Animation delay

Delay is the pause between a trigger, such as a tap or a page load, and the start of the motion. In the example, the sphere waits 300 ms and then moves for 600 ms.

With no delay, motion starts right away, which is what most feedback needs. Small delays are useful for staggering: in a list, each card can appear 50 ms after the one before it, so the eye follows the order.

A negative delay starts the animation part-way through, as if it was already moving. Use delays sparingly: unnecessary delays can make feedback feel slow.