Browser technology is constantly changing and is making more and more advancements every day. Because of those advancements websites now more than ever are featuring animations to captivate their audiences from the moment they click on your site. The days of static images are numbered and the days of dynamic web animations are upon us and appear to be here to stay.

Web animations can be used for several purposes on your website. Smaller animations can assist your site’s users throughout your site. Whether it’s a scrolling animation or a cool loading screen, animations can be integrated into your website to create meaningful interactions with your visitors. You can see an awesome loading screen we created for an industry-leading Special Operations Medicine client. Check out the smoothly-animated transitions that this private community-centered nonprofit site features. Any internal page you click on has an animated transition instead of the traditional view of loading a new page.

With the average attention span shorter than it has ever been in history, it is more important than ever to capture your audience quickly and get your message across as swiftly as possible. Animation can convey complex ideas in a short amount of time and also engage and inform.

Animation & Branding

Not only can animation play a huge role in making ideas and interfaces easier to understand, it can aid in the branding of a company. Animations show a brand’s strength in a digital world, adding to a brand’s personality and making it dynamic. In 2018 animated logos is a trend in web design that gives a company the chance to enhance their brand further, if it’s done right.

The GIF

If I mention animation I also have to mention the insanely popular trend in web design: the GIF. A GIF can capture a mood or convey a message in seconds. A good GIF is eye-catching and creates a language that fits the mood of the message. With our society using social media more than ever there's no surprise.

GIFs are also widely popular on social media. GIFs aid drastically in the communication process online. It is now easier than ever to convey your exact emotion with a plethora of GIFs to fit your message. It is almost impossible to go through the comments on a post on any social media platform and not see a GIF. Because of this GIFs can be used on your social media platforms and in your digital marketing campaign.

SVG

Here at Red Shark Digital, we use Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) to create our micro-interactions. SVG first broke out on the scene in 2014 but has resurfaced in a much more clean and concise way, which fits perfectly into the RSD way of doing things. Vectors are mathematical lines, so depending on what size the image is and what size the graphic becomes the numbers change within the equation that creates the animations. To learn more about this process you can learn from our local pros, Spencer and Nik in the video below.

Micro-interactions

In order for a site to offer its users a great experience, more goes into it than an aesthetic design and impressive animation effects, cue micro-interactions.

Micro-interactions take the user’s experience to the next level in a way that only using design elements cannot. Other forms of animation serve one purpose, the illusion of movement. Micro-interactions are different in that they directly engage the user. Some examples of micro-interactions are below:

• When you move an item to a virtual shopping cart
• When you pull down on your screen to refresh a news feed and see the latest updates
• When you hover over a single icon and it highlights the icon and blurs everything else on the page.

An important point to remember when considering web animations for your site or social media platform is you shouldn’t just because it’s the cool trendy thing to do right now. Remember when you were a kid and your mom asked you if your friends jumped off a bridge would you jump too? Well, that same principle should be applied to web animation and your project. Any web animations you use should enhance the user's experience. Are you interested in seeing how you could integrate web animations into your project? Don’t go it alone, contact the good folks at Red Shark Digital for all your digital marketing and web development needs.