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Gestures 1:06
A 66-second explainer of Gestures, narrated over the same demo you can try yourself.
Try the interactive Gestures demo
What this video covers
Gestures are touch and pointer movements - tap, swipe, long-press, pinch, drag - that trigger actions without an on-screen control. They make interfaces feel fluid and direct and save space, but because a gesture leaves no visible button, its big weakness is discoverability: people can't use what they can't see, so hidden gestures need teaching, hints, or a visible alternative.
Once you knew to swipe, archiving was quick and satisfying - but did you know to swipe before being told? That's the gesture problem: it's invisible. Add a visible button and the same action works for everyone, with the swipe as a bonus shortcut. Hide an important action behind a gesture alone and you've hidden it from everyone who doesn't already know the trick.
