Welcome back.
​
I'm sitting here watching a website come alive with physics-driven animations that would've taken a team of developers months to build in 2020.

Instead, it took me 30 minutes.

This isn't about AI. This is about how new tools are letting designers add juice to our interfaces – those non-essential but magical touches that make things feel alive.

The barriers between imagining delightful interactions and actually building them are falling fast. What used to require deep knowledge of shaders and Three.js is becoming as accessible as dragging layers in Figma.

And it's changing everything about how we raise the bar on digital experiences.

—Tommy (@designertom)

the wireframe

• Why juice matters more than ever
• The new wave of delight-first tools
• "Tools don't matter"

the rise of interface juice

Game developers figured this out years ago: it's not just about function – it's about feel.

Super Mario's cheerful "ya-hoo!" when he jumps. That satisfying coin chime. The screen shake when you grab a power-up.

None of it is necessary. All of it makes the experience better.

Now web interfaces are having their juice moment. But it took a revolution in tools to get here:

• 2015: Motion design enters UI with Material Design and CSS3 animations​
• 2020: Lottie & Framer Motion make high-fidelity animations easy
• 2025: Physics-driven motion and shading with WebGL become drag-and-drop​

The tools democratizing these capabilities aren't just technical achievements – they're unlocking new forms of creative expression for designers.

the new wave of production tools

While everyone's obsessing over AI (and I'm no exception), there's a quieter evolution happening in design tools, many of which are being built by fellow designers.

Take Unicorn.Studio (currently in beta with 40k+ waitlist) - not sponsored.

Built by ex-IDEO designer George Hastings, it takes WebGL effects and turns them from coding wizardry into a production-ready playground for non-technical designers.

• 35+ WebGL effects you can stack and combine
• Physics-driven motion without touching code
• 36KB output that doesn't kill web performance

But this isn't about one tool. It's about a pattern:

• ​Spline → Making 3D design accessible
• ​Jitter → Bringing motion design to software teams
• ​Framer → Turning designs into production code
• ​Unicorn → Democratizing WebGL effects

Each one is taking something that used to require deep technical expertise and making it available to designers who just want to make things feel great to use.

My favorite part about these tools is their intense focus on doing one thing extremely well.

As designers, this means learning how to create an artifact in one tool, and imagining how it fits into the final product. A new workflow, and a worthwhile one.

Together with Framer​

Designing a Website 🤝🏻 Building a Website

If you’re a designer tasked to create and publish visually stunning websites, there’s a tool for that. If you want to boost creativity while speeding up the overall web development process, you need Framer—no coding required.

The next best no-code website builder for designers, Framer:

• Feels and works like Figma and other design tools you know
• Lets you publish your design as a real website in seconds
• Supports breakpoints, animations, and even a whole CMS

Plus, you can even import designs from Figma using our Figma-to-Framer plugin so you don’t have to start from scratch.

Are you ready to learn how Framer can streamline your web development process?

"tools don't matter"

I've heard some designers suggest "tools don't matter".

To which Airbnb's former Chief Design Officer says, "What bullshit. That’s gatekeeping and masking your own inability to learn new things."

And he's right.

As Matic Pelcl calls out: imagine designing in a raster-only world and compare that to our capabilities today.

benjamin @benjaminnathan You will soon to be able to create continuous animations in @framer. Elements won’t jump as you switch pages. They can remain fixed, they can animate, they can loop—all independently. 7:46 AM • Jan 23, 2025 17 Retweets 440 Likes Read 33 replies

​

We can visualize reflexive sliders, physics-driven background interactions, looping feature cards, and animated boarding passes.

All of these examples are:

• Non-essential elevations of craft
• Performant on hardware and browsers
• Not created by developers

The barrier to entry has never been lower for creating juiced-up interfaces.

Designers are crafting living, breathing interfaces that respond and react. That celebrate and surprise. That feel intentional down to the smallest interaction.

Tommy Geoco @designertom_ The @Basedash landing page is gorgeous. If you don't know about @tomjohndesign, you should. 12:13 PM • Jan 29, 2025 0 Retweets 7 Likes

​

Look at what's happening in top product teams:

• Design systems now include motion patterns and interaction behaviors
• Prototypes aren't just clickable – they're playable
• Designers own the full experience, from first load to final celebration

When technical barriers drop, we can finally have meaningful conversations about what makes software feel great to use. Not just how it works, but how it feels. Not just what it does, but how it delights.

This isn't just about making things pretty. It's about crafting experiences worth coming back to.

And for the first time, we have the tools to do it right.

education spotlight

The Future of Design: Free Lighting Lessons

Maven just rolled out The Future of Design 2025, a series designed to help us level up on the skills that matter now.

In addition to the strongest design course catalog I've seen, they also provide a bunch of free "Lightning Lessons". A few of my favorites include:

• ​Build your own AI reddit intelligence tool by Britney Muller
• ​Design Patterns for AI Interfaces by Vitaly Friedman
• ​How to Design & Build AI Prototypes with No-Code Tools by Polly Allen and Rupa Chaturvedi

Get $100 off off my recommended courses with promo code "TOMMY".

the bottom line

The best tools don't just make existing work easier – they unlock new possibilities by reducing technical constraints.

That's what's happening right now in design tools, and it's about to get wild.

What sort of tools have you experimented with? Hit reply and let me know.

See you next week,

Tommy

Enjoying this newsletter? Let me know here.​