Scale

Size transform animations for emphasis, feedback, and organic motion.

Standards Reference

Quick Reference

Load from: tokens/scale.tokens.json

Scale Values

Transform Origins

Selection Guide

What's the purpose?
│
├── FEEDBACK → Button/interactive states
│   ├── Press → micro (0.95)
│   ├── Hover → emphasis (1.02) or slight (1.05)
│   └── Active → reduced (0.9)
│
├── ENTRANCE → Element appearing
│   ├── Subtle → micro (0.95) → normal
│   ├── Standard → small (0.8) → normal
│   └── Dramatic → none (0) → normal (pop)
│
├── EMPHASIS → Draw attention
│   ├── Gentle → pulse with amplitude-subtle
│   ├── Clear → medium (1.1)
│   └── Celebration → large (1.2) with bounce
│
└── ORGANIC → Natural motion
    └── Use squash-stretch tokens
        ├── Impact → squash-medium
        └── Motion → stretch-medium

Patterns

Button Press Feedback

Scale down on press, return on release.

CSS:

.button {
  transform: scale(1);
  transition: transform 100ms cubic-bezier(0.2, 0, 0, 1); /* M3 standard */
}

.button:active {
  transform: scale(0.95); /* {motion.scale.values.micro} */
}

Framer Motion:

<motion.button
  whileTap={{ scale: 0.95 }} // {motion.scale.values.micro}
  transition={{ duration: 0.1 }}
>
  Click me
</motion.button>

GSAP:

button.addEventListener('mousedown', () => {
  gsap.to(button, { scale: 0.95, duration: 0.1 });
});

button.addEventListener('mouseup', () => {
  gsap.to(button, { scale: 1, duration: 0.1 });
});

Pop-In Entrance

Element pops in from zero scale.

CSS:

@keyframes popIn {
  0% {
    opacity: 0;
    transform: scale(0); /* {motion.scale.values.none} */
  }
  70% {
    transform: scale(1.1); /* overshoot */
  }
  100% {
    opacity: 1;
    transform: scale(1);
  }
}

.pop-in {
  animation: popIn 300ms cubic-bezier(0.34, 1.56, 0.64, 1); /* back-out */
}

Framer Motion:

const popVariants = {
  hidden: {
    opacity: 0,
    scale: 0
  },
  visible: {
    opacity: 1,
    scale: 1,
    transition: {
      type: "spring",
      stiffness: 300,
      damping: 20
    }
  }
};

Scale from Origin

Scale from specific edge/corner (dropdown menu).

CSS:

.dropdown-menu {
  transform-origin: center top; /* {motion.scale.origin.top} */
  transform: scaleY(0);
  opacity: 0;
  transition: all 200ms cubic-bezier(0.05, 0.7, 0.1, 1);
}

.dropdown-menu.open {
  transform: scaleY(1);
  opacity: 1;
}

Framer Motion:

<motion.div
  initial={{ scaleY: 0, opacity: 0 }}
  animate={{ scaleY: 1, opacity: 1 }}
  style={{ originY: 0 }} // top origin
  transition={{ duration: 0.2, ease: [0.05, 0.7, 0.1, 1] }}
/>

Pulse Animation

Breathing/pulsing effect for attention.

CSS:

@keyframes pulse {
  0%, 100% {
    transform: scale(1);
  }
  50% {
    transform: scale(1.05); /* {motion.scale.pulse.amplitude-gentle} */
  }
}

.pulsing {
  animation: pulse 1.5s ease-in-out infinite; /* {motion.scale.pulse.period-medium} */
}

Framer Motion:

<motion.div
  animate={{
    scale: [1, 1.05, 1]
  }}
  transition={{
    duration: 1.5,
    repeat: Infinity,
    ease: "easeInOut"
  }}
/>

Squash & Stretch

Organic deformation for natural motion (Disney Principle #1).

Ball Bounce (Squash on Impact):

@keyframes bounce {
  0% {
    transform: translateY(-100px) scaleY(1.15) scaleX(0.85); /* stretch while falling */
  }
  50% {
    transform: translateY(0) scaleY(0.85) scaleX(1.15); /* squash on impact */
  }
  100% {
    transform: translateY(-100px) scaleY(1.15) scaleX(0.85); /* stretch rising */
  }
}

Framer Motion:

const bounceVariants = {
  falling: {
    y: 0,
    scaleY: 0.85, // squash
    scaleX: 1.15,
    transition: { duration: 0.15 }
  },
  rising: {
    y: -100,
    scaleY: 1.15, // stretch
    scaleX: 0.85,
    transition: { duration: 0.3, ease: "easeOut" }
  }
};

GSAP:

const tl = gsap.timeline({ repeat: -1 });

tl.to(ball, {
  y: 200,
  scaleY: 0.7,  // squash-pronounced
  scaleX: 1.3,
  duration: 0.3,
  ease: "power2.in"
})
.to(ball, {
  y: 0,
  scaleY: 1.3,  // stretch-pronounced
  scaleX: 0.7,
  duration: 0.5,
  ease: "power2.out"
});

Hover Emphasis

Subtle scale up on hover.

CSS:

.card {
  transition: transform 200ms cubic-bezier(0.2, 0, 0, 1);
}

.card:hover {
  transform: scale(1.02); /* {motion.scale.values.emphasis} */
}

Framer Motion:

<motion.div
  whileHover={{ scale: 1.02 }}
  transition={{ duration: 0.2 }}
/>

Reduced Motion

For prefers-reduced-motion: reduce:

Implementation:

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .pop-in {
    animation: fadeIn 150ms ease-out;
  }

  .pulsing {
    animation: none;
  }

  .bounce {
    /* Remove squash-stretch, keep simple y movement */
    transform: scaleX(1) scaleY(1);
  }
}

@keyframes fadeIn {
  from { opacity: 0; transform: scale(0.95); }
  to { opacity: 1; transform: scale(1); }
}

Cross-References

• See easing/ for timing curves
• See duration/ for animation timing
• See squash-stretch/ for detailed Disney principle implementation
• See entrance-patterns/ for scale-based entrances
• See motion-principles/ for squash-stretch theory
• See position/ for combined scale + position animations

References

• references/transform-origin.md — Transform origin deep dive