By Sydney Donaldson, Creative Content Producer
We as humans are conditioned to be enchanted by the things we see. In our society today, the design and visual world is moving at an exponential rate, constantly changing and evolving towards the next new thing. The recent trend in the design world, animation and motion graphics have been coming in hot and heavy.
According to the article Psychological Impact of Animation and Motion Graphics in UX Design for a Mobile App in The Designest, author Dana Kachan explains, “The power of animation lies in its ability to work as eye candy, switch the user’s attention from a problem to fun, or suggest an alternative option at a particular step of the user experience. It can transform the negative user experience into an exciting adventure and provide an excellent opportunity to express the app creator’s creativity once again.”
This article studies the effect of Animation and Motion graphics specific to mobile apps. In general, the studies found the psychological impact of animation and motion graphics in app’s tend to create a feeling of calmness and generate user satisfaction.
Showing a transition between screens on an app with an animation helps communicate to the viewer a state of change. Kachan found, “We feel calm when we are well-informed and clearly understand what’s going on around us. For the same reason, progress and loading animations improve user experience, informing users about the progress of processes in a mobile app. It helps people feel like they keep more control over the process and can predict its outcome.”
Animations and motion graphics enhance the user experience of mobile apps through psychological comfort. They are used to attract a user's attention. As users, we are able to build a mental model about how an app works and how to interact with it. For example, when using an app for the first time, scanning through navigation bars and unfamiliar screens can be overwhelming. Animations on the screen can signal to users the direction in which their eyes should move, making the screen more understandable.
Kanchan explained, “The animation can help minimize the cognitive load [mental processing power needed to use a product] by focusing the user’s attention on the key information. It can highlight important details in a text copy, motivate you to take needed actions to move to the next step in a journey, assist on how to navigate an app, inform about the action completion, and more.”
Using animations and motion graphics in app designs help create a new and improved user experience. They make the user experience more clear cut, while also bringing enjoyment and a sense of comfort.
Citation
Kuznetsova, O., Pedchenko, K., Kuznetsov, N., & Kachan, D. (2020, June 24). Psychological Impact of Animation and Motion Graphics in UX Design for a Mobile App. Retrieved September 14, 2020, from https://thedesignest.net/animation-motion-ux-design-mobile-app/