07 Microinteractions; Pair Designing
App Prototyping Studio
06 Oct 2026
Week SEVEN
Microinteractions
Definition from NNgroup: Microinteractions are trigger-feedback pairs in which
the trigger can be a user action or an alteration in the system’s state;
the feedback is a narrowly targeted response to the trigger and is communicated through small, highly contextual (usually visual, but could be auditory or haptic) changes in the user interface.
Microinteraction flow
Some are, some aren’t
| Digital element | Is it a microinteraction? |
|---|---|
| Scrollbar | Yes: User triggered; visual feedback to user changing location within a page |
| Digital alarm | Yes: System triggered; auditory (and visual) feedback to time condition being met |
| Button | It depends: If there is no feedback when a user clicks the button, there is no microinteraction |
| Pull-to-refresh animation | Yes: User triggered; visual feedback to a user action |
| GIFs | No: Not triggered by the system or a user |
| Video player | No: It’s a feature, not a microinteraction; volume control would be a microinteraction |
Why?
Microinteractions can improve a product’s user experience by:
- Encouraging engagement
- Displaying system status
- Providing error prevention
- Communicating brand
Encouraging engagement
