Hey there fellow designers, have you ever thought about using microinteractions in your designs to improve user engagement? Well, let me tell you, these tiny animations and interactions can make a huge difference in the overall user experience.

Think about it, when a user clicks on a button, wouldn’t it be great to give them a small animation or interaction to let them know their action has been completed? Or when a user receives a message, imagine how much more engaging it would be to give them a small notification, rather than just having the message pop up.

That’s where microinteractions come in! They are small animations and interactions that are designed to give users feedback and provide information about the state of an interface. They can be used to indicate changes in the interface, such as when a button is pressed or a message is sent. Microinteractions can also be used to provide additional information, such as the number of unread messages in an inbox.

One real-life example of microinteractions in action is the “pull to refresh” feature on social media apps like Twitter and Instagram. When you pull down on your feed, you’ll see a small animation of a circle that fills up as you pull down, and once it’s complete, the feed refreshes. This small animation not only provides feedback to the user that their action has been completed, but it also makes the interface feel more alive and responsive.

Another example is the “like” button on Facebook. When you click on the button, it not only changes color to indicate the action has been completed, but it also gives a small animation of the button being pressed. This small animation not only provides feedback to the user but also makes the interface feel more responsive and alive.

The key is to make sure the microinteractions are subtle and do not overpower the overall design. They should also be consistent throughout the interface so that users can easily understand the meaning of each animation or interaction.

So, next time you’re designing an interface, think about how you can use microinteractions to improve user engagement and make the interface more responsive and alive. Give it a try and see how it can enhance the user experience.

originally published: https://www.felix-its.com/blog/the-use-of-microinteractions-in-ui-ux-design-how-to-use-small-animations-and-interactions-to-improve-user-engagement/