Waiting Animations – Best Practices and Creative Examples
Waiting animations are ‘literally’ everywhere. Almost every second website created by an agency that is perfectly aware of modern trends and requirements as well as is worried about providing online visitors with an excellent user experience, is equipped with such a sort of dynamic element.
Although today we focus more on loading progress indicators that, as a rule, welcome online readers and strengthen the first impression, in fact, waiting animations occur in absolutely different parts of a project. It can be an animation that accompanies the transition between two inner pages, sections, or slides; it can be an animation that marks the submission of data or changing status; or just an animation that saves the day when the website crashes. It finds application in various fields and brings benefits in different situations. Whether you are going to populate every page of your site with it or just add a waiting animation to only one item, it will definitely help your users feel more comfortable and not irritated when they need to experience some pauses and delays caused by the system.
Waiting Animations
Since progress bars that aim to indicate loading status of a website are the most popular option, we have listed fresh examples of interesting variants of them. Let’s take a closer look.
4:20 Dead Obies
4:20 Dead Obies impacts newcomers with a content-intensive opening screen that is fully packed with letters, to be more precise with the word ‘loading’. While the website is loading, each symbol changes to another adding dynamics to a static page and imitating an info board at the airport.
NewsTech
NewsTech has a powerful high-tech vibe that accompanies every page of their website. The designer opts in favor of a data inspired pattern, which, by the way, is one of the modern trends nowadays that gives the overall aesthetics a cutting-edge feel. The waiting animation features the same surroundings.
Ferias Beach Park
Ferias Beach Park tries to convey positive emotions and a cheerful atmosphere inherent to a promoted place. The waiting animation ideally blends in and strengthens the general feeling through a lovely animated mascot.
Mad Max Fury Road
A page with a progress bar on the Mad Max Fury Road website is consistent in terms of design aesthetics. It has brand marks and features that are inherent to the new film of the franchise. There is a bold, massive title and rough graphics that perfectly echo with the general atmosphere.
Panda Raid
Panda Raid slightly improves a standard linear loading bar with the help of a moving illustration of a car. Such a small trick allows killing two birds with one stone: first of all, it enhances the waiting animation, giving it a nice zest, and secondly, it reflects the idea of the project.
Wiser Digital
Wiser Digital features a small ping pong game. Although you cannot take part in it, nor can you control this, yet it has such a warm old-school vibe that it pleases the eye and brightens up seconds of delay.
Tenfold Creative
Tenfold Creative welcomes online visitors with a series of catchy phrases: ‘Getting it done! No problem! Pulling it together!’ and some others. They quickly flash before the eyes, so that the only thing you have time to do is to read them.
Tham Nguyen
Tham Nguyen is a professional female graphic designer from France, whose personal portfolio is a harmonious symbiosis of realistic nature scenes and cartoonish style elements that have a magnificent artistic appeal. The page of a waiting animation with a walking girl fits here like a glove.
50m.space
Much like the previous example, the waiting animation of 50m.space includes an illustration that echoes with the website design and intends to bolster the theme.
Madagence
Unlike the two previous examples, Madagence goes for a more primitive, minimal, geometric-inspired realization. The waiting animation is a series of 4 flat squares placed together that undergo some changes for adding dynamics and unobtrusively telling users that something is going on.
Kajikenseiji
Kajikenseiji charges their loading bar with some subtle motion that does not overwhelm users and looks refined and sleek. While the mascot intends to reflect Japanese motives, a ton of white space provides users with a fresh air.
One Kichjoji
One Kichjoji adopts a very similar approach to the previous example. The opening screen also demonstrates a tiny monochromatic illustration powered by a subtle motion. The animation adds elegance and delicacy to the website aesthetics.
Interatction with Artificial Physics
Interaction with Artificial Physics is a sophisticated project that exhibits some advanced ‘magic’. Nevertheless, the loading animation is not so impressive as might be expected, yet it is also worthy of your attention. It features typography animation and bubble animation that together produce a favorable impression.
Catch the Dragon
Catch the dragon also has a quite simple waiting animation based on a regular circular progress bar that is spiced up with some dynamic touches. However, thanks to the tiny complementary effects, the indicator vibrates and adds a subtle sense of motion to the page that is so eye-pleasing.
SLMF
SLMF is characterized by the utilization of a bold, massive typography that instantly strikes the eye. The waiting animation shows a numeric meter made exactly in such a font. It establishes a brutal and powerful general feeling inherent to the project from the first seconds.
Zodiac
Zodiac has a fantastic and artistic opening page that features an exquisite waiting animation. Every detail has been thoroughly planned and neatly crafted. There is a dramatic background and ornamental loading indicator that fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
MTV Bump
MTV Bump is a unique, one of a kind website that is highly absorbing and original. There is lots of interesting stuff, and a waiting animation, which precedes the appearance of the front page and prepares you for that.
Y7K
Y7K utilizes a simple yet cunning trick that transforms the loading animation into the centerpiece. The developer leverages a regular mask for forcing the huge nameplate of the website to show a vibrant video background. It naturally catches the eye.
The Happy Forecast
Although the coloring of the canvas needs a little refinement since the contrast between background and foreground suffers, demonstration of stages of loading progressing through titles catches the attention and enriches the delay.
Henge Travel
Henge Travel combines a waiting animation and an opening screen that smoothly interact with each other. The developer employs graceful transitions and fancy animation for the rhombus style loading indicator that goes perfectly well with the boxy nature of the website design.
Conclusion
Utilization of a waiting animation is a small trick that greatly contributes to user experience, converting seconds of expectations into an enjoyable pastime. You can slightly change the loading indicator by adding some subtle motion or go for drastic measures and incorporate illustrations or even game-style elements that spice up the project.
Does boring delay play a critical role? Do you think unconventional waiting animation can save the day?
