I built a motion gradient tool for an app that generates JSON animation files.
The reason was simple.
While working on a recent project, I needed multiple animated gradients for the UI.
Creating each gradient, animating it manually, and exporting video assets every time felt repetitive and inefficient.
So instead of repeating the same process, I built a small internal tool.
The tool generates motion gradients automatically and exports them as JSON files, making it easy for developers to integrate the animations directly into the app.
Now the workflow looks like this:
• Generate gradient
• Apply motion
• Export JSON
• Ready for development
Sometimes improving the product isn’t about designing another screen - it’s about building tools that remove friction from the design to development workflow.
The restrained motion is doing the storytelling herethe UI state changes keep the promo legible while the device framing gives it a tangible, product-like feel.
Back in 2016 I made a lot of cinemagraphs for HBO.
They took a surprising amount of work. Masking footage, finding the right loop, freezing parts of the frame and getting everything to transition cleanly.
I’ve had an idea for a simpler cinemagraph tool kicking around in my head ever since.
About a month ago I built another small tool using Toolcraft as the starting point, so yesterday I wanted to see if it could handle this idea too.
A few hours later I had a working cinemagraph editor.
Drop in a video → find your loop → choose how it loops → paint the areas you want to keep still → export.
Basically the workflow I used 10 years ago, condensed into a few controls.
Still rough around the edges, but kind of wild to finally build a tool I’ve been thinking about for a decade.
The masking-and-looping history is exactly why a simpler cinemagraph workflow feels valuable; the tricky part is preserving a seamless transition without making the tool feel like a timeline editor. Curious direction for an AI-assisted app.