Why Beautiful UI Animations Can Hurt the Product
Author: Jay Thomas
UX Designer who builds UX research teams, leads design teams, and implements Jobs to be Done (JTBD) in companies
Animations make interfaces feel alive—but only if they’re aligned with interaction logic. Done right, they guide user attention, fill wait times, and clarify micro-interactions. Done wrong, they just get in the way.
Animations that slow down the flow
Smooth transitions, custom loaders, flashy effects—all of these add extra milliseconds. If a user repeats an action multiple times a day, even small delays become frustrating. Especially in speed-critical products.
Fix: Keep animations short—200–300ms max. Transitions shouldn’t block the next screen—show it instantly on click.
Animations that distract from the core
Scroll-triggered reveals (even in SaaS), excessive hover effects, unstable motion—all look cool, but they scatter attention. This breaks hierarchy and slows down simple tasks.
Animations that confuse behavior
If users don’t understand what just happened—it’s a failure. A card flies into the cart, but did it add? A form shakes, but what’s the error?
Rule: Aesthetics should never break functional expectations.
If the interface works better without the animation—it was unnecessary. In good UX, everything that moves should clarify, not distract.
Jay Thomas
A UX strategist with a decade of experience in building and leading UX research and design teams. He specializes in implementing Jobs to be Done (JTBD) methodologies and designing both complex B2B admin panels and high-traffic consumer-facing features used by millions.
Previously, he led UX development at DomClick, where he scaled the UX research team and built a company-wide design system. He is a guest lecturer at HSE and Bang Bang Education and has studied JTBD at Harvard Business School.
Jay has worked with ONY, QIWI, Sber, CIAN, Megafon, Shell, MTS, Adidas, and other industry leaders, helping them create data-driven, user-centered experiences that drive engagement and business growth.
