Section 10 · Time, Motion & Interaction

Timing and Pacing

Definition

Duration and easing values chosen deliberately and stated numerically. As a rough working range: 100–200 ms reads as immediate feedback, 200–400 ms as a visible transition, and beyond roughly 500 ms as deliberate, weighty, or sluggish depending on context.

Why it matters

Timing is the difference between an interface that feels responsive and one that feels frantic or slow. These are quantitative decisions a designer should be able to name and justify, not settings to accept.

Example

A confirmation that appears in 150 ms but holds for 1.5 seconds so the user can register that something happened.

Note

This is the most reliable place quantitative measurement enters a studio practice. Stating your values, and defending one, is what converts motion from a feel into a decision. The ranges above are conventions, not rules — be ready to argue for breaking them.