How To Turn Your Figma Design into an Interactive Animation with Lottielab: A Step-by-Step Guide

As designers, our goal is to create experiences that not only look great but also engage users and make them feel connected to the design. Static designs are a great starting point, but in today’s world, interactive animations are essential for creating dynamic, engaging experiences that captivate users. Whether you’re designing for web, mobile apps, or marketing materials, adding interactivity can elevate your designs and bring them to life in ways that static mockups simply can’t.

With the Lottielab Figma Plugin, you can export your Figma designs to Lottielab, where they can be transformed into interactive animations—no coding required. This guide will show you how to use Lottielab to take your static Figma designs and turn them into production-ready interactive animations that are perfect for web, mobile apps, and more.

How to Install the Lottielab Figma Plugin

1. Open Figma and go to the Community tab.

2. Search for the Lottielab Figma Plugin.

3. Click Install to add it to your Figma workspace.

4. Or simply, visit lottielab.com/figma to get started.

Once installed, you’re ready to start creating interactive animations!

How To Turn Your Figma Design into an Interactive Animation with Lottielab

If you prefer a visual guide, check out the step-by-step video tutorial. In this video, you’ll learn everything from installing the plugin to adding interactivity and exporting your animations.

Step 1: Install the Lottielab Figma Plugin

First, make sure you’ve installed the Lottielab Figma Plugin (as outlined above). Once installed, open the plugin within Figma and you're ready to go.

Step 2: Select the Element to Animate

Start by selecting the design element you want to animate. This could be anything from buttons to icons or even an entire design.

Step 3: Export to Lottielab

Once you've selected your element, click the Lottielab plugin in Figma and use the export option to send the selected element to the Lottielab editor. This is where you'll define how the animation and interactivity should work.

To create an interactive animation, click on the Interactivity tool icon at the right end of Lottielab's toolbar.

Once you select this tool, the user interface of Lottielab will change to Interactivity mode.

In the picture above, you can see:

• States panel (top left): This shows the list of all States that you have created. From here, you can add, remove, rename and reorder states. Clicking on a state will select it.

• Events panel (top right): Each state is defined by a time segment, playback properties, and interactions. You can view and change all of this information in the Events panel on the right.

• Timeline with state display (bottom): This is very similar to Lottielab's normal timeline, but instead of displaying your keyframes, it shows and allows you to adjust the segments associated with the different states of your Lottie.
  
  

Step 4: Define The Animations for Your Design

Before exploring interactivity, it's essential to first define the animations for your design. In Lottielab, animations are the foundation upon which you’ll later create interactive states. For example, you might create the following animations:

• 1-2 seconds: State 1 – Idle Animation (default state)

• 2-4 seconds: State 2 – Hover Animation (button changes color when hovered)

By defining the animation segments first, you create clear time segments that can later be referenced as states. This will make it easier to add interactivity in the next steps and ensure that each state corresponds to a specific segment of the animation.

Step 5: Define States and Time Segments

In Lottielab, states correspond to different "versions" or appearances of the design element. For example:

• State 1: The normal state (e.g., a button in its default color).

• State 2: The clicked state (e.g., the button changes color when clicked).

You can create multiple states for your design element and map them to specific time segments in your animation.

Step 6: Add Events

Now that you’ve defined the states, you’ll need to define the events that trigger state changes. These interactions can be triggered by various events, such as clicks, hover or tap. For example:

• On Click: When the user clicks on the design element, it changes state.

• On Hover: When the user hovers over an element, it triggers a state change.

• On Tap: For mobile designs, this could be triggered by a tap.
  
  

Step 7: Preview and Test Your Animation

After adding your states and interactions, you can preview how your design will behave in real time. To preview your interactive animation, click the Preview button in the top right of the UI, next to the Export button.

A new tab with your Lottie front-and-center will open. We call this the Playground. Here, you can test your interactions similarly to how they will work when you embed or use your animation.

You can also share the link to this page with your teammates, or even publicly (if you set visibility to "Anyone with URL" in the Share dialog). Your recipients will then be able to preview the animation or use the Export button to get code embed instructions, links, or download the animation.

Besides allowing you to test your animation with real interactions, the Playground page provides a state viewer on the right. You can use it to visually see which state your Lottie is in, as well as click any of the states to go directly to that state.

Step 8: Export and Share

Once your animation is ready, it’s time to export. Click the Export button, and choose the format that suits your project. If you’re working with developers, the Lottie JSON format is perfect, as it can be embedded directly into code.

FAQs

1. Do I need coding knowledge to use the create interactive animations in Lottielab?
   No, Lottielab's Interactivity feature doesn’t require any coding knowledge. It’s intuitive, easy to use, no-code solution for creating interactive animations.

2. What platforms can I export my animation to?
   You can export your interactive Lottie animations to platforms like websites, mobile apps, or any platform that supports Lottie JSON.

3. How can I test my interactive animations?
   You can preview your interactive Lottie directly in the playground before exporting. This lets you see how the animation reacts to user interactions, such as clicks or hovers, just as it would in the final product.

4. Can I make complex interactive animations with Lottielab?
   Yes, you can create complex animations including multiple states, transitions and user-triggered interactions.

Ready to bring your Figma designs to life? Install the Lottielab Figma Plugin and start creating today.