Pulse

Pulse makes an object swell and settle about its centre, over and over. It has two styles: Breathe, a slow rise with a longer fall, and Heartbeat, a double beat followed by a rest.

How it works

In Breathe, the object grows over about the first 40 percent of each cycle and shrinks back over the rest, with soft easing at both ends, like a slow inhale and exhale. In Heartbeat, each cycle has a strong first beat and a smaller second one close behind it, then a pause, the familiar lub-dub. The object scales evenly from its centre, so it stays in place. It eases in when switched on and settles back to its normal size when switched off.

Settings

• Style: Breathe or Heartbeat.
• Amount: how much bigger it gets at the peak.
• Beats: cycles per second.
• Duration: one pass of building up, pulsing and settling; with Loop on it keeps pulsing.

Use it for

Hearts and romantic scenes, a "live" or "recording" indicator, calls to action that need attention, calm ambient objects and anything that should look alive. Keep it on with Loop, run it on hover or click (triggering again settles it), or switch it on in an action. Pair it with Glow for a light that seems to breathe, or use Grow for a size change that stays.