Section 9 · 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.

Teaching note

This is the most reliable place to introduce quantitative measurement into a studio course. Requiring students to state their values, and defend one, converts motion from a feel into a decision. The ranges above are conventions, not rules — students should be able to argue for breaking them.