In "Habit Hustle: The Creative Process Behind a UI Animation," Michael Crawford, a visual designer based in Stockholm, shares insights into his creative journey while developing a captivating animation inspired by gemstones. The article delves into the tools and techniques he employs, providing a detailed look at the workflow involved in creating UI animations. Crawford begins by introducing his background, highlighting his transition from advertising to interactive design. He emphasizes his passion for learning new skills in software like AfterEffects and Blender, which he uses to create prototypes. His animation project revolves around the concept of gemstones, which he associates with rewards for completing everyday tasks. This thematic choice sets the stage for the visual exploration that follows. The article outlines Crawford's program stack, which includes Blender for 3D motion, Figma for layout design, and AfterEffects for animation. He mentions specific plugins that enhance his workflow, such as AEUX for converting Figma files to AfterEffects and Motion 4 for streamlining animation tasks. These tools are essential for managing the complexities of syncing animations between different software. Crawford details his initial concept development, where he creates gemstone assets in Blender. He shares insights into the shader setup for achieving realistic glass and gem effects, emphasizing the importance of using accurate values for index of refraction (IOR) and dispersion to enhance realism. This technical foundation is crucial for the visual appeal of the final animation. The animation process is broken down into several steps. Crawford explains the challenges of syncing animations between Blender and AfterEffects, particularly for scroll animations. He provides practical tips for exporting layouts from Figma to AfterEffects, including strategies for managing layers and ensuring text is properly formatted. He also discusses the importance of building the animation in AfterEffects first to establish timing before moving to Blender. Once the rough animation is established, Crawford moves to Blender to refine the animation. He describes the intricacies of setting keyframes and adjusting properties, noting the flexibility of Blender in animating various elements. He emphasizes the need for frequent saving due to the software's tendency to crash, particularly during rendering. After testing the animation in AfterEffects, Crawford iterates on the timing and details, ensuring that the final product is polished. He highlights the significance of creating a seamless loop for social media and case studies, even if it’s not necessary for client projects. The final rendering process in Blender is time-consuming, especially with complex glass materials, but it culminates in a satisfying result. Crawford concludes by reflecting on the joy of creating personal projects, which allow him to experiment and refine his skills. He encourages others to pursue their interests in design and animation, emphasizing the importance of enjoyment in the learning process. The article serves as both a tutorial and an inspiration for designers looking to enhance their animation skills.

UI animations enhance user experience and usability. Thoughtful animations, like mobile menu micro animations and gamified elements, create positive user associations. Tools like Flowmapp assist in planning user flows and designing interfaces.

Motion design enhances digital products by engaging users, simplifying complex information, and guiding interactions effectively. Disney's 12 Principles of Animation, including "Squash and Stretch" and "Anticipation," are techniques for creating dynamic and intuitive digital experiences by incorporating elasticity, fluidity, visual cues, and transitional staging.

The web is buzzing with innovation. New CSS and UI features are reshaping how we create beautiful and engaging web experiences. Highlights from Google I/O 2024 include scroll-driven animations, view transitions, and anchor positioning, each offering exciting possibilities for web development. These advancements can simplify complex interactions, boost performance, and elevate the user experience.

This article emphasizes the importance of motion design in conveying brand personality and enhancing user experience. Webflow integrated motion seamlessly across its platform by creating consistent guidelines and iterating based on feedback. Building Webflow's motion design principles involved understanding the core message to convey, learning with the best in the industry, leaning on internal talent, designing with scalability in mind, and considering the context.

Animations can elevate story-telling in sales decks, emails, and landing pages. Figma uses product hero animations to convey its product value and differentiation faster. Mutiny enhances its case study page with subtle movement upon hover. Mailchimp uses animation to create micro-interactions with users’ product experiences (eg. an animated high-five after users send emails).

This blog post discusses UI/UX trends in 2024, including the use of 3D graphics, complex gradients, 2D illustrations, minimalism, dark interfaces, animations, and characters. Aesthetics should be balanced with user needs, but users are increasingly looking for better-looking designs in today's web apps, especially for consumer-facing ones.

Curated tools 🖌️ , trends 🎨, and inspiration 💡 for design professionals

Curated tools 🖌️ , trends 🎨, and inspiration 💡 for design professionals

Cartwheel wants to revolutionize 3D animation by using AI to make it simple and fast to generate basic movements. The tool lets creators focus on expressive tasks, offering a game-changing solution for animators who traditionally spend hours on elementary motions. With a user-friendly interface and impressive output, it aims to foster productivity and creativity in animation.

Generate and customize a 3D Claymorphism UI example with a free CSS online tool.

In the contemporary landscape of technology, particularly with the rise of artificial intelligence, there is a growing trend of companies embellishing their products with flashy features and aesthetics, often referred to as "sparkles." This term encapsulates the colorful, eye-catching designs that accompany AI functionalities, which are frequently marketed as magical or revolutionary. However, the reality is that many of these features are poorly executed, experimental, and sometimes unreliable. Instead of enhancing user experience, these sparkles often signal that a feature is still in beta, leaving users to navigate through potential issues. The author, Josh Clark, argues that the focus should not be on the superficial appeal of AI features but rather on their functionality and reliability. Users expect tools like spell checkers or spam filters to work seamlessly without any special designation or fanfare. The expectation for AI-powered features should be the same; they should perform effectively without the need for flashy labels or designs. The emphasis should be on the utility of the feature rather than its technological underpinnings. Clark introduces the concept of "Sentient Design," which advocates for a more humble and pragmatic approach to integrating AI into user experiences. This design philosophy encourages developers to treat machine intelligence as a standard part of the user experience rather than a novelty. If a feature is indeed unreliable or problematic, it may not be ready for release, and developers should focus on addressing these issues rather than masking them with superficial enhancements. The call to action is clear: remove the sparkles and focus on delivering reliable, effective features that meet user needs. By doing so, organizations can create a more authentic and user-centered experience that prioritizes functionality over aesthetics. This approach not only enhances user satisfaction but also fosters a deeper understanding of the role AI can play in product design and user interaction. In addition to this essay, Big Medium offers various services, including workshops and design sprints, to help organizations navigate the complexities of AI integration in their products. The overarching message is to embrace a straightforward, effective design philosophy that prioritizes user experience and the practical application of AI technologies.

AI's potential in design isn't about replacing creatives - it can be a powerful tool in the creation process. "An Improbable Future" showcases unique AI-generated tech products that blend familiar and unseen elements that inspire new ideas. This post highlights how effective prompting can help generate innovative concepts and emphasizes the importance of intention in AI-driven design.

Figma has undertaken a significant redesign of its interface, known as UI3, aimed at enhancing the user experience for designers. This overhaul was driven by a desire to minimize distractions and keep the focus on the design work itself. The team dedicated over two years to this project, iterating on various concepts and even reversing some initial design decisions based on user feedback. The goal was to create an interface that not only meets the needs of current users but also anticipates future demands. The redesign process involved a deep engagement with user feedback, as the team recognized that understanding the needs of designers is crucial. Marcin Wichary, the Design Director, emphasized the importance of listening to users and processing their feedback carefully, as metrics related to creativity and flow are often elusive. The team aimed to ensure that the redesign journey included input from a broad range of users, making the transition smoother and more inclusive. One of the key features of UI3 is the introduction of docked panels, which allow for a more streamlined workspace. The team explored various configurations for these panels, including floating options, but ultimately decided to fix them in place based on user feedback indicating that floating panels could be distracting and hinder productivity. The redesign also introduced a "Minimize UI" feature, which collapses side panels to provide a distraction-free workspace while still allowing easy access to tools. The evolution of blend modes and the properties panel was another focus area. The team sought to modernize these elements while ensuring they remained intuitive for users. For instance, the blend modes were initially hidden behind an icon, which slowed down workflows. The final design features an inline dropdown for easier access, reflecting a balance between minimalism and functionality. Throughout the redesign, the team engaged in extensive collaboration and feedback sessions, adapting their approach based on insights gathered from users. This iterative process included experimenting with various design elements, such as clip content controls, which ultimately returned to a checkbox format for clarity and efficiency. Recognizing that redesigns can be daunting for users, Figma provided an opt-out option during the beta phase of UI3, allowing users to familiarize themselves with the new interface at their own pace. This gradual rollout is intended to facilitate a smoother transition and ensure that users feel supported as they adapt to the changes. As UI3 becomes available to all users on October 10, the Figma team encourages ongoing feedback to continue shaping the future of their design tools. The redesign reflects a commitment to enhancing user experience while remaining responsive to the needs of the design community.

Does shipping digital experiences quickly mean compromising on quality? Not necessarily. AI and visual development create new ways to build, iterate upon, and optimize applications and websites. This live session will cut through the hype and provide a realistic view of how traditional CMS architecture misses the mark and how emerging technologies address long-standing challenges: > How visual development + AI can dramatically accelerate your workflow > The power of Generative UI and Structured UI in modern web development > Real-world examples of organizations shipping digital experiences 10x faster

AI design tools, like Midjourney, DALL-E, and Adobe Sensei, enhance the design process by handling repetitive tasks, analyzing data, and generating ideas. While they offer speed and efficiency, they lack the human touch needed for emotional and cultural nuances. The future of design lies in blending AI's capabilities with human creativity, allowing designers to focus on strategic and creative aspects and creating more impactful and emotionally resonant work.

Generate an AI video from keyframe images based on users' unique styles, concepts, or products.

The mise en mode approach allows creativity and expression while maintaining a structured system for user experience design. Its premise is to think of elements like rounded corners, purple gradients, and typography as modes on top of an underlying familiar structure. A system like this provides user expectation guardrails, while tokens provide a style-by-name interface to convey a form of expression.

This is an AI tool that creates CSS animations. You can describe the animation you want and the tool will generate the code. You can also edit the animation after it is created.

Anthropic's new features in Claude allow developers to automate prompt engineering, improving AI application development by generating, testing, and refining prompts with quick feedback.