Book a Call

Motion Design

UX Motion

Motion Guidelines

User Experience

Design Systems

ARTICLE #42

A guide to effective motion guidelines in digital products

Motion Graphic Guidelines & Animations
Motion Graphic Guidelines & Animations

Motion Design

UX Motion

Motion Guidelines

User Experience

Design Systems

Motion Design

UX Motion

Motion Guidelines

User Experience

Design Systems

Written by:

7 min read

Updated on: July 3, 2024

Toni Hukkanen

Head of Design

Creative Direction, Brand Direction

Toni Hukkanen

Head of Design

Creative Direction, Brand Direction

If you’ve been around digital design circles, you’ve probably noticed a lot of chatter about component libraries, design systems, and code documentation. Yet there’s often one missing piece: motion. Even though animation can shape a product’s personality and user experience, it’s sometimes overlooked as if it were a side project.

Here’s the catch: when motion is left out of a design system, it’s not just an oversight—it can undercut the entire user experience. Designers end up crafting ad hoc animations that don’t play nicely together, making the product feel inconsistent and unfinished. Meanwhile, users are deprived of an extra layer of interactivity that can help everything flow more smoothly.

If you’ve been around digital design circles, you’ve probably noticed a lot of chatter about component libraries, design systems, and code documentation. Yet there’s often one missing piece: motion. Even though animation can shape a product’s personality and user experience, it’s sometimes overlooked as if it were a side project.

Here’s the catch: when motion is left out of a design system, it’s not just an oversight—it can undercut the entire user experience. Designers end up crafting ad hoc animations that don’t play nicely together, making the product feel inconsistent and unfinished. Meanwhile, users are deprived of an extra layer of interactivity that can help everything flow more smoothly.

What are motion guidelines?

What are motion guidelines?

Motion guidelines spell out how animations should look and behave across a digital product. It’s like a recipe book for designers, developers, and anyone else involved in creating animations. Sometimes it’s a high-level framework; other times, it’s a fully fleshed-out manual detailing timing, easing, and choreography—basically all the bits that help your app or website glide.

The main goal is uniformity. If your product lives on multiple screens or platforms, consistent animation styles ensure users get the same sense of polish wherever they go. That means minimal guesswork for your team and a more cohesive feel for your audience.

Motion guidelines in digital products

Creating a successful product is a team sport: product designers, engineers, motion specialists, managers—you name it. Motion guidelines are there to bridge gaps between disciplines. Imagine a developer who needs to translate an animation storyboard into code. Having official guidelines prevents confusion, helping everyone focus on building the best user experience without reinventing the wheel each time.

Motion guidelines spell out how animations should look and behave across a digital product. It’s like a recipe book for designers, developers, and anyone else involved in creating animations. Sometimes it’s a high-level framework; other times, it’s a fully fleshed-out manual detailing timing, easing, and choreography—basically all the bits that help your app or website glide.

The main goal is uniformity. If your product lives on multiple screens or platforms, consistent animation styles ensure users get the same sense of polish wherever they go. That means minimal guesswork for your team and a more cohesive feel for your audience.

Motion guidelines in digital products

Creating a successful product is a team sport: product designers, engineers, motion specialists, managers—you name it. Motion guidelines are there to bridge gaps between disciplines. Imagine a developer who needs to translate an animation storyboard into code. Having official guidelines prevents confusion, helping everyone focus on building the best user experience without reinventing the wheel each time.

Why are motion guidelines important?

Digital products appear on an ever-growing array of screens: laptops, phones, watches, and more. Using consistent animations across all of them is no small feat. If you skip dedicated motion guidelines, you risk chaotic transitions, brand mismatches, or interactions that just feel clunky.

By defining duration, easing, and style from the get-go, you support an evolving product that maintains a professional edge no matter where it’s used. In short, guidelines set a common baseline that can handle new features, new platforms, and new design directions without sending your team into a tailspin.

Digital products appear on an ever-growing array of screens: laptops, phones, watches, and more. Using consistent animations across all of them is no small feat. If you skip dedicated motion guidelines, you risk chaotic transitions, brand mismatches, or interactions that just feel clunky.

By defining duration, easing, and style from the get-go, you support an evolving product that maintains a professional edge no matter where it’s used. In short, guidelines set a common baseline that can handle new features, new platforms, and new design directions without sending your team into a tailspin.

How to create effective motion guidelines in digital products?

Designing motion guidelines requires you to keep multiple audiences in mind. Are these guidelines for designers who think visually, developers who think in code, or even external agencies who need an overview? Tweak the content and format accordingly. Below is a practical roadmap for building motion guidelines that work in the real world.

1. Understand motion’s role in UX

Animations are more than glitz. Used well, they clarify interactions by offering instant visual feedback—so users aren’t left wondering, “Did that button actually register?” Consistency is key: if a screen slides in on one page, it should slide in on others. This predictability cuts down on confusion and makes your product more inviting.

2. Set Clear motion principles

You want a sweet spot between chaos and rigidity. If your guidelines are vague, you’ll lose consistency; if they’re too rigid, nobody can innovate. Several brands follow a broad set of ideals from resources like Material Design. For instance:

  • Informative: Animations show how elements relate in space (or hierarchy) and preview what will happen.

  • Focused: They highlight what matters, rather than distracting users.

  • Expressive: They can add moments of flair that reflect the brand’s style.

IBM often distinguishes between “productive” motion—quick and efficient—and “expressive” motion—fun flourishes that bring personality. That means animation can serve both functional and celebratory roles, and your guidelines should embrace both.

3. Define the library of motion building blocks

Think of duration, easing, and effects as the ingredients in your motion “pantry.” 

Duration

For durations, create a few set speeds— “Extra Fast” (t1), “Normal” (t3), etc.—so animations don’t vary wildly from screen to screen.

Easing

Easing curves can also be standardised: perhaps a simple linear approach for everyday toggles, and a playful elastic curve for more dramatic transitions. Document it all so people know what to use, when, and why.

Effects

Effects are also the foundational building blocks of motion guidelines, distinguishing a component from being static. After effects are applied to components, they become interactive systems with a start and end state. You can systematize these effects using a naming convention that describes them in bundles or animate-in and animate-out states.

Choreography

Sometimes you’ll have multiple items moving at once. Do they travel in unison or in a staggered sequence? Are they sharing the spotlight or guiding the user’s focus to one key area? Defining a few choreography approaches prevents a free-for-all and keeps complex transitions from feeling random.

4. Document motion patterns

Give your team real examples. What does a screen shift look like when a user clicks the back button? How does a card animate when it appears or disappears? Summarise each scenario in plain language, share a short video or GIF, and, if possible, provide code snippets. This eliminates guesswork for developers and ensures consistent use of animations across the product.

5. Prototype, test, and iterate

Building prototypes helps you see if your fancy transitions or subtle fades are actually improving the experience. Tools like Figma, Adobe XD, or Principle can generate quick demos for user testing. If users find a transition disorienting or too slow, you can adjust the guidelines.

6. Develop motion assets (and keep them updated)

Over time, your product might expand to new features, new audiences, or even rebranding efforts. By storing animations, transitions, and interactive templates in a central library, your design and engineering teams can plug them in easily. Make sure you revisit these assets regularly. Products evolve, and so should your motion library.

7. Train your team

You can have the best guidelines on earth, but it means nothing if your colleagues don’t understand them. Offer workshops or step-by-step tutorials. Show designers and developers how to incorporate your motion assets smoothly and give them a chance to ask questions. It might feel time-consuming, but it’s cheaper and easier than untangling inconsistent animations down the line.

Designing motion guidelines requires you to keep multiple audiences in mind. Are these guidelines for designers who think visually, developers who think in code, or even external agencies who need an overview? Tweak the content and format accordingly. Below is a practical roadmap for building motion guidelines that work in the real world.

1. Understand motion’s role in UX

Animations are more than glitz. Used well, they clarify interactions by offering instant visual feedback—so users aren’t left wondering, “Did that button actually register?” Consistency is key: if a screen slides in on one page, it should slide in on others. This predictability cuts down on confusion and makes your product more inviting.

2. Set Clear motion principles

You want a sweet spot between chaos and rigidity. If your guidelines are vague, you’ll lose consistency; if they’re too rigid, nobody can innovate. Several brands follow a broad set of ideals from resources like Material Design. For instance:

  • Informative: Animations show how elements relate in space (or hierarchy) and preview what will happen.

  • Focused: They highlight what matters, rather than distracting users.

  • Expressive: They can add moments of flair that reflect the brand’s style.

IBM often distinguishes between “productive” motion—quick and efficient—and “expressive” motion—fun flourishes that bring personality. That means animation can serve both functional and celebratory roles, and your guidelines should embrace both.

3. Define the library of motion building blocks

Think of duration, easing, and effects as the ingredients in your motion “pantry.” 

Duration

For durations, create a few set speeds— “Extra Fast” (t1), “Normal” (t3), etc.—so animations don’t vary wildly from screen to screen.

Easing

Easing curves can also be standardised: perhaps a simple linear approach for everyday toggles, and a playful elastic curve for more dramatic transitions. Document it all so people know what to use, when, and why.

Effects

Effects are also the foundational building blocks of motion guidelines, distinguishing a component from being static. After effects are applied to components, they become interactive systems with a start and end state. You can systematize these effects using a naming convention that describes them in bundles or animate-in and animate-out states.

Choreography

Sometimes you’ll have multiple items moving at once. Do they travel in unison or in a staggered sequence? Are they sharing the spotlight or guiding the user’s focus to one key area? Defining a few choreography approaches prevents a free-for-all and keeps complex transitions from feeling random.

4. Document motion patterns

Give your team real examples. What does a screen shift look like when a user clicks the back button? How does a card animate when it appears or disappears? Summarise each scenario in plain language, share a short video or GIF, and, if possible, provide code snippets. This eliminates guesswork for developers and ensures consistent use of animations across the product.

5. Prototype, test, and iterate

Building prototypes helps you see if your fancy transitions or subtle fades are actually improving the experience. Tools like Figma, Adobe XD, or Principle can generate quick demos for user testing. If users find a transition disorienting or too slow, you can adjust the guidelines.

6. Develop motion assets (and keep them updated)

Over time, your product might expand to new features, new audiences, or even rebranding efforts. By storing animations, transitions, and interactive templates in a central library, your design and engineering teams can plug them in easily. Make sure you revisit these assets regularly. Products evolve, and so should your motion library.

7. Train your team

You can have the best guidelines on earth, but it means nothing if your colleagues don’t understand them. Offer workshops or step-by-step tutorials. Show designers and developers how to incorporate your motion assets smoothly and give them a chance to ask questions. It might feel time-consuming, but it’s cheaper and easier than untangling inconsistent animations down the line.

Final Thoughts

Motion guidelines breathe life into your digital products by keeping animations consistent, engaging, and practical. And the best way to ensure success? Get motion designers and developers in the same conversation early on, so everyone shares the same understanding of timing, code expectations, and brand expression. You’ll cut down on misunderstandings, speed up the hand-off process, and produce a polished experience that makes users feel at home.

If you’re wondering how to do this on a broader scale—perhaps across multiple products or platforms—it might help to look for a design partner who balances creativity with real-world deliverables. The key is to set clear rules, test them, and fine-tune them over time, so your product stands out and remains a pleasure to use.

Motion guidelines breathe life into your digital products by keeping animations consistent, engaging, and practical. And the best way to ensure success? Get motion designers and developers in the same conversation early on, so everyone shares the same understanding of timing, code expectations, and brand expression. You’ll cut down on misunderstandings, speed up the hand-off process, and produce a polished experience that makes users feel at home.

If you’re wondering how to do this on a broader scale—perhaps across multiple products or platforms—it might help to look for a design partner who balances creativity with real-world deliverables. The key is to set clear rules, test them, and fine-tune them over time, so your product stands out and remains a pleasure to use.

Work with us

Click to copy

work@for.co

FOR® Agency

Design Trial
Coming soon

FOR® Industries

Retail
Finance
B2B
Health
Wellness
Consumer Brands
Gaming
Industrial
  • FOR® Brand. FOR® Future.

We’re remote-first — with strategic global hubs

Click to copy

Helsinki, FIN

info@for.fi

Click to copy

New York, NY

ny@for.co

Click to copy

Miami, FL

mia@for.co

Click to copy

Dubai, UAE

uae@for.co

Click to copy

Kyiv, UA

kyiv@for.co

Click to copy

Lagos, NG

lagos@for.ng

Copyright © 2024 FOR®

Cookie Settings

Work with us

Click to copy

work@for.co

FOR® Agency

Design Trial
Coming soon

FOR® Industries

Retail
Finance
B2B
Health
Wellness
Consumer Brands
Gaming
Industrial

We’re remote-first — with strategic global hubs

Click to copy

Helsinki, FIN

hel@for.co

Click to copy

New York, NY

ny@for.co

Click to copy

Miami, FL

mia@for.co

Click to copy

Dubai, UAE

uae@for.co

Click to copy

Kyiv, UA

kyiv@for.co

Click to copy

Lagos, NG

lagos@for.ng

Copyright © 2024 FOR®

Cookie Settings