Crafting Engaging Micro-Interactions: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Ripple Effect

Understanding the Ripple Effect

Popularized by Material Design, the ripple effect is a visually appealing micro-interaction that provides touch feedback. To create an effective ripple effect, follow these guidelines:

• Contain the ripple within its container’s border-box.
• Render the ripple above the background layer but below other content.
• Start the ripple from the point of touch and spread it until it fills the available space.

Laying the Foundation

To create a ripple effect, start with a basic markup structure for a button element:

<button class="ripple">
  <span class="ripple__inner"></span>
</button>

Add a .ripple class to the target element and an empty element with a .ripple__inner class to serve as the ripple layer.

Styling the Elements

With our markup in place, style the ripple container and inner layer elements:

.ripple {
  position: relative; /* contain its content boxes */
  z-index: 1; /* create a stacking context */
}

.ripple__inner {
  position: absolute; /* hide any overflow */
  overflow: hidden; /* provide clear boundaries for the ripple effect */
}

Creating the Ripple Effect

Initialize the ripple element and get its geometric and position properties:

function initRippleElement(rippleElement) {
  const rect = rippleElement.getBoundingClientRect();
  const x = event.clientX - rect.left;
  const y = event.clientY - rect.top;
  //...
}

Attach a click event listener to the document object, using event delegation to capture clicks within the ripple element:

document.addEventListener('click', (event) => {
  if (event.target.classList.contains('ripple')) {
    initRippleElement(event.target);
  }
});

Animating the Ripple

Define a sequence of animations with specific properties: duration, update, done, and abort:

function createAnimation(options) {
  return {
    duration: options.duration,
    update: options.update,
    done: options.done,
    abort: options.abort
  };
}

const animationSequence = [
  createAnimation({ duration: 200, update: scaleUp }),
  createAnimation({ duration: 200, update: opacityUp }),
  createAnimation({ duration: 200, update: opacityDown })
];

Putting it all Together

Implement the runRippleAnimation() function:

function runRippleAnimation() {
  animationSequence.forEach((animation) => {
    animation.update();
  });
  easeOut/quadratic();
}

Use a quadratic easeOut() easing function to add a natural feel to the animation. Experiment with different animation sequences and easings to create unique effects.