Interaction Patterns

The difference between a good interface and a great one lives in the details you don't consciously notice. The subtle background shift on hover. The smooth expansion when you click. The ring that appears when you tab. These micro-interactions create the feeling of quality.

The Interaction Lifecycle

Every clickable element in Persephonie follows a lifecycle: rest, hover, active, focus. Each state has a distinct visual treatment. No state is skipped. The user always knows what's clickable, what they're about to click, and what they just clicked.

We avoid scale transforms on click because they cause layout jitter. Instead, we use subtle background shifts. The change is felt, not computed. It's the difference between a physical button and a touchscreen flat spot.

Every clickable element must feel alive. If it doesn't respond to your presence, it's dead UI.

Exploration as Interaction

In a tree interface, the primary interaction isn't typing. It's exploring. Click a node, see what's inside. Click a branch, see where it leads. The whole interface is a conversation conducted through clicks, not keystrokes.

• Hover: subtle highlight, signals interactivity
• Click: expand node, reveal children or details
• Focus: keyboard ring, full accessibility
• Active path: teal highlight, shows current position

Consistency is Kindness

Every interaction in Persephonie uses the same timing, the same easing, the same visual language. Once you learn how one element works, you know how they all work. Consistency isn't boring. It's kind. It means the user never has to relearn.