Building my own product, I keep doing the exact thing I warn founders about. Made a splash animat...Building my own product, I keep doing the exact thing I warn founders about. Made a splash animat...
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Building my own product, I keep doing the exact thing I warn founders about. Made a splash animation I loved. Watched it on a real device and it dragged. Told founders a hundred times: the first impression is a budget you spend in two seconds. The advice I give for a living is the advice I have to force myself to take.
Post image
Maty's avatar
Cutting your own animation after watching it drag on a real device takes more discipline than saying the same thing to a client, self-inflicted feedback is always the hardest to actually act on. What tipped you off that it was dragging, gut feel in the moment or did you time it?
Mateo's avatar
The prototype is usually enough to judge, however sometimes you also need to feel it in a real life situation. So the context of app usage is crucial here. For example: using it at home when you have the time, vs using it on a commute when there's time pressure.
Mahmudul's avatar
Nothing beats designing from real product experience. Brilliant work, mate! 🔥💖
Kabir's avatar
Split Creatives logo
This is so relatable 😂 Sometimes building your own product makes you realize how hard it is to follow your own advice. Great reminder though!
Mateo's avatar
Worth experiencing, trust me :D
Sachin's avatar
This is so relatable. It’s easy to see these things clearly when advising others, but when it’s your own product, the attachment makes you want to keep what you love. The real challenge is knowing when to choose the user experience over your own preference.
Emmanuel 's avatar
so i thought am the only one that experience that tho, is still nice to work on our self
Kate's avatar
Is that the real preview? So brrright! 😉
Mateo's avatar
yes it is!
Kate's avatar
looks cool!
Mateo's avatar
Nazar's avatar
Yasno Design Agency logo
oof felt that one
DESH's avatar
Looks great! 🧡
Humaun's avatar
This hits close to home. I catch myself doing the same thing with client work vs. my own portfolio - I'll obsess over a client's page load speed for weeks, then let my own site sit unpolished for months. Easy to forget the "first impression = 2-second budget" rule applies to us too, not just the founders we're advising.
Victrex's avatar
I love it!
Mark's avatar
Self-awareness is a huge skill😎
Chidera 's avatar
Derra Visuals logo
This is nice
Talha 's avatar
I also do it for other components, buttons, and cards. Sometimes I feel it's good on my screen and prototype, and I also ask other designers and QA so they get a fresh look, but something inside you tells you that something is not right, so I use multiple phones like mine and friends just to make sure.
Template's avatar
Marvelous!!!
Amina's avatar
🔥 😍
Samuel's avatar
That's what growth can do
Asif's avatar
The device gap catches everyone. I now test motion on a mid range phone before I let myself fall for it, because a smooth preview in the design tool says nothing about the real first impression.
Hichām's avatar
This is painfully relatable. Testing on a real device has a way of exposing what looks perfect in the design file.
SYED 's avatar
Looks Amazing
Toqir's avatar
Real device testing catches things a preview never will, learned that the hard way too.
Michael's avatar
Taking your own advice is always the hardest part of building! Real-device testing never lies. "A budget spent in two seconds" is a golden rule every founder and designer needs on their wall. The UI for Unscroll Time looks crisp! 📱🔥
Asad's avatar
Nice Product
Noel's avatar
The device gap gets me every time. Everything feels smooth on the machine you built it on, and that machine is the least representative device your product will ever run on.
The thing that helped me most: only animate transform and opacity. Those stay on the compositor. The...
Mateo's avatar
good advices thanks!
Julia's avatar
would love to see the animation itself! will you share it?
Mateo's avatar
Right now there's a preview on my profile. I will write a post when the app is published on the App Store. Should be in September ;)
Julia's avatar
Sounds great! Looking forward to it:) and best of luck with the launch🚀
Mateo's avatar
Thanks 🙌
Balikis's avatar
looking beautiful and bright
Michael's avatar
Great Experience 🤝
Ggayi's avatar
i love the caption, i always also do the same that i prevent my clients from doing.
Ussama's avatar
Wonderful 👍
Tabish's avatar
First impressions really are that fast. Two seconds is generous honestly. The fact that you noticed and cut it says a lot.
Back to feed
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started