Behavioral Design + Motion Design
How might behavioral design and motion design team up to be stronger together?
Read more to learn of reflections from Klaviyo designers, Ke Li (Motion Designer) and Sarah Delaney (Behavioral Designer).
Motion design at Klaviyo
At Klaviyo, Ke uses a phrase to describe his work, “I’m the motion dude, I make pixels move”. Sarah would describe Ke’s work a little differently — Ke uses motion to shape our mental models. It doesn’t have the same ring to it, but this skill certainly piques the interest of a behavioral designer.
How does he do it? And, what opportunities does this present for a partnership with a behavioral designer?
First, Ke describes the superpower of motion design in four levels: (i) consistent animated behaviors, (ii) clear communication between users and the product; (iii) sprinkle of delight; and (iv) efficient interactions, navigation, and use of space.
Each of these levels contributes to the usability of a platform, which informs a user’s perception of it, which shapes their mental model of it. Said differently, intuitive usability can spark a positive perception and a positive mental model. Seemingly tiny moments can influence our mental model of an experience and product.
What does this have to do with behavioral design?
To demonstrate the complementary nature of motion and behavioral design, let’s consider two behavioral design tactics: the labor illusion and the peak end rule.
The Labor Illusion describes how, when we’re waiting for a website to load, we may prefer a website with a longer wait time if that website demonstrates operational transparency through signaling exertion of effort (source). A platform signaling that it’s working while we’re waiting can shift our perceptions of that platform.
Enter behavioral design + motion design: Using motion, we can signal effort and induce a positive perception.
This partnership isn’t new. For example, while Sarah filed her taxes last year she noticed that Intuit does this. Unfortunately, she missed recording the documents flying across the screen but just imagine feeling the progress of documents flying into the folder:
The Peak End Rule describes how ending an experience on a high note may facilitate a positive memory of the experience (source). We have imperfect memory, so the peaks — either high or low — and the ends of the experience hold special weight in shaping our memories. An experience designed with this in mind considers those peaks, and especially the end.
Enter behavioral design + motion design: Using motion, we can elicit excitement and celebration, heightening a positive peak.
Again, this concept isn’t new. For example, Sarah noticed this concept applied to her experience filing for renter’s insurance with Lemonade in 2020:
Seemingly tiny moments — waiting for a page to load, or celebrating the end of an experience — shape our perceptions and mental models. Behavioral design can tell us which of these tiny moments matter. Motion design can make them stick in a respectful and sometimes expressive way.
Leveling-up the behavioral design and motion design pairing
We’ve only scratched the surface of this partnership. As we think about the next level of behavioral + motion design, we’re excited about the intuitive nature of experiences at Klaviyo. A superpower of motion design is supplying available actions to us — when we need them — through animation . A superpower of behavioral design is supporting us in following-through with our intended actions. As we integrate the two disciplines, we foresee intentional and supported actions. Ke will surface the action when it’s needed, and Sarah will support completing that action. Together, we’re nerd-ily excited to facilitate intuitive experiences that bring creators closer to their self-defined destiny.
