home / skills / dylantarre / animation-principles / instant-0-100ms
This skill helps you design instant UI feedback under 100ms by applying minimal animation principles to buttons, toggles, and state changes.
npx playbooks add skill dylantarre/animation-principles --skill instant-0-100msReview the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.
---
name: instant-0-100ms
description: Use when building instantaneous UI feedback under 100ms - button presses, toggles, state changes that feel immediate and responsive
---
# Instant Animations (0-100ms)
Animations under 100ms feel **instantaneous** to users. This duration is for immediate feedback that confirms actions without perceived delay.
## Disney Principles at Instant Speed
### Works Well
**Squash & Stretch**: Subtle - 2-5% compression on button press creates tactile feel without visible deformation.
**Anticipation**: Skip entirely - no time for preparation at this speed.
**Staging**: Minimal - rely on position/color change, not movement.
**Straight Ahead/Pose to Pose**: Straight ahead only - too fast for keyframe complexity.
**Follow Through**: None - motion completes before follow-through registers.
**Slow In/Slow Out**: Use `ease-out` only - starts at full speed, slight deceleration.
**Arcs**: Linear paths only - curves don't register at this speed.
**Secondary Action**: Skip - brain can't process multiple simultaneous instant changes.
**Timing**: 1-3 frames maximum. 60fps = 16.67ms per frame.
**Exaggeration**: Minimal - subtle scale (0.95-1.05) or opacity changes.
**Solid Drawing**: Focus on color/opacity shifts, not spatial transformation.
**Appeal**: Crisp, immediate response builds trust and perceived performance.
### Doesn't Work
- Complex multi-step sequences
- Visible travel distance
- Rotation beyond 15 degrees
- Multiple property changes
- Staged reveals
## Easing Recommendations
```css
/* Primary choice - immediate start, soft landing */
transition: all 50ms ease-out;
/* Alternative - completely linear for state toggles */
transition: opacity 80ms linear;
/* Button press feedback */
transition: transform 50ms ease-out;
```
## Best Use Cases
- Button active/pressed states
- Toggle switches
- Checkbox/radio selections
- Focus ring appearance
- Hover color shifts
- Touch ripple initiation
## Implementation Pattern
```css
.button:active {
transform: scale(0.97);
transition: transform 50ms ease-out;
}
.toggle-on {
background: var(--active);
transition: background 80ms ease-out;
}
```
## Key Insight
At instant speeds, animation serves **confirmation**, not **communication**. Users shouldn't consciously perceive the animation - they should feel the interface responding.
This skill helps designers and engineers implement instantaneous UI feedback under 100ms for interactions like button presses, toggles, and state changes. It applies Disney-inspired animation principles tuned for micro-interactions so UIs feel immediate and responsive. The goal is confirmation, not elaborate motion—users should sense responsiveness without consciously registering animation.
The skill inspects interaction contexts and recommends micro-animation patterns, timings, and easing that complete within 0–100ms. It outputs concrete CSS snippets and property guidelines (scale, opacity, color) while flagging patterns to avoid (multi-step sequences, large rotations, multiple simultaneous property changes). It emphasizes single-frame-friendly choices like ease-out or linear transitions and tiny scale/opacity offsets.
Will micro-animations impact performance?
When limited to transform and opacity and kept under 100ms, micro-animations are GPU-friendly and usually negligible for performance. Avoid animating layout properties like width/height.
Should I include easing libraries for these transitions?
No heavy libraries are necessary. Simple CSS easing (ease-out or linear) is sufficient and reduces overhead; use hardware-accelerated properties.