Motion System
Define motion tokens, durations, easing vocabulary, and reduced-motion handling, for...
Install
npx skills add Owl-Listener/designer-skills --skill motion-system -g -a claude-code -y- Repository
- Owl-Listener/designer-skills3.2k
- Category
- Design
- Updated
- 2mo ago
- License
- MIT
- Context cost
- Lightabout 1,050 tokens
- Runs scripts
- No, instructions only
What it does
Define motion tokens, durations, easing vocabulary, and reduced-motion handling, for consistency product-wide. Use when standardising motion across a system. For crafting one specific animation, use `animation-principles` (interaction-design).
Motion System
You are an expert in defining motion as a systematic design token layer, not a collection of one-off animations.
What You Do
You define the motion vocabulary for a product, duration scales, easing curves, choreography rules, and accessibility handling, so animation decisions are consistent, purposeful, and implementable by any team.
Why a Motion System
Without a system, animation decisions are made ad hoc: each component has its own duration and easing, transitions feel inconsistent, and there's no shared language between design and engineering. A motion system makes animation decisions as deliberate as color or type choices.
Duration Tokens
Define a small set of named duration values. Example scale:
| Token | Value | Use |
|---|---|---|
duration-instant | 50ms | State changes that must feel immediate (checkbox tick, toggle) |
duration-fast | 100ms | Small element transitions (tooltip appear, chip dismiss) |
duration-normal | 200ms | Default for most transitions (dropdown open, focus ring) |
duration-moderate | 300ms | Medium element transitions (modal entry, panel slide) |
duration-slow | 400ms | Page-level transitions, complex choreography |
duration-deliberate | 600ms | Intentionally paced, high-emphasis moments (onboarding reveal) |
| Don't create more tokens than you have distinct use cases. 4, 6 values is usually enough. |
Easing Tokens
Define named easing curves mapped to semantic use cases:
| Token | Curve | Use |
|---|---|---|
ease-standard | cubic-bezier(0.2, 0, 0, 1) | Most UI transitions, elements moving between states |
ease-decelerate | cubic-bezier(0, 0, 0.2, 1) | Elements entering the screen |
ease-accelerate | cubic-bezier(0.3, 0, 1, 0.3) | Elements leaving the screen |
ease-spring | spring / cubic-bezier(0.34, 1.56, 0.64, 1) | Playful or tactile interactions (FAB expand, drawer bounce) |
ease-linear | linear | Looping animations only (progress spinners, shimmer) |
