Bringing Page Transitions to the Web

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCJUPJ_zDQ4

by recursion • 4 years ago

2 1 4 years ago

Such transitions translate quite poorly to e-ink devices, which have a limited pallet (1--16 greyscale shades, typically, or a desaturated colour palette), and high refresh times, from 0.25 to 4 seconds, depending on devices (most seem to accomplish 0.5 -- 1s at higher-quality modes, which includes colour).

Because of falling prices, improved battery life from e-ink displays, bright-light viewing advantage, and an increasing backlash to dopaminergic Web and app design, e-ink is seeing increasing appeal and use.

Oddly, what most suits e-ink devices is literal page-based navigation. Not scrolling, not pop-ups, not slides, not animation, but a full-page transition from previous to subsequent state, much as one would turn the page of a book. The limitations and ambiguities of scroll-based navigation in particular are addressed by this.

Pop-up elements are a possible exception to a full-page transition, as many e-ink devices can repaint portions of the screen. But even here, the less animation the better, and the key issue is to clearly indicate that a pop-up has occurred, and where it is, usually by clearly indicating both borders and any interactive elements of the pop-up itself. (Memo to designers: "flat" and low-contrast design fail at this tremendously.)

Bringing Page Transitions to the Web

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