User Experience is an evolving field where there
is always something new that would contribute to the improvement and
enhancement of the experience. Some trends like Infinite Scrolling,
Minimalism, Flat UI, Bold Typography have been revolutionary in UX.
But there are some silent contributors and new arrivals for UX which are
unnoticed by designers, developers and the users. One such silent contributor
for UX are the Sounds, Motion Animations and Microinteractions. I
have already mentioned about the microinteractions in my previous article too.
Details are not just details. They make the design!
You can check them here : UX Trends 2015
Sounds and Motion Animations are pretty straightforward
terms.
So what are Micro-Interactions?
It is a product use case boiled down to a single moment,
focused on a single task. It concentrates on only one task. Unlocking your
smartphone is a microinteraction; so is the chiming sound that plays when you
boot up Windows or OS X. But microinteractions aren't restricted to computers.
Video of iPhone Lock Screen - Swipe to Unlock highlight
These small, cute interactions go unnoticed most of the time
in a product, but they add so much value and emotional value to the product!
Though Microinteractions have been a participant of UX for past decades, they
have not been conquered Enterprise software or Business applications. But it is
high time for us to leverage the awesomeness of Microinteractions and Motion
Animations into our Applications.
Some interesting examples of Microinteractions I can think
of are,
iPhone Alarm - When you select
"Repeat" option for Monday to Friday, it automatically shows
"Weekdays". How many iPhone users have noticed this?
Password Hack Alert - A Website which features
the time that will be taken to crack your password instead of showing how
Strong/Weak it is.
Reading List - When you scroll through the
article, a progress bar fills in the left pane!
Chrome Browser for Mobile - When you open too
many browser tabs in Chrome, the number changes to Smiley!
Amazon Website - When you complete a
transaction, Amazon thanks you in the browser tab title.
Twitter - It asks you to grab a Coffee or check
out a random article on Wikipedia while they collect the data on your tweets.
I haven't noticed any of these Microinteractions! How
will they add value to my experience?
Designer Dan Saffer says,
When microinteractions succeed, even invisibly, which is how
most of them do - they make an emotional difference that’s greater than the sum
of their tiny parts.
The Waze navigation app : When you leave
from work, get into your car, and launch Waze, it asks you, 'Are you
going home?'. The software observes your routine way of doing things
and makes smart suggestions. Even if they are invisible to your attention, they
definitely contribute to the overall experience of using a software.
In the Wordpress when
the user types an invalid username/password, the login box shakes like a head
shake showing a message that your username/password is invalid. This is a very
small interaction but causes a much bigger impact on the user engagement.
Showing a long red colored text stating that your username or password is
invalid, causes a negativity in user engagement.
Sounds
Sounds play a very vital role in user engagement, especially
in Mobile applications. Selecting a suitable and apt sound for your app is the
key to success. You cannot use a long irritating sound for a small action on
the App.
Facebook Messenger App - Sending a Like in the
chat
Other Examples of sounds are,
- Facebook App Refresh – When you pull down to refresh
- Whatsapp – When you click on Voice record option
- SkullCandy - When you open their website
- Xapo - Bitcoins
- OneAdobe
- TOI
- Arsthanea
- GetAce
- London-Skyline
Sound engage and interest users to use your apps more
frequently. They must be pleasing, short and very relevant for the particular
action performed. Do not choose long, boring and irritating noises for
frequently performed actions.
Motion Animations
Motion Designers are new positions that are
created in creative tech firms recently which shows the importance of Motions
and Animations in an application. Applications
One of my favorite animations that I came across recently is
the Whatsapp's Voice Messaging feature. When the user slides to cancel the recorded
voice note, the Mic icon flies and falls into a dustbin showing that the voice
note is deleted.
Websites featuring Motions and Animations,
These websites have web animations that are used wisely and
elegantly to engage users and convey their brand identities in the best
possible ways.
Yelp Material Design Concept - A
tiny animation can be seen while focusing on the search bar
Apple Watch Concept - Animations
while opening the menu in a wearable
How can I leverage them in my business applications?
User Experience is a unified term across all disciplines.
You cannot differentiate business apps to be professional and can compromise on
UX standards. A login screen of your application can have an animation instead
of negative red texts. If you intend to use red error text, you can use the
words wisely which won't create a negative impact on user engagement.
Or if your business mails are sent
to various time zoned persons, you could show a microinteraction as below.
These small atomic designs are going to contribute a larger
part in your Application's UX and the Business goals. If microinteractions are
delightful, humane, and effective, then their success accretes and trickles up
into the broader user experience in general. Designers have to be very cautious
and thoughtful in creating microinteractions for an Application as it is going
to be the one and only task being performed.
Are Sounds, Animations & Microinteractions enhancing the UX?
Microinteractions are in existence from early 1800's
starting from the On/Off switches and Push to Start buttons. Now they have
taken a whole new level of existence in the digital era of Touch screens and
Smart Devices. They are definitely contributing a very larger part in UX more
than we could imagine. UX Designers, Motion Engineers Interaction Designers are
have a bigger responsibility in designing these Microinteractions, Sound and
Animations for the Applications which are going to decide the success of the
entire application.
Great UI is always Invisible and so are the
Microinteractions, Sounds and Animations!
Feel free to drop your comments and views on this article!
About Author
Prashanth Shanmugam
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