Exit Animations

Apply Disney’s 12 principles when removing elements from view.

Principle Application

Squash & Stretch: Scale down to 95-98% on exit. Element compresses slightly as it departs.

Anticipation: Brief pause or micro-movement before departure. A 50ms hesitation acknowledges the exit.

Staging: Exit toward logical destinations. Deleted items fall down, dismissed modals shrink to origin, sidebars return to their edge.

Straight Ahead vs Pose-to-Pose: Pose-to-pose with clear visible→invisible states. Plan the exit trajectory.

Follow Through & Overlapping: Content exits before container. Text fades 50ms before the card collapses.

Slow In/Slow Out: Use ease-in for exits. Gentle start, accelerating departure: cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 1, 1).

Arcs: Exit on curves, not straight lines. Dismissed notifications arc upward-and-out.

Secondary Action: Combine opacity fade with directional movement. Pure fades feel like errors.

Timing:

• Exits should be 20-30% faster than entrances
• Quick exits: 100-150ms (tooltips, dropdowns)
• Standard exits: 150-200ms (modals, toasts)
• Graceful exits: 200-300ms (page transitions)

Exaggeration: Scale to 0.9 for dramatic departure, 0.97 for subtle dismissal.

Solid Drawing: Maintain spatial logic. Elements should exit the way they came or toward where they “belong.”

Appeal: Exits confirm user intent. Make dismissals feel decisive, not abrupt.

Timing Recommendations

Implementation Pattern

.exiting {
  animation: exit 200ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 1, 1) forwards;
}

@keyframes exit {
  from {
    opacity: 1;
    transform: translateY(0) scale(1);
  }
  to {
    opacity: 0;
    transform: translateY(-10px) scale(0.98);
  }
}

Collapse Pattern

For removed list items:

1. Fade out content (150ms)
2. Collapse height (150ms, starts at 100ms)
3. Remove from DOM after animation completes

Total perceived time: 250ms. Always use will-change: opacity, transform for smooth exits.