Good uses
- Habit apps for short daily routines such as language practice or exercise
- Screens that look back on a diary or creative log as an accumulation
- Progress displays for stories or projects that advance a little each day
01
Classification and repeated action
A stimulus engine is the axis of what invites another action. The visual world is chosen separately as an expression theme.
- Stimulus engine
- Continuity maintenance
- Repeated action
- Come back after a day, finish one task for today, and fill that day's cell in the record.
- Core loop
- Return
- Achieve
- Keep the record
- Next preview
- Typical feedback
- Calendar, Flame, Consecutive days, Deadline, Recovery right
Ethical note: Continuity and loss aversion
Do not center the penalty of losing records or property to expiry. Provide rest days, grace, and record recovery as standard, and make notifications easy to stop.
02
Build the sequence
Design the opening state, the input, the result, and the next actionable state as one sequence.
Opening state
The record so far is laid out on a calendar with only today's cell empty, and the rest days and remaining grace can be read on the same screen.
Input
The input that finishes today's task is received as one continuous motion such as tracing, drawing, or logging, with the result appearing where the finger passes.
Result and reward
Past days light in turn, today's result settles into its cell, the day count rises by exactly one, and rest days stay unbroken and are treated the same way.
Next actionable state
One next plan is shown with a rest-day option of equal weight beside it, and the scene ends ready to continue with no deadline or countdown.
03
Feedback across channels
Do not rely on motion or sound alone: every channel should make the change of state readable.
Visual
Visual: show the record as one cell per day, keep a small trace of each finished day's result, and mark rest days with their own symbol rather than as gaps.
Motion
Motion: today's result looks back over past days one at a time before it finally settles into today's cell, as one continuous sequence.
Text, sound, and haptics
Text, sound, and haptics: put only the day count update and today's task name in text, add a small tone as each cell lights, and an optional haptic as it settles.
Without motion or audio
Without motion or audio: the filled cell for today, the higher day count, the rest symbol, and the next plan in text show that the record continued.
04
Production controls
Eight production controls decide the strength and order of the response.
Input
Draw today's page, log an entry, or finish one task. Make one input that ends just as quickly every day the center of the scene.
Timing
Show the result as soon as the input ends, and finish the look-back lighting within 1–2 s. Users see it every day, so keep it short.
Hit stop
Hold for about 0.1 seconds just before today's result settles into its cell, tying it to the day count update. Never freeze the rest option or back controls.
Amplification
Light past cells in date order and close the line of days at today's cell. Light rest-day cells the same way, celebrating the whole span kept so far.
Text
Show only the day count, such as "Days drawn 14", and today's task name. Never write deadlines, countdowns, or warnings that the record will be lost.
Camera
Stay far enough back to see the whole calendar and move in slightly only as the result settles into today's cell. Users see this screen daily, so do not shake it.
Sound & haptics
Raise the pitch one step as each cell lights and close on a calm chord at today's cell. Keep haptics optional and only at the moment it settles.
Next expectation
Show the next plan and "Make it a rest day" at the same size, and state in text that resting keeps the record. Make notifications easy to turn off.
05
Where it works—and where it fails
Good uses, failure modes, risk, accessibility, and the boundary that keeps the engine from being used to manipulate.
Failure modes
- Centering the penalty of losing records or property when the streak breaks
- Rushing today's task with countdown timers or nagging notifications
- Showing rest days as missing days, so that resting feels like failure
Risk
The longer a run of days grows, the more it becomes an asset users fear losing, and returns easily shift from enjoyment to loss aversion. Add deadlines or nagging notifications and the routine becomes a source of duty and anxiety that eats into sleep and rest.
Accessibility
Keep the day count, today's state, rest days, and the next plan on screen as text, and distinguish calendar cells by symbol and text, not color alone. In reduced-motion mode, merge the look-back lighting into a single change, and let users choose the time of their routine and whether to get notifications.
Manipulation boundary
Do not center the penalty of losing records or property to expiry, and do not pressure a return with paid streak recovery, displays that stoke fear of loss, or notifications that are hard to stop. Provide rest days, grace, and record recovery free and as standard, and state that resting keeps the record.
06
Watch the interaction grammar
A 6-second vertical 1080×1920, 30 fps specimen with no audio, and a text alternative of what it shows.
On an evening desk, a screen for drawing the flipbook "The bird takes off" one page a day in a ring-bound notebook. Below are "Days drawn 13" and a three-week calendar: each of the 13 drawn days shows that day's bird in miniature, Sunday of the first week is a "Rest" day marked with a moon, and only today's cell is an empty dotted outline. Today's page holds a pencil draft of the bird, a faint overlay of the previous page, and a dotted wing. A finger enters from the right, touches the base of the wing, traces the dotted line up to the wingtip, and brings the leading edge down to the shoulder; ink appears only where the finger has passed, and once the stroke is finished the bird is inked and colored. The notebook then flips from page 1, the bird on the 14 pages flutters into flight, and the calendar cell for each page's day lights in turn as its bird appears (on the rest day the flipbook only holds on page 6 for a beat, and the moon cell lights the same way). From the last page the bird lifts off the paper (the page keeps only a white, bird-shaped cutout and the pencil lines), holds for 0.1 second, circles over the right side of the notebook, comes down into the calendar to the right of "Days drawn", and perches in today's cell. In that frame "Days drawn" goes from 13 to 14, and the card below, "Today's page: Take off", changes to "Done". Finally the notebook turns to the next blank page with a faint overlay of today's bird, a draft of the bird heading for the berries, and "Tomorrow". The next calendar cell reads "Tomorrow", and the card flips over to "Next page: Fly to the berries". "Make it a rest day (resting keeps your days drawn as they are)" can be chosen from start to finish. No deadlines, countdowns, notifications, or messages about losing the record appear.
Generated examples for this engine
No generated examples are recorded for this engine yet. The specimen is also listed in the gallery.
08
Creator-ready English prompt
A production brief you can hand directly to an AI model or a production team.
Written for this guide from the specimen and the classification; it is not the original generation prompt.
Produce a 6-second vertical UI motion sample that uses the Continuity maintenance stimulus engine.
Repeated action: Draw today's page, log an entry, or finish one task. Make one input that ends just as quickly every day the center of the scene.
Opening state: The record so far is laid out on a calendar with only today's cell empty, and the rest days and remaining grace can be read on the same screen.
Trigger and timing: Show the result as soon as the input ends, and finish the look-back lighting within 1–2 s. Users see it every day, so keep it short.
Hit stop: Hold for about 0.1 seconds just before today's result settles into its cell, tying it to the day count update. Never freeze the rest option or back controls.
Amplification: Light past cells in date order and close the line of days at today's cell. Light rest-day cells the same way, celebrating the whole span kept so far.
Text: Show only the day count, such as "Days drawn 14", and today's task name. Never write deadlines, countdowns, or warnings that the record will be lost.
Camera: Stay far enough back to see the whole calendar and move in slightly only as the result settles into today's cell. Users see this screen daily, so do not shake it.
Sound and haptics: Raise the pitch one step as each cell lights and close on a calm chord at today's cell. Keep haptics optional and only at the moment it settles.
Next promise: Show the next plan and "Make it a rest day" at the same size, and state in text that resting keeps the record. Make notifications easy to turn off.
Without motion or audio: the filled cell for today, the higher day count, the rest symbol, and the next plan in text show that the record continued.
Accessibility: Keep the day count, today's state, rest days, and the next plan on screen as text, and distinguish calendar cells by symbol and text, not color alone. In reduced-motion mode, merge the look-back lighting into a single change, and let users choose the time of their routine and whether to get notifications.
Ethical boundary: Do not center the penalty of losing records or property to expiry, and do not pressure a return with paid streak recovery, displays that stoke fear of loss, or notifications that are hard to stop. Provide rest days, grace, and record recovery free and as standard, and state that resting keeps the record.
Keep enough contrast for text and primary UI, and make the meaning clear in reduced-motion and no-audio settings.
Create original abstract subjects. Do not imitate existing works, characters, logos, brands, or proprietary UI.