Animation & Motion Design

Patterns for building performant, accessible animations using Motion (formerly Framer Motion, 18M+ weekly npm downloads) and the View Transitions API (cross-browser support in 2026). Covers layout animations, gesture interactions, exit transitions, micro-interactions, and motion accessibility.

Quick Reference

Rule	File	Impact	When to Use
Layout Animations	rules/motion-layout.md	HIGH	Shared layout transitions, FLIP animations, layoutId
Gesture Interactions	rules/motion-gestures.md	HIGH	Drag, hover, tap with spring physics
Exit Animations	rules/motion-exit.md	HIGH	AnimatePresence, unmount transitions
View Transitions API	rules/view-transitions-api.md	HIGH	Page navigation, cross-document transitions
Motion Accessibility	rules/motion-accessibility.md	CRITICAL	prefers-reduced-motion, cognitive load
Motion Performance	rules/motion-performance.md	HIGH	60fps, GPU compositing, layout thrash

Total: 6 rules across 3 categories

Decision Table — Motion vs View Transitions API

Scenario	Recommendation	Why
Component mount/unmount	Motion	AnimatePresence handles lifecycle
Page navigation transitions	View Transitions API	Built-in browser support, works with any router
Complex interruptible animations	Motion	Spring physics, gesture interruption
Simple crossfade between pages	View Transitions API	Zero JS bundle cost
Drag/reorder interactions	Motion	drag prop with layout animations
Shared element across routes	View Transitions API	viewTransitionName CSS property
Scroll-triggered animations	Motion	useInView, useScroll hooks
Multi-step orchestrated sequences	Motion	staggerChildren, variants

Quick Start

Motion — Component Animation

import { motion, AnimatePresence } from "motion/react"

const fadeInUp = {
  initial: { opacity: 0, y: 20 },
  animate: { opacity: 1, y: 0 },
  exit: { opacity: 0, y: -10 },
  transition: { type: "spring", stiffness: 300, damping: 24 },
}

function Card({ item }: { item: Item }) {
  return (
    <motion.div {...fadeInUp} layout layoutId={item.id}>
      {item.content}
    </motion.div>
  )
}

function CardList({ items }: { items: Item[] }) {
  return (
    <AnimatePresence mode="wait">
      {items.map((item) => (
        <Card key={item.id} item={item} />
      ))}
    </AnimatePresence>
  )
}

View Transitions API — Page Navigation

// React Router v7+ with View Transitions
import { Link, useNavigate } from "react-router"

function NavLink({ to, children }: { to: string; children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return <Link to={to} viewTransition>{children}</Link>
}

// CSS for the transition
// ::view-transition-old(root) { animation: fade-out 200ms ease; }
// ::view-transition-new(root) { animation: fade-in 200ms ease; }

Motion — Accessible by Default

import { useReducedMotion } from "motion/react"

function AnimatedComponent() {
  const shouldReduceMotion = useReducedMotion()

  return (
    <motion.div
      animate={{ x: 100 }}
      transition={shouldReduceMotion
        ? { duration: 0 }
        : { type: "spring", stiffness: 300, damping: 24 }
      }
    />
  )
}

Rule Details

Layout Animations (Motion)

FLIP-based layout animations with the layout prop and shared layout transitions via layoutId.

Load: rules/motion-layout.md

Gesture Interactions (Motion)

Drag, hover, and tap interactions with spring physics and gesture composition.

Load: rules/motion-gestures.md

Exit Animations (Motion)

AnimatePresence for animating components as they unmount from the React tree.

Load: rules/motion-exit.md

View Transitions API

Browser-native page transitions using document.startViewTransition() and framework integrations.

Load: rules/view-transitions-api.md

Motion Accessibility

Respecting user motion preferences and reducing cognitive load with motion sensitivity patterns.

Load: rules/motion-accessibility.md

Motion Performance

GPU compositing, avoiding layout thrash, and keeping animations at 60fps.

Load: rules/motion-performance.md

Key Principles

1. 60fps or nothing — Only animate transform and opacity (composite properties). Never animate width, height, top, or left.
2. Centralized presets — Define animation variants in a shared file, not inline on every component.
3. AnimatePresence for exits — React unmounts instantly; wrap with AnimatePresence to animate out.
4. Spring over duration — Springs feel natural and are interruptible. Use stiffness/damping, not duration.
5. Respect user preferences — Always check prefers-reduced-motion and provide instant alternatives.

Performance Budget

Metric	Target	Measurement
Transition duration	< 400ms	User perception threshold
Animation properties	transform, opacity only	DevTools > Rendering > Paint flashing
JS bundle (Motion)	~16KB gzipped	Import only what you use
First paint delay	0ms	Animations must not block render
Frame drops	< 5% of frames	Performance API: PerformanceObserver

Anti-Patterns (FORBIDDEN)

• Animating layout properties — Never animate width, height, margin, padding directly. Use transform: scale() instead.
• Missing AnimatePresence — Components unmount instantly without it; exit animations are silently lost.
• Ignoring prefers-reduced-motion — Causes vestibular disorders for ~35% of users with motion sensitivity.
• Inline transition objects — Creates new objects every render, breaking React memoization.
• duration-based springs — Motion springs use stiffness/damping, not duration. Mixing causes unexpected behavior.
• Synchronous startViewTransition — Always await or handle the promise from document.startViewTransition().

Detailed Documentation

Resource	Description
references/motion-vs-view-transitions.md	Comparison table, browser support, limitations
references/animation-presets-library.md	Copy-paste preset variants for common patterns
references/micro-interactions-catalog.md	Button press, toggle, checkbox, loading, success/error

Related Skills

• ork:ui-components — shadcn/ui component patterns and CVA variants
• ork:responsive-patterns — Responsive layout and container query patterns
• ork:performance — Core Web Vitals and runtime performance optimization
• ork:accessibility — WCAG compliance, ARIA patterns, screen reader support