Death to Scroll Fade!

"Done subtly and in moderation scroll fade can look fine †. Alas and to my dismay, subtlety is not a virtue of scroll fade proponents. Nor is timing. I've built too many websites that got almost to the finish line before I was hit with a generic scroll fade request. Fade what? Everything! Make everything fade into view! It's too static, you know? Make it pop!"

"It's usually an hitherto shadow stakeholder making the demand. The stakeholder to rule all stakeholders. No project is allowed to run perfectly smooth under their last minute gaze. Perhaps if I were to orchestrate a few minor slip-ups early in development, the web dev gods would go easy on me and forgo the final boss? Good grief do I find generic scroll fade tacky! It's annoying as f - both as a user and developer."

Scroll fade makes elements fade into view as they scroll, often with a Y-axis transform. Overuse and one-size-fits-all implementations (for example, a one-second opacity transition with a 100px transform) create tacky, poorly timed effects that look decent only at very slow scroll speeds. Stakeholders often request blanket application late in projects, overriding developer objections and forcing last-minute changes. These effects are frequently patched with fragile JavaScript rather than thoughtfully designed. Accessibility is a serious concern; vestibular disorders can be triggered and prefers-reduced-motion exists to protect the most vulnerable. Purposeful, varied, and accessible motion design is necessary.

Read at dbushell.com