How to use Smart Animate in Figma prototypes
Introduction
Standard transitions like 'Slide in' are great for navigation, but 'Smart Animate' creates magic. It looks at the layers on both frames and morphs them smoothly from one state to another.
This guide explains how to set up your layers to achieve seamless animations.
Prerequisites
- •Two frames with similar content
- •Layers with matching names
Guide Steps
Ensure matching layer names
This is the most critical step. If you want a circle to grow into a square, both layers must have the exact same name (e.g., 'Shape') and hierarchy in both frames. If the names differ, Figma will just fade one out and the other in.
Change properties on the second frame
On the destination frame, move, resize, rotate, or recolor the elements you want to animate.
Configure the interaction
Connect the frames in Prototype mode. In the interaction details, set the Animation type to 'Smart Animate'. You can adjust the timing curve (e.g., Ease out) and duration (e.g., 300ms).
Test the transition
Open the presentation view. Trigger the interaction and watch how Figma interpolates the changes. Tweak the duration if it feels too fast or slow.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- ×Renaming a layer on one frame but not the other, breaking the animation link.
- ×Grouping layers differently on the two frames (hierarchy matters).
Pro-Level Design Tips & Workflows
💡 Asset Export: Hold the Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key while choosing resolution multipliers to export layers in exact dimensions.
💡 Vector Grid Snapping: Enable 'Snap to pixel grid' (Shift + Cmd + ') to prevent decimal positioning values which cause asset export pixelation.
Practical UI Example & Screenshot Checklist
Here is a real-world scenario where you will apply these exact layout rules:
Build a container frame with a logo and menu links. Set Auto Layout horizontal direction, padding margins to 24px, and select 'Space between' alignment to keep elements pinned to the margins.
- ✓ Inspect the right-hand design variables sidebar.
- ✓ Verify child width dropdown is set to
Fill container. - ✓ Drag the parent frame width to verify elements adapt automatically.
Glossary of Core Design Terms
A sizing constraint instructing the container frame boundaries to fit around child layers automatically.
A responsive instruction that stretches child layers to consume the remaining horizontal space of its parent flex frame.
The primary component template source. Updates to the master component propagate across all visual instances.
Figma Templates & Resources
Figma Starter Playground (.fig)
Includes pre-built design grids, responsive card examples, and button variant frames.