users prefer quadratic or exponential smoothing on their switches?
- chefandy 3y ago
  > Actually I think you should re-read my comment. Ok, done. Still didn't see anything beyond assertions based on nothing but your own preference, and countering things I said without any support. > Oh, sorry, I didn't realise I was talking to the world expert on button animations. So do users prefer quadratic or exponential smoothing on their switches? Of course I didn't say I was the world expert in button animation, but I'm far beyond the age where I feel compelled to pretend random developers' uninformed opinions on design are as useful as mine. Lots of developers get really mad when people point out that that their software development expertise doesn't make them experts in all other fields, but that's a you problem.
  - James_K 3y ago

usrusr 3y ago

> A good interface is one you do not notice A good animation is one you do not notice. Subtlety that succeeds in loading off its feedback payload in your brain without exposing the transmission mechanism to the conscious level of perception. Chances are you are only complaining about the subset of animations that failed to stay under that threshold. Yes, slow, elaborate animations are bad.

James_K 3y ago
I agree. I don't have any issue with animations that I don't notice. So why bother with them? It seems like the best way to avoid me noticing something is not to put it there to begin with.