Attention-Grabbing Animations

Apply Disney's 12 principles to focus-drawing motion.

Principle Application

Squash & Stretch: Pulsing scale draws attention. 1.0 → 1.1 → 1.0 cycle catches peripheral vision.

Anticipation: Brief pause before attention animation. Let it build then release.

Staging: Position attention elements where users will see them. Corner badges, inline highlights.

Straight Ahead vs Pose-to-Pose: Design attention states: rest, active/pulsing, acknowledged.

Follow Through & Overlapping: Badge pulses, then count updates. Stagger the attention signals.

Slow In/Slow Out: Ease in/out on pulses. Smooth oscillation is less jarring than sharp bounces.

Arcs: Shake animations follow arc patterns. Left-right with slight vertical oscillation.

Secondary Action: Pulse + glow + color shift for maximum attention (use sparingly).

Timing:

• Single attention grab: 300-500ms

• Repeating pulse: 2000-3000ms cycle

• Urgent pulse: 1000-1500ms cycle

• Decay: Stop after 3-5 cycles or 10 seconds

Exaggeration: This is where exaggeration shines. Scale to 1.2, bright colors, bold motion.

Solid Drawing: Attention elements must still feel part of the UI, not floating or detached.

Appeal: Attention should feel like helpful notification, not aggressive demand.

Timing Recommendations

Attention Type Duration Cycles Decay

Badge Pulse 300ms 2-3 Stop after animation

Notification Dot 2000ms 3 6 seconds total

New Feature 500ms 2 Stay subtle

Error Shake 400ms 1 None

Urgent Alert 1000ms infinite Until dismissed

Promotional 3000ms 2 6 seconds

Implementation Patterns

/* Pulse attention */ .badge-pulse { animation: pulse 2000ms ease-in-out 3; }

@keyframes pulse { 0%, 100% { transform: scale(1); } 50% { transform: scale(1.15); } }

/* Subtle glow */ .glow-attention { animation: glow 2000ms ease-in-out 3; }

@keyframes glow { 0%, 100% { box-shadow: 0 0 0 0 rgba(59, 130, 246, 0); } 50% { box-shadow: 0 0 0 8px rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.3); } }

/* Error shake */ .shake { animation: shake 400ms ease-in-out; }

@keyframes shake { 0%, 100% { transform: translateX(0); } 20%, 60% { transform: translateX(-8px); } 40%, 80% { transform: translateX(8px); } }

/* Ring animation (notification) */ .ring { animation: ring 2500ms ease-in-out 2; }

@keyframes ring { 0%, 100% { transform: rotate(0); } 10%, 30% { transform: rotate(10deg); } 20%, 40% { transform: rotate(-10deg); } 50%, 100% { transform: rotate(0); } }

Attention Budget

// Auto-stop attention after timeout const attention = element.animate([ { transform: 'scale(1)' }, { transform: 'scale(1.15)' }, { transform: 'scale(1)' } ], { duration: 2000, iterations: 3 });

// Or with CSS setTimeout(() => { element.classList.remove('attention'); }, 6000);

Key Rules

• Maximum 1 attention animation visible at a time

• Auto-stop after 3-5 cycles (10 seconds max)

• Provide way to permanently dismiss

• Never use for non-essential content

• prefers-reduced-motion : static indicator only, no animation

• Urgent animations must have audio/haptic alternative for accessibility