How do microinteractions impact the user experience?

The great trends in design point to an inclination of the sector to increasingly focus on the desires and needs of consumers. For this reason, digital platforms have been investing in resources that focus on making the user experience even more practical and enjoyable. Thus, microinteractions are used in the design of interfaces, in order to contribute to this objective. 

And what are microinteractions?

They are features designed to attract, notify, stimulate interaction and make the user experience fluid and fun. Because they have a more subtle appearance, some of them may go unnoticed. However, they are essential to make navigation more intuitive.

When interacting with an application, it is important for the users to get answers about the actions they take. In this way, microinteractions seek to guide the path he will take within the platform, in order to increase his engagement with the brand.

An example of this happens when we enter a password when logging in and receive information that it is incorrect. The feedback that notifies the error is crucial for us to understand why the action has not been completed.

And some designers are going further and creating even more attractive and differentiated microinteractions. See this switch that changes the screen display mode! Interesting, isn’t it?

Behind the microinteractions

But, after all, how are microinteractions developed? For this, designers need to consider that this creation happens from 4 basic elements:

1 – Trigger: as the name says, the trigger refers to an action triggered by the user, which activates microinteraction – for example, when he clicks a button. But the command can also be triggered by the system automatically, as with notifications on social networks.

2 – Rules: they determine which path the microinteraction will take after the trigger is activated. In this way, the platform is able to identify what it should or should not do according to that specific command.

3 – Feedback: it is the part of the resource that becomes visible to the user, when the system recognizes a triggering and reaches the user’s screen. This is what happens, for example, when we enjoy Facebook status. Immediately, the options of different emojis “jump” to the screen, so that a new command is triggered.

4 – Cycle: it is what determines the continuity of an interaction. Thus, the software understands whether it is necessary to interrupt, prolong or modify the microinteraction flow.

There are several ways that a microinteraction can be attractive and functional. And it will depend on the segment that will be in contact with it and the context around that application. For this reason, in addition to understanding the structure behind microinteractions, it is important to identify the profile of its users and the purpose of your brand, so that this resource provides, in fact, a satisfactory experience.

One design, endless possibilities

The applicability of microinteractions is diverse. After all, with creativity and an in-depth analysis of the user’s journey, it is possible to develop an innovative mechanism that meets their needs and interests. To inspire you, we have listed here some of the most used functions in recent times. Just take a look:

Interactive forms

Filling out forms can be tiring and easily seen as a difficulty for the user to complete a registration. Therefore, applications like this are used with the aim of promoting more engagement during the process.

Feedbacks

When someone performs an action on a platform, it is important for the system to give some hints on the progress of it. because of that, microinteractions provide feedback – such as the status of a download – in order to make the user experience more intuitive.

Notifications

As stated earlier, notifications can be activated by a trigger of the system, from the moment it identifies a movement predefined by the rules of that mechanism – like a warning of the arrival of a new message.

To create an attractive and functional interface design, it is important that the user is placed at the center of the project’s strategy – as it should be in all areas of design. In this context, microinteractions are used to make the experience of the Internet user even more fluid and pleasant, in order to increase their engagement with the brand.