home / skills / dylantarre / animation-principles / saas-productivity

saas-productivity skill

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/skills/08-by-industry/saas-productivity

This skill helps design business tool animations using Disney's 12 principles to improve focus, reduce friction, and convey status clearly.

npx playbooks add skill dylantarre/animation-principles --skill saas-productivity

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SKILL.md

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---
name: saas-productivity
description: Use when designing animations for business tools, project management, collaboration software, or productivity apps
---

# SaaS & Productivity Animation Principles

Apply Disney's 12 principles to create efficient, professional experiences that enhance focus and reduce friction.

## The 12 Principles Applied

### 1. Squash & Stretch
- **Minimal Use**: Professional context requires restraint
- **Checkboxes**: Subtle squash on task completion
- **Buttons**: Slight compression for tactile feedback

### 2. Anticipation
- **Save Actions**: Brief preparation before confirmation
- **Form Submit**: Button state hints at processing
- **Drag Initiation**: Element lifts before moving

### 3. Staging
- **Active Task**: Current work item takes focus
- **Sidebar Navigation**: Secondary to main content
- **Notifications**: Non-intrusive placement

### 4. Straight Ahead & Pose to Pose
- **Workflows**: Clear step-by-step processes (pose to pose)
- **Real-time Collaboration**: Smooth cursor movements (straight ahead)
- **Dashboard Updates**: Sequential data loading

### 5. Follow Through & Overlapping Action
- **Card Movements**: Shadow follows card with delay
- **List Reordering**: Items settle naturally
- **Panel Resizing**: Content adjusts after panel stops

### 6. Slow In & Slow Out
- **Professional Easing**: Smooth, never bouncy
- **Modal Transitions**: Confident 250-350ms
- **State Changes**: Deliberate, not snappy

### 7. Arc
- **Drag and Drop**: Natural curved paths
- **Kanban Cards**: Arc between columns
- **Notification Dismiss**: Swipe follows curve

### 8. Secondary Action
- **Auto-save Indicator**: Subtle pulse while saving
- **Sync Status**: Background indicator during updates
- **Loading Skeleton**: Shimmer while data fetches

### 9. Timing
- **Efficient**: 150-300ms for most interactions
- **Never Slow**: Users are here to work
- **Instant Feedback**: 100ms for input validation

### 10. Exaggeration
- **Almost Never**: Productivity demands efficiency
- **Milestones Only**: Project completion, goals met
- **Onboarding**: Slightly more playful to engage

### 11. Solid Drawing
- **Data Visualization**: Clear, accurate charts
- **Icon Consistency**: Uniform across all features
- **Typography**: Readable at all sizes

### 12. Appeal
- **Professional Polish**: Refined, not flashy
- **Invisible Design**: Animations serve, not distract
- **Trust & Reliability**: Consistent, predictable motion

## Industry Timing Standards

| Action | Duration | Easing |
|--------|----------|--------|
| Button Feedback | 100ms | ease-out |
| Modal Open | 250ms | ease-out |
| Dropdown Menu | 200ms | ease-in-out |
| Page Transition | 300ms | ease-in-out |
| Toast Notification | 200ms | ease-out |

## Key Principle
Animations should be invisible to users focused on work. Motion exists to provide feedback and maintain spatial awareness, never to entertain or delay.

Overview

This skill provides a practical translation of Disney's 12 animation principles for SaaS, productivity, and collaboration apps. It focuses on subtle, purposeful motion that improves clarity, feedback, and perceived performance without distracting users. The guidance prioritizes restraint, consistency, and industry timing standards for professional interfaces.

How this skill works

The skill inspects interaction patterns and recommends specific motion treatments—e.g., squash & stretch for button feedback, slow in/slow out for modals, and arcs for drag-and-drop. It maps each animation principle to concrete UI elements, suggested durations, and easing curves so designers and engineers can implement motion that supports task flow and spatial awareness. It also flags contexts where animation should be minimal or omitted to preserve focus.

When to use it

Designing micro-interactions like button presses, checkbox checks, and input validation
Implementing drag-and-drop, kanban reordering, or cursor presence in real-time collaboration
Creating transitions for modals, sidebars, and page changes in productivity tools
Adding background indicators such as auto-save or sync status without distracting users
Designing onboarding or milestone animations where slight exaggeration can increase engagement

Best practices

Favor subtle, purposeful motion—animations should inform, not entertain
Keep common interactions fast (100–300ms) and reserve longer timing for major context changes
Use consistent easing and durations across the product to build predictability
Limit squash, stretch, and exaggeration to tactile feedback or milestone moments
Ensure animations never delay core workflows; provide instant visual feedback for inputs
Test motion with real users and provide accessibility options to reduce or disable animations

Example use cases

Button compression (squash) at 100ms ease-out to confirm taps without disrupting flow
Modal open at 250–350ms with slow in/slow out easing for confident context shifts
Kanban card drag following an arc with subtle shadow follow-through to convey depth
Auto-save indicator pulsing subtly as a secondary action while saving in background
Onboarding milestone celebration with a restrained, slightly exaggerated animation

FAQ

How aggressive should animations be in a productivity app?

Keep animations restrained: subtle feedback for interactions, more visible motion only for milestones or onboarding.

What timing should I use for most micro-interactions?

Aim for 100–300ms; input validation can be ~100ms, buttons ~100ms, and modals ~250–350ms.