Turning wait into delight: Behind abillion's loading animation

Role:

UX Designer

Period:

Sep 2024 - Oct 2024

Type:

Commercial

Collaborators:

Dafne, Lead Engineer

Skills:

Animation Design, UX Research, Data Analysis

Industry:

Social network, Consumer reviews, and E-commerce

Introduction

abillion launched 'Destination Pages', offering localised content

abillion, the world’s first conscious community platform, combines social networking, reviews, and e-commerce, serving over 12 million users in 188 countries. In 2024, it launched Destination Pages, offering curated recommendations for plant-based dining and products around the world.

Problem

Users faced page loading delays on 'Destination Pages'

Destination Pages depended on a vast database of over 3 million reviews. Thus, users faced delays waiting for pages to load.

This created an opportunity for me turn this friction point into a delightful moment for users.

Source: PageSpeed Insights

Business context

Loading delays affected conversions

💻 Slow-loading pages damage user trust and reduce engagement.

📊 Research shows even a 200ms delay can feel “sluggish” and harm conversions.

To address this, abillion needed a cost-effective solution that made waiting enjoyable.

research

Skeleton screen wasn’t feasible because Destination Pages’ content was unpredictable

There were two ways to address the problem :

Improve the loading speed through engineering effort
Show a placeholder

A skeleton screen wasn’t feasible because Destination Pages’ content was unpredictable.

After discussions with engineers, we opted for a loading animation—a choice that balanced cost, effort, and user delight.

Testing

Majority of polled members preferred the 'Veg-together'

Framing the opportunity

Reframing waiting as an opportunity to surprise and engage users

Waiting frustrates users—but what if it could create emotional delight instead?

“Unexpected rewards or experiences may be a way for users to forget their frustrations during a process”
- Pascal Potvin, Designing for Emotional Delight.

Thus, I reframed waiting as an opportunity to surprise and engage users within their user journey.