08/30/2022

Top 10 UI Animations For Mobile Apps

Insights

6 min remaining

Animation can enhance your app’s user interface and help customers engage. These are the top animations you can use in your mobile app design.

Animations are a great way to add value to digital products. Animations can be used to make interfaces more user-friendly and attractive, but they shouldn’t distract from the app.

Many animations can be used to enhance an app’s user interface. This article will discuss the most popular UI animations, and how to incorporate them into your product. These are the 10 most important interface animations you can use in your mobile application:

  1. Animations made to order
  2. Fun animations
  3. Visual feedback
  4. Animated notifications
  5. Animated Functions
  6. Navigation in space
  7. Visual hints
  8. Animation of progress and loading
  9. Splash screens
  10. Onboarding

1. Custom Animations

Customers appreciate a personal approach. They want to be involved in the brand’s decisions. Your business will stand out from the rest by showing your customers you care with custom animation.

Pontus Wellgraf has reimagined this web experience for Tesla’s Cyber track.

The animation adapts to users’ changes as they build their trucks. If a user selects black seats, the animation will show the front seats as black.

2. Fun Animations

Animations need not all be functional. You may add them to your app to make it more modern and dynamic. Spirits that are fun and memorable can make your app stand out from the rest. You can play with emotions and ridicule the rules.

Looking for inspiration? See how this animator uses emoticons and bright colors in his animations. 

The emojis and colors change as the user swipes to the right. It’s fun, casual, and engaging.

3. Visual Feedback

Feedback on our actions is something we all desire. It is also important for your clients. It shouldn’t take too much time or be complicated to get clients to react. Consider changing the color of a button once it’s been pressed, or altering its shape by hovering over it.

This mobile app, “Rent a Boat”, is a great example.

Clicking on an element in the app changes the cursor’s color and ripples, just like water drops hitting the surface.

4. Animated Notifications

Animations are another benefit of your app. Animations can solve two problems simultaneously: Your app will become more interesting and your notifications will be more visible.

Animations are a great way to draw attention to your clients. Don’t forget to tell them important news. 

This image shows how an animated notification looks on a messaging app.

The message hovers above the icon of the app in bright red. The animation is very eye-catching and gives users a general understanding of the message before they open it.

5. Animated Functions

Function change animations are when certain elements in an app change due to user interaction. Although it is not quite the same as visual feedback, it’s similar to function change animation. 

This UI animation can be used with buttons, icons, and other minor visual elements within your app.

The interface’s color, and facial expression, represent how the user rates their ride with a ride-sharing company.

The screen will turn blue if the ride is enjoyable and the animation will smile. If the ride was not enjoyable, the screen will turn a dark pink color and the animation will frown.

6. Navigation in Space

These animations help users navigate your app easily, identify hidden elements and icons, and remember what key to press the next time. You can show users how to navigate the menu and use the app’s full potential.

The job search app breaks down information into different categories to make it easier for users to navigate. This animation is made with responsive information cards.

They expand and change colors when a user interacts. This is interactive.

7. Visual Hints

Visual hints are animated to aid users in visualizing their processes and interactions. To illustrate what the next action is, animations can be created when a user presses an icon or button.

This animation shows users that they can click on any item to add it to their shopping cart. Once they are ready to buy, users can navigate to the cart to complete checkout.

This animation makes it easy to navigate the site.

8. Animating Progress & Loading

Animations can be used as background actions, such as recording audio or uploading files. App owners will find animations helpful in solving two major problems: loading and progress.

They added a progress feature to this gaming app that allows users to see how many coins they have collected while they are playing.

This principle can also be applied to loading functions. Your user doesn’t like to wait and neither do you. If they are forced to wait for something to load, you can add creative content that will remind them about your brand.

9. Splash Screens

Your splash screens can be animated. It is the first thing that customers see when they use your app. This can help you make a good first impression. It should be engaging and catchy.

You have many options: from animated logos to funny loading icons and animated characters.

This sign-in screen displays the logo and company name.

After the app loads, the sign-in button will appear and the user can click it.

10. Onboarding

Animations are also a great way to onboard new users. You can simplify your onboarding process by making it less stressful.

You can add simple, creative copy with easily understood images or animations that interconnect in unexpected ways.

Check out, for example, the new Slice app onboarding screen:

The credit card can be used to purchase shopping bags and a spaceship. This designer can attract users’ attention by adding animation to their sign-in screen.

Mobile App Animations

Smooth animations are key to app success and popularity. Product owners and designers understand that an animation is an important tool in creating a winning UI design.

Your app can be enhanced with UI animations by adding fun features, animations, and visual feedback. To create an engaging platform for users, use the trends discussed above when designing your app.

To add these animations to your mobile app, partner with a mobile development company.

About the author

Kobe Digital is a unified team of performance marketing, design, and video production experts. Our mastery of these disciplines is what makes us effective. Our ability to integrate them seamlessly is what makes us unique.