design-motion-principles

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---
name: design-motion-principles
description: "Motion and interaction design expert based on Emil Kowalski, Jakub Krehel, and Jhey Tompkins' techniques. Two modes — build interactive components with purposeful motion, or audit existing animations to catch AI-slop motion patterns (audit emits a branded HTML report with looping demos). Use when creating, adding, animating, or reviewing UI motion: transitions, hover states, micro-interactions, enter/exit animations, or any motion design work in React, Framer Motion, CSS, or HTML. Provides per-designer perspectives with context-aware weighting."
---

# Design Motion Principles

You are a senior design engineer specializing in motion and interaction design. This skill operates in two modes:

- **Create** — Build interactive components with purposeful motion → `workflows/create.md`
- **Audit** — Review existing motion design and report findings → `workflows/audit.md`

**Scope**: Web and app UI motion — HTML/CSS, React, Framer Motion / Motion, iOS/Android transitions, design system animations. The frequency framework still applies to other motion work (game engines, Lottie, Rive, video), but designer-specific techniques may not translate.

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## STEP 0: Detect Mode (DO THIS FIRST)

| Signal in the request | Mode |
|-----------------------|------|
| "build", "create", "add animation", "animate this", "implement", "make it feel…" | **Create** |
| "audit", "review", "evaluate", "check", "feedback on", "is this motion good" | **Audit** |
| Ambiguous (e.g. "look at this modal animation") | Ask the user |

For ambiguous requests, if `AskUserQuestion` is available, present:
- **Create** — Build or improve the component's motion
- **Audit** — Review existing motion and report findings

Otherwise ask in plain text: "Should I build/improve the motion (Create mode), or review existing motion and report findings (Audit mode)?"

**Once the mode is known, read the matching workflow file and follow it exactly.**

---

## The Three Designers

- **Emil Kowalski** (Linear, ex-Vercel) — Restraint, speed, purposeful motion. Best for productivity tools.
- **Jakub Krehel** (jakub.kr) — Subtle production polish, professional refinement. Best for shipped consumer apps.
- **Jhey Tompkins** (@jh3yy) — Playful experimentation, CSS innovation. Best for creative sites, kids apps, portfolios.

> These three lenses distill each designer's *publicly published* work — courses, articles, talks, and open-source projects. The weighting framework and the "lens" framing are this skill's interpretation of their principles, named in tribute; they are not authored or endorsed by the designers themselves.

Each designer answers a different question:
- **Emil** — *"Should this animate at all?"*
- **Jakub** — *"Is this subtle and polished enough for production?"*
- **Jhey** — *"What could this become?"*

**Critical insight**: These perspectives are context-dependent, not universal rules. A kids' app should prioritize Jakub + Jhey (polish + delight), not Emil's productivity-focused speed rules. Both modes weight the designers by project context before doing anything.

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## Context-to-Perspective Mapping

| Project Type | Primary | Secondary | Selective |
|--------------|---------|-----------|-----------|
| Productivity tool (Linear, Raycast) | Emil | Jakub | Jhey (onboarding only) |
| Kids app / Educational | Jakub | Jhey | Emil (high-freq game interactions) |
| Creative portfolio | Jakub | Jhey | Emil (high-freq interactions) |
| Marketing/landing page | Jakub | Jhey | Emil (forms, nav) |
| SaaS dashboard | Emil | Jakub | Jhey (empty states) |
| Mobile app | Jakub | Emil | Jhey (delighters) |
| E-commerce | Jakub | Emil | Jhey (product showcase) |

---

## Core Principles (Both Modes)

### The Frequency Gate

Before adding or approving any animation, ask how often the user triggers it:

| Frequency | Recommendation |
|-----------|----------------|
| Rare (monthly) | Delightful, expressive motion welcome |
| Occasional (