Safari launching on an iPhone (it took many tries to get this screenshot right!)
More and more gadgets use fancy animated graphics. From your cellphone to your high-end Linux box running Compiz Fusion, they’re all looking better than ever. But animation is more than looks. And today I’m going to cover many of the benefits of animations in software, from multiple angles.
Animations are exciting
Animations makes people go “Ooh” and “Aah”. This makes people happy, and they’ll be more likely to like the software. Even Vista with all its problems was famous for its Aero flip 3D. Bringing animations to your software also makes it seem more professional and complete. Static software is boring, animations are not. Too much is not good either, so finding a place in the middle is important.
Using animation to hide slowness
Everybody hates slow software. Animation is a great way to hide this. Of course, the best solution is to make software faster. But when this is not possible because of limitations in hardware, animations can be a great solution.
A very good example of this is launching apps on an iPhone. You zoom from the springboard (desktop) to the app. It may only take milliseconds, but it gives the app some extra time to start that doesn’t annoy you. Many apps are ready to use when the animation is done, making the launch seem instantaneous instead of having a tiny delay. This gives a great user experience, and is one of the “secrets” to why people love the iPhone.
Using animation to give feedback
Animations is a great way to give users feedback on their actions. When you click something, you expect something to happen. A good example is the jumping dock icon on Macs when you launch a program. Another one is minimizing windows on almost any operating system.
On Windows 7, you get outlines when dragging windows to the edge of the screen, highlighting that you are about to invoke the Snap feature.
Using animation to show relations
Animation is a great way to show how things are connected. A perfect example is switching screens in a table-based iPhone app. When you press an item in a table, the table slides off to the left and a detailed view comes in from the right. When you go back, the opposite happens. This gives the user a sense of relations between objects on and of the screen. The app seems more logical and self explanatory.
This works so well because we humans are wired to see relations between objects. This is also the reason why interfaces inspired by real world examples often work well (provided they are well executed).
How to implement the correct animations in your software
Knowing that animations can be used for many things is good and well, but how do you use them the right way? The easiest way to know if animating something is the right thing to do, ask yourself these questions:
- Are you sure it won’t impact performance too much?
- Will it help users understand what happened?
- Will it make the software look better?
- Will it make the software seem faster?
- Are users going to be excited by it?
- Is it fast to implement?
If the answer to at least three of these questions are yes, you should really consider implementing animations.
Finding the right animation for the task is even harder, but this is so different from case to case that I won’t recommend anything specific. A great general tip is to look at software you love to use and learn from it.
Often used animations most people undestand are zooming, bouncing and sliding. Be careful not to let the animations become the main focus. They should generally last for under 1 second and be gone. A bouncing icon that repeats over and over until you click is not a good user experience.
Debate, test and ask
Are you unsure about animations in your software? Do you want to learn more? Debate with friends, test software yourself and ask people what they think. Hit me up at twitter if you have any specific questions, or leave a comment below.
Good example of homemade fries. Not mine, they're always eaten before I can get the camera out.
Oh yes. Perfect homemade french fries. No, you don’t need fancy equipment or a lot of time. You just need some guidance. And I’m here to give it to you.
What you need:
- Saucepan
- Knife
- Potatoes
- Sunflower oil
Steps
- Fill the saucepan 2/3 with water and heat to the boil while you:
- Peel the potatoes.
- Cut them into french fries size.
- Boil the fries for 10 minutes. Should be almost eating ready in consistency. When done, let them dry on some paper.
- Pour out all the water of the saucepan and make sure it is 100% dry.
- Fill the saucepan with 1/2 with sunflower oil.
- Put the saucepan back on the heat. Keep a lid close in case of fire. Don’t use full heat, but above medium.
- Put in one potato slice as your control.
- If you have a thermometer that can take the heat and oil, make sure you stay around 180 degrees centigrade.
- When the control slice is golden, take it out and carefully put in the rest of your fries.
- Use tongs to lift out fries when they’re done. Or use a slotted spoon if you have one. Let them dry on some paper.
Tips:
- If you’re making a lot, finished fries can be kept at 200 degrees centigrade in your owen while you make the rest.
- Season with french fries spice mix or salt before serving. Serve with ketchup. Perfect with all kinds of meat or fish.
- Don’t settle for the tiny size of McDonald’s fries. Double that is a good start.
- Experiment with different sizes and forms. Creative fries are well received at parties.
- You can reuse the sunflower oil. Just let it cool down and pour it into an empty bottle. Be sure to filter out any leftovers of the fries.
Enjoy!
Different peppers
Wondering what to get when buying spices? Here is a short list of spices and uses. I’ve got way more spices than this (over twice as much), but I consider these the essentials.
Essentials:
- Black pepper: use for almost anything, especially meat. Use as much as you feel like
- Salt: use for almost anything, use just enough to get the flavor you want (as little as possible)
- Red pepper powder: Perfect for rice, home made spice mixes, chicken and more
- Thyme: Great for pork, chicken and lamb. I use this many times every week.
- Oregano: The pizza spice! Perfect for italian food. Smell it and you should recognize it’s uses.
- Basil: Use in pizza and pasta sauces, pesto and more. Strong flavor, use with caution.
- Cardamom: Used in all sorts of baked goods, like wafles, muffins, buns and cinnamon rolls.
- Cinnamon: Many uses, but I use mainly for baking and rice porridge topping. See cinnamon rolls.
- Curry: The rice and chicken spice. Indian food.
Less used but great to have:
- Ginger powder: Used in much eastern food
- Cumin: The secret behind kebab meat. Together with ginger powder, red pepper powder and garlic this will rock you.
- Rosemary: Lamb, chicken and pork. I often use this one together with thyme
You should also have these spices in fresh or processed form:
Garlic
- Chili (use mild chili if you aren’t too fond of spicy stuff): gives your dish that extra “oomph”. Mexican food essential.
- Garlic: Really really healthy and tasty. Makes any meat stand out, use with rice and in stews and more. Essential in italian food.
- Onion: Used in almost all italian dishes, many more. Don’t be afraid to use a lot.
- Lemon: Gives you that fresh, bitter taste. Use with fish and pork on the grill. Perfect for drinks too.
Inspirational spice examples:
Beef
Spice richly with salt and pepper, rub a garlic clove over (it doesn’t seem to do much, but it really makes a difference). Rub the spices in together with olive oil before frying on high heat.
Lamb dish
Salmon
Mix 1/3 lemon juice and 2/3 olive oil. Add salt and pepper, coat with the mix. Let it sit for as long as possible up to 24 hours in your fridge before grilling or frying. A touch of soy sauce and chili doesn’t hurt, either.
Chicken
Salt, pepper, curry and red pepper powder. The same spices can also be used in a sauce based on chicken stock and cream.
Salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme.
Check out thomassnielsen.com/food for more inspiration.
As an experiment I’ve made a basic HTML tutorial. Please watch it and tell me what you think.
I could probably write a whole book about this subject, but I’ll make it as short as I can while still getting my main points across.
Be positive for your own enjoyment
If you manage to look positively at everything, it will bring happiness to you. You will generally have a better quality life if you manage to focus on the positive things in life.
How to change into a positive person
If you aren’t positive by nature (and most aren’t), this can be changed. It might not be easy, but it is worth it. My main suggestion is to try to look at everything as a challenge rather than a problem. This is the first big step in the right direction.
Don’t think “Oh no, I just got another task to finish before I go home today”. Rather, try to think of it this way: “How can I best finish this task in a good/creative and fast way?”. Don’t worry som much about the time and getting home fast, just think of it as another challenge! Making problems into challenges can even make boring tasks fun.
Positive = creative
If you manage to make this change, you will also find that you tend to come up with better and more creative solutions to challenges. Your brain will start to work better than before, and you will feel more awake and alive. Note: If your work is inherently non-creative (like assembly line work), this will be much harder.
If that is the case, I suggest looking for another job that you think will make you more happy. While you do, try to make these changes at home instead. Put on some music and make cooking fun. It is easy! Check out some of my recipes or watch shows such as Food Mob for inspiration. Listen to podcasts or music while cleaning. Make your life more fun, become more positive!
Positive as a job trait
In fact, if you work in marketing or sales, positivity is almost a required part of your job. So if you manage to be a positive person, your job will come more naturally and you will do much better. A positive and creative sales person is able to see the case from the customers perspective and help them find a solution. A marketing person should be able to transmit solutions to potential customers, not just product info. This can be a whole new post, so I’ll leave it at that.
Positivity is positive for everyone, not just you
When you are thinking positively about everything, it benefits both you and you peers. You’ll be the guy/gal that always brighten up the mood, and people love those people. You will even find that you succeed more at work, and you will even do better in job interviews.
Being positive is generally considered a good thing, and many businesses know that positive people tend to work more effectively also, as I talked about above.
Become the popular guy
If you manage to pull this off you will find yourself to be the go to guy/gal much more often than before. you will have an easier time getting friends too. If you think about it, wasn’t the popular kids at school always having fun? You should too.
My story
I figured it might be good to do a first hand example. I was pretty negative at my work the last half year of my last job. I didn’t get particularly well along with my boss, and my tasks were repetitive and boring. On my current job, I make much more decisions and I manage my own time and tasks.
The tasks in themselves aren’t always that much different, but the option to choose when and how to tackle them have been the big change for me. Together with getting things sorted out in my personal life, this has change me as a person and my life.
Learn from my mistakes, don’t replicate them
That said, I’m not perfect myself. I love to bitch about the local bus company, for example, since they are always late. I find this easy to do since I can’t change them. Ideally I wouldn’t do this, but it is better to do some semi-ironic bitching than really hating something, and it is much better to dislike the bus company than your job.
Where to go for more
Now this is only a short summary of ideas. I hope this was helpful, and I hope you gained some new ideas and insights. There are written many books about this subject, maybe you should check some of them out if you find it difficult to get started making changes. I wish you good luck, and one more advise: Believe you can succeed. You will.
