Why Micro-interactions Matter: The Details That Delight
From loading states to haptic taps, micro-interactions guide user emotion. This guide covers frameworks, accessibility checks, and tooling.
Noah Greene
Head of Design Ops, 0design
Perceived wait time
-35% with skeleton loaders
App rating
+0.3 stars post motion polish
Define the purpose first
Micro-interactions should communicate state, confirm an action, or prevent an error. Decorative animations erode trust.
Write a one-sentence brief for each interaction: “The save button should compress and snap back in 240ms to confirm persistence.”
Timing and easing cheat codes
Use 200–300ms for direct manipulations, 400–600ms for system responses, and 700ms+ for narrative transitions.
Adopt cubic-bezier easing that mimics physics: ease-out for entrances, ease-in for exits, ease-in-out for attention loops.
Tool stack
- Figma Smart Animate for prototyping.
- Rive or Lottie for production-grade assets.
- Motion Canvas or Framer for dev-ready timelines.
Accessibility & performance
Respect the “Reduced Motion” media query. Provide alternate states (color shifts, weight changes) when users opt out of motion.
Animate transforms and opacity, never width/height/left/top. That keeps animations at 60fps on mid-range devices.
Key Takeaways
Micro-interactions are strategic communication devices, not decoration.
Document timing, easing, and intent in your design system so teams stay consistent.
Measure impact via support sentiment, task completion, and engagement deltas.
FAQs
How many micro-interactions are too many?+
If everything moves, nothing stands out. Prioritize moments tied to risk (errors), delight (milestones), or confusion (empty states).
Do micro-interactions hurt performance?+
Not if you animate transforms, compress assets, and lazy load heavy illustrations. Audit with Chrome DevTools performance tab.