frames/skills/frames-animation/rules/press-release-spring.md

name, description, metadata

name	description	metadata
press-release-spring	Tactile button press with linear compression, spring-based elastic recovery, and layered visual feedback (shadow shrink + release burst + background glow).	tags spring, press, interaction, button, physics, glow, burst, ui

Press-Release Spring Chain

Separates input (linear compression) from output (spring recovery) to create tactile feel: the overshoot is a natural byproduct of the spring config, not manually coded, with secondary motion (shadow shrink, release burst, background glow) layered on the same trigger frame. This is a reaction on an element already resting on screen — an arrival that springs in from nothing is spring-pop-entrance.md; add a visible cursor actor and it becomes physics-press-reaction.md.

Two phases split at the release:

1. Press: linear ease → compression (scale: 1 → PRESS_SCALE, shadow shrinks). Linear, not spring — the dip must read as instant/tactile, not squishy.
2. Release: back.out(BOUNCE_FACTOR) spring back to 1.0. Optional burst glow ring expands behind the button; optional environmental glow fades in.

State continuity is critical: the release tween's start value MUST equal the press tween's end value, or the spring snaps to a different position. GSAP threads this automatically when both tweens target the same property at adjacent positions — RELEASE_START = PRESS_START + PRESS_DUR; a gap or overlap breaks it.

Recipe

<div class="press-stage">
  <div class="bg-glow" id="bg-glow"></div>
  <!-- Burst sits BEHIND the button (z-index 1 vs 2), same footprint, blurred
       radial gradient, opacity 0. bg-glow is a full-stage radial at negative
       inset so it extends past the stage edges. -->
  <div class="burst" id="burst"></div>
  <button class="btn" id="btn">{buttonLabel}</button>
</div>

// Phase 1 — press (linear compression)
tl.to(
  "#btn",
  { scale: PRESS_SCALE, boxShadow: "{btnPressedShadow}", duration: PRESS_DUR, ease: "power1.in" },
  PRESS_START,
);

// Phase 2 — release (spring back; start scale == PRESS_SCALE by adjacency)
tl.to(
  "#btn",
  {
    scale: 1,
    boxShadow: "{btnRestShadow}",
    duration: RELEASE_DUR,
    ease: `back.out(${BOUNCE_FACTOR})`,
  },
  RELEASE_START,
);

// Phase 3 — burst glow pops behind the button, then fades
tl.fromTo(
  "#burst",
  { scale: 1, opacity: 0 },
  {
    scale: BURST_PEAK_SCALE,
    opacity: BURST_PEAK_OPACITY,
    duration: BURST_GROW_DUR,
    ease: "power2.out",
  },
  RELEASE_START,
);
tl.to("#burst", { opacity: 0, duration: BURST_FADE_DUR, ease: "power2.in" }, BURST_FADE_START);

// Phase 4 — environmental glow fades in after release
tl.to(
  "#bg-glow",
  { opacity: BG_GLOW_PEAK_OPACITY, duration: BG_GLOW_FADE_DUR, ease: "power2.out" },
  RELEASE_START,
);

Variations

• Subtle press (status save / muted CTA): PRESS_SCALE ~0.96, BOUNCE_FACTOR ~1.4, burst scale/opacity reduced.
• Dramatic press (hero CTA / "ship it"): PRESS_SCALE ~0.88, BOUNCE_FACTOR ~2.5, burst maxed.
• Color shift during press — darken mid-press, return on release; interpolated backgroundColor at the same timeline positions as the scale tweens. Same state-continuity rule.
• State change at release (approve / confirm) — instead of returning to the rest color, swap to {successColor} at RELEASE_START and pop a checkmark via a separate back.out(CHECK_BOUNCE) tween (1.4–2.0, firmer than the button's bounce — a punctuating "stamp"; pop 0.3–0.6 s) at the same position. The button is now terminal — no further presses expected.

Values

token	range	notes
button footprint	≥ 3–5% of canvas area	a 320×68 button at 1080p is ~1% and the press reads as visually insignificant
PRESS_SCALE	0.88 dramatic · 0.92 default · 0.96 subtle	never <0.85 (broken) or >0.98 (no perceptible dip)
PRESS_DUR	0.10–0.30 s	shorter = snappier; must be shorter than RELEASE_DUR (input faster than spring recovery)
RELEASE_DUR	0.40–0.90 s	shorter = tight pop; longer = loose, wobbly settle
BOUNCE_FACTOR	1.4 soft · 2.0 firm · 2.8 cartoony	or elastic.out(amplitude, period) for a rubbery oscillation instead of one overshoot
RELEASE_START	= PRESS_START + PRESS_DUR	adjacency = automatic state continuity
BURST_PEAK_SCALE	3 subtle · 6 default · 8 max	beyond ~8 the radial gradient pixelates visibly
BURST_PEAK_OPACITY	0.4–1.0	grow ≈ fade, 0.4–0.7 s each; blur 40–100 px (hard ring → ambient haze)
BG_GLOW_PEAK_OPACITY	0.1 subtle · 0.25 default · 0.45 max	higher washes the whole composition; fade-in 0.6–1.0 s; inset −300…−500 px at 1080p

Color tokens: pressed surface darker than rest; rest shadow large + diffuse, pressed small + tight (the button "sinks toward the surface"); burst gradient darker + more saturated than {btnBg} — same-color glow looks washed out; bg glow a low-opacity tint of the button's hue family.

Critical Constraints

• State continuity — release start value exactly equals press end value; enforced by same-property adjacency at RELEASE_START = PRESS_START + PRESS_DUR.
• Linear press, spring release — both spring → squishy; both linear → mechanical, no overshoot punch.
• Anchor compression on center (transform-origin: 50% 50%) or the button collapses asymmetrically.
• Burst behind, not in front — burst z-index: 1, button z-index: 2; in front it occludes the button at peak opacity.
• Don't tween boxShadow and filter on the same element — they compete in the layout pipeline; shadow on the button, blur on the separate burst layer.
• Climax dwell — after the burst peak + reveal, the composition must run ≥ 1 s more (≥ 2 s for dramatic variants); a reveal at t = DURATION − 0.2 s reads as "flashed and gone."

See also

spring-pop-entrance (the ENTRANCE counterpart — arrival, not reaction) · physics-press-reaction (this press with a visible cursor actor) · cursor-click-ripple (the cursor click that triggers the press) · sine-wave-loop (idle micro-float BEFORE the press) · center-outward-expansion (badge burst synced to the release).