Haptic feedback is the vibration response your phone has to input. If you’ve used an iPhone, you’ve definitely felt the disappointed buzz when you get your password wrong or the short vibration when you flip on Airplane Mode.

But haptics aren’t a stand-alone feature. Haptics can be, often are, and, dare we say, should be used with other forms of feedback, like animation, to communicate with the user. Animations can visually show the user the result of the user’s interaction, while haptics communicate physically. With the two paired together, the user is better informed and less likely to be confused.

You’ve probably experienced several different types of haptics on your iPhone in different scenarios. Apple provides several haptic presets that have specific purposes, and thus communicate specific things to the user. For example, notification haptics are used to confirm the outcome of important tasks.

Let’s say a user attempted to upload a file. If the upload was a success, you’ll want to use the “success” notification haptic which should feel familiar to your users. If the upload failed, you’ll use the “error” notification haptic, which iPhone users will recognize as bad news.

Apple also has presets for non-notification haptics. Their impact haptics allow you to choose the strength of the haptic, i.e. how much vibration the user will feel.

The more important an action is, the heavier the associated haptic should be. A minor action, like selecting a file, warrants a lighter haptic, whereas a major action, like deleting a file, warrants a much heavier action. The exact haptic type you use is up to your discretion, but the haptic feedback should indicate the hierarchy of importance.

The same idea can be applied when you’re using haptics with motion. Haptics can indicate that a motion has finished, but they can also indicate progress throughout the motion. For example, you might want several haptics during a pan gesture indicating when a user starts panning, hits a certain point in the pan, and reaches the pan boundary. You should use hierarchical haptics in that situation, so someone can feel their progress to finish the pan gesture.

Haptics are super fun (especially once you realize how easy they are to use in Play), but it’s important to use restraint when adding them to your design. Haptics add helpful feedback, but overusing them can make the experience feel tiresome. On that note, it’s also a good idea to allow users to turn haptics off in your app if they don’t want the sensation.

That’s all on haptics for now! Explore different haptic types using Adam Foot’s Haptics or Thuy Gia's Haptique, then check out Play to add those haptics to your design in seconds.