{"id":1687,"date":"2021-05-05T07:51:39","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T07:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/?p=1687"},"modified":"2021-04-25T07:56:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-25T07:56:14","slug":"micro-interactions-are-dynamic-visual-cues-that-can-help-create-an-outstanding-user-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/2021\/05\/05\/micro-interactions-are-dynamic-visual-cues-that-can-help-create-an-outstanding-user-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Micro interactions are dynamic visual cues that can help create an outstanding user experience."},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the design world, we say form follows function\u2014in other words, how a website looks should relate to its practical purpose. Microinteractions as animated motifs and flashy icons seem like mere bells and whistles at first blush, but don\u2019t be fooled: These playful elements are rooted firmly in function.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Whether it\u2019s the dots that appear as a friend types, the colorful bar that indicates the strength of a password, or the glowing circle nudging you to tap, microinteractions play a critical part in augmenting a user\u2019s experience online. These visual responses during everyday actions are engagement gold, yet through their sheer pervasiveness are easily overlooked.<\/p>\n

Why are these cues so powerful? Although we may not always pick up on them, these subtle responses take advantage of our desire for feedback during the course of everyday online activities.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s examine a few ways microinteractions enhance our experience online. They can:<\/p>\n

Serve as delightful rewards<\/h1>\n

Perhaps the most addictive use of these visual cues can be seen on social media, where habit-forming microinteractions are part of a reward system that keeps users hungering for more. Facebook began with mere \u201clikes\u201d and notifications, but its reactions have now expanded to become animated emojis (during COVID-19, a smiley face hugging a heart even appeared as a \u201ccare\u201d reaction). On Instagram, you can \u201cheart\u201d a direct message, and blogging sites like Medium let you \u201cclap\u201d for an article. In this way, not only do we get feedback, but we get positive feedback.<\/p>\n

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Teach and reassure us<\/h1>\n

Microinteractions aren\u2019t just about creating dopamine spikes; they can also be thoughtfully implemented to help us learn new programs and tools. An animation directing us to swipe to the next screen keeps us engaged with a tutorial rather than skipping ahead too quickly. Progress bars let us know how much \u201cwork\u201d is left in a program and motivate us to keep going. Language learning app Duolingo makes use of progress meters that become complete after only three lessons, a way to keep users from feeling overwhelmed by too much information and rewarded after only a short time.<\/p>\n

Provide entertainment and direct our attention<\/h1>\n

An animation can entertain us for a few seconds when we\u2019re waiting for a screen to load and\u2014if done well\u2014can endear us to a brand or company. That animated \u201cdone\u201d that pops up after the wait feels like a virtual high-five. One could even argue that these microinteractions serve to subconsciously gamify everyday life. Microinteractions can tell us where we are in an experience and what to do next. For example, a highlighted icon can let us know what tab we\u2019re on in a multi-page app or encourage us to take a new action. On mobile, subtle nudges like this can save precious screen space and help reduce the need for additional text.<\/p>\n

Over time, these small cues have the potential to increase our fondness for a product or brand. It\u2019s a no-brainer to use microinteractions, and users today will certainly notice when they\u2019re missing (even if they may not be able to articulate exactly what they\u2019re looking for). That said, microinteractions ought to be subtle enhancements rather than overdesigned or gimmicky. When done right, they will only add to an elevated and memorable experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the design world, we say form follows function\u2014in other words, how a website looks should relate to its practical purpose. Microinteractions as animated motifs and flashy icons seem like mere bells and whistles at first blush, but don\u2019t be fooled: These playful elements are rooted firmly in function. Whether it\u2019s the dots that appear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-1687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-web-design","tag-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1687"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1688,"href":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1687\/revisions\/1688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strattonwebsolutions.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}