Motion design

Motion Design Skill

Decision Matrix — Pick Library

Need	Library	Bundle	Why
React component animations	Motion 12	~32KB gzip	Best React DX, layout animations
Page transitions (MPA)	View Transitions API	0KB	Native browser API
Page transitions (Astro)	Astro View Transitions	0KB	Built-in, zero JS
Zero-config list animations	AutoAnimate	~2KB gzip	One line, FLIP-based
Interactive vector graphics	Rive	~78KB WASM	State machines, 60fps
After Effects exports	Lottie/dotLottie	~50KB runtime	Huge asset library
SVG path morphing	GSAP MorphSVG	included in gsap	Now free, best morph engine
Line drawing	CSS stroke-dasharray	0KB	Pure CSS, no library

---

1. Motion (ex Framer Motion)

Install: npm i motion Bundle: ~32KB min+gzip

Core API

import { motion, AnimatePresence } from "motion/react";

// Basic animation
<motion.div
  initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 20 }}
  animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
  exit={{ opacity: 0, y: -20 }}
  transition={{ duration: 0.3, ease: "easeOut" }}
>
  Content
</motion.div>

// Layout animation (FLIP under the hood)
<motion.div layout layoutId="card-expand">
  {isExpanded ? <ExpandedCard /> : <CompactCard />}
</motion.div>

// AnimatePresence — exit animations
<AnimatePresence mode="wait">
  {items.map(item => (
    <motion.div
      key={item.id}
      initial={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.9 }}
      animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1 }}
      exit={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.9 }}
    />
  ))}
</AnimatePresence>

Gestures

<motion.button
  whileHover={{ scale: 1.05 }}
  whileTap={{ scale: 0.95 }}
  transition={{ type: "spring", stiffness: 400, damping: 17 }}
>
  Click me
</motion.button>

// Drag
<motion.div
  drag="x"
  dragConstraints={{ left: -200, right: 200 }}
  dragElastic={0.1}
/>

Scroll-Linked

import { useScroll, useTransform, motion } from "motion/react";

function ParallaxHero() {
  const { scrollYProgress } = useScroll();
  const y = useTransform(scrollYProgress, [0, 1], [0, -300]);
  const opacity = useTransform(scrollYProgress, [0, 0.5], [1, 0]);

  return (
    <motion.div style={{ y, opacity }}>
      Hero Content
    </motion.div>
  );
}

AnimateView (View Transitions integration)

import { AnimateView } from "motion/react";

<AnimateView>
  <Routes>
    <Route path="/" element={<Home />} />
    <Route path="/about" element={<About />} />
  </Routes>
</AnimateView>

---

2. View Transitions API

Vanilla Implementation

// Single-document transition
document.startViewTransition(() => {
  container.innerHTML = newContent;
});

::view-transition-old(root) { animation: fade-out 0.2s ease-out; }
::view-transition-new(root) { animation: fade-in 0.3s ease-in; }

.hero-image { view-transition-name: hero; }

Astro Integration (Built-in)

---
import { ViewTransitions } from "astro:transitions";
---
<html>
  <head><ViewTransitions /></head>
  <body><slot /></body>
</html>

<img transition:name="hero" src="/hero.jpg" />
<h1 transition:animate="slide">Page Title</h1>

Built-in animation presets: fade, slide, morph, none.

---

3. AutoAnimate

Install: npm i @formkit/auto-animate Zero config. Uses FLIP technique internally.

import { useAutoAnimate } from "@formkit/auto-animate/react";

function TodoList({ items }) {
  const [parent] = useAutoAnimate();
  return (
    <ul ref={parent}>
      {items.map(item => <li key={item.id}>{item.text}</li>)}
    </ul>
  );
}

// Vanilla JS
import autoAnimate from "@formkit/auto-animate";
autoAnimate(document.getElementById("list"));

Best for: List reordering, add/remove items, accordion expand/collapse.

---

4. SVG Animation

Rive

import Rive from "@rive-app/react-canvas";

<Rive
  src="/animations/hero.riv"
  stateMachines="MainState"
  style={{ width: 400, height: 400 }}
/>

Key features: State Machines, layout engine, scroll-linked via data inputs. When to use: Interactive illustrations, mascots, loading states, onboarding flows.

Lottie / dotLottie

import { DotLottieReact } from "@lottiefiles/dotlottie-react";

<DotLottieReact
  src="/animations/hero.lottie"
  loop
  autoplay
  style={{ width: 300, height: 300 }}
/>

Rive vs Lottie:

Factor	Rive	Lottie
Interactivity	Built-in state machine	Manual JS coding
Design tool	Rive editor	After Effects + plugin
File size	Smaller (binary)	Larger (JSON)
Asset ecosystem	Growing	Massive marketplace

SVG Morphing

GSAP MorphSVG (now free with gsap):

gsap.to("#star", { morphSVG: "#circle", duration: 1, ease: "power2.inOut" });

SVG points limit: Keep under 200 points for smooth 60fps morphing.

Line Drawing (Pure CSS)

.svg-line {
  stroke-dasharray: 1000;
  stroke-dashoffset: 1000;
  animation: draw 2s ease forwards;
}
@keyframes draw { to { stroke-dashoffset: 0; } }

Get path length: document.querySelector("path").getTotalLength().

---

5. Micro-Interaction Patterns

Button Hover/Tap

<motion.button
  whileHover={{ scale: 1.03, boxShadow: "0 4px 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.15)" }}
  whileTap={{ scale: 0.97 }}
  transition={{ type: "spring", stiffness: 500, damping: 25 }}
/>

Toast/Notification Enter

<AnimatePresence>
  {toast && (
    <motion.div
      initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 50, scale: 0.9 }}
      animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0, scale: 1 }}
      exit={{ opacity: 0, y: 20, scale: 0.95 }}
      transition={{ type: "spring", damping: 20 }}
    />
  )}
</AnimatePresence>

Staggered List

const container = { animate: { transition: { staggerChildren: 0.06 } } };
const item = { initial: { opacity: 0, y: 15 }, animate: { opacity: 1, y: 0 } };

<motion.ul variants={container} initial="initial" animate="animate">
  {items.map(i => <motion.li key={i} variants={item} />)}
</motion.ul>

---

6. Timing & Easing Reference

Duration Guidelines

Element	Duration	Easing
Button hover	150-200ms	ease-out
Tooltip appear	100-150ms	ease-out
Modal enter	200-300ms	ease-out / spring
Modal exit	150-200ms	ease-in
Page transition	200-400ms	ease-in-out
Layout shift	200-350ms	ease-out / spring
Scroll reveal	400-600ms	ease-out

Spring Presets (Motion)

// Snappy UI feedback
{ type: "spring", stiffness: 500, damping: 25 }
// Smooth layout
{ type: "spring", stiffness: 300, damping: 30 }
// Bouncy/playful
{ type: "spring", stiffness: 400, damping: 10 }

---

7. Accessibility

prefers-reduced-motion

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  *, *::before, *::after {
    animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
    transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
  }
}

// Motion respects prefers-reduced-motion by default
const prefersReduced = window.matchMedia("(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)").matches;

Guidelines

• Never rely on animation alone to convey information
• Ensure all animated content is accessible via keyboard
• Provide static fallback for critical content
• Test with reduced motion enabled in OS settings

---

Workflow

1. Identify animation type — page transition, reveal, micro-interaction, SVG
2. Pick library — use Decision Matrix above
3. Define timing — use Duration Guidelines, spring presets
4. Implement — start with initial + animate states
5. Add exit — wrap in AnimatePresence for unmount animations
6. Add a11y — prefers-reduced-motion, keyboard testing
7. Performance audit — Chrome DevTools, check for layout thrashing