SwiftUI-experiments: 39 iOS gesture and animation prototypes from a designer, explicitly not production-ready

A designer's prototype collection: 39 experiments explicitly described as not production-ready

The README opens by identifying the author as a designer interested in building ideas with code. 39 experiments are listed by name, each with a one-line description and most with a demo video linked on X. The README states plainly: "These are mostly prototypes and not production ready apps." That framing applies to the entire collection.

The experiments span a wide range of iOS interaction territory: gesture-driven navigation, particle and blob animations, map integrations, data visualization and novel UI controls. v1.1.3 was released on 2026-05-17 and the last push was on 2026-09-09, with all code available under the MIT licence.

Demos are the primary documentation. Most experiments link to a short video on X showing the interaction in motion. No API documentation, no architecture explanation and no usage guide accompany any experiment.

Opening an experiment requires Xcode and a repository clone; the README gives no build commands

The README gives no install steps, no build command and no system requirements. Each experiment sits in its own subfolder at the repository root: bob/, drag to delete/, pixel animation/ and so on. To examine a specific experiment, clone the repository and open that subfolder in Xcode.

No Swift Package Manager manifest, no Podfile and no Carthage file appear in the repository. Each experiment is self-contained and does not import from the others. The absence of a package manifest means SwiftUI-experiments cannot be added to another project as a dependency: it is a reference collection, not a distributable library.

Demo videos on X provide the only runtime preview of each experiment without building it in Xcode. The README does not state which iOS version or Xcode version each experiment targets.

Gesture and drag experiments: drag-to-delete, drag transform navigation, pull-to-search and draggable slider

Several experiments focus on different drag and gesture mechanics. drag to delete demonstrates a drag-to-dismiss interaction. drag transform shows a gesture for re-arranging iOS navigation. pull to search is a pull-down reveal modeled on the Things app's search, citing that source explicitly in the README. paper navigation demonstrates dragging to jump between pages quickly.

keys describes an exploration of various drag gestures and animations. draggable slider is a slider control the user drags to a new position on the screen. photo slingshot explores drag mechanics applied to photos.

Each experiment in this group takes a single interaction pattern and builds a focused demo around it. The README one-liners are the only description; the linked X videos are the primary way to understand how each interaction feels during actual use.

Animation experiments: particle text, a 3D pixelated globe, blob animation and a bouncy animated grid

A separate group of experiments generates and manipulates visual elements. particle text describes text built with particles that the user can interact with, plus an animated gradient button in the same experiment. pixel shapes is a 3D pixelated globe that auto-rotates and responds to interaction. blob animation is an animated blob the user can touch and move.

bouncy grid shows a grid of animated lines that dynamically bends and bounces in response to gestures. colorful glow shows a shape that changes color and form as the user drags. solid circles generates circles in a tunnel format as the user moves across the screen. fried chicken shows fried chicken particles on tap.

These experiments share no code with each other and do not form a framework. particle text is the only one combining two distinct visual effects in a single experiment folder.

pixel animation uses mostly UIKit, not SwiftUI, despite appearing in a repository named SwiftUI-experiments

pixel animation is listed in the README with the description: "Tap to generate pixel inspired animations, this example was made using mostly UIKit." That final clause is the only experiment in the README that explicitly names a different framework. UIKit is the older Apple UI framework that SwiftUI is designed to supplement; describing an experiment as built mostly in UIKit inside a repository named SwiftUI-experiments is a real exception the README does not explain.

The pixel animation menu/ experiment, listed immediately after, does not carry the same UIKit qualifier. Its description says only "A pixel animation where you can adjust the animation settings in a menu."

Anyone studying these experiments specifically to learn SwiftUI technique should note that pixel animation does not demonstrate SwiftUI patterns. The README does not identify any other experiment as UIKit-based, but it also does not state that all other experiments are pure SwiftUI.

map explore and map trackpad both surface restaurant recommendations from map gestures, but by different interactions

map explore and map trackpad are separate experiments with the same stated outcome but different input mechanics. map explore is described as "Drag around the map to get a restaurant recommendation." map trackpad is described as "A trackpad interaction to get a restaurant recommendation based on cuisine type."

The differences are the input method and the filter variable. map explore uses a drag gesture on the map itself. map trackpad uses a trackpad-style interaction and introduces cuisine type as a selection variable, which map explore does not.

Neither description specifies the data source for restaurant recommendations. The README does not mention a third-party API, location service configuration or an internet connection requirement. A third map-adjacent experiment, AI globe, is described as "Exploration into an AI globe visualization"; the README gives no further detail on what the AI component is or does.

SwiftUI-experiments is not a library, experiments share no code, and signature authentication is not a security mechanism

No Swift package manifest appears in the repository. Experiments do not share utilities, extensions or helpers with each other. Each subfolder is a self-contained Xcode project, which means any technique from one experiment must be manually adapted into a separate project. Teams expecting a component library or a set of reusable SwiftUI utilities will not find one here.

The signature authentication experiment is described as "Sign your signature to authenticate." This is a gesture-recognition demo. The README does not connect it to any authentication backend, biometric API or cryptographic mechanism. Treating the gesture pattern as a real authentication input in a shipped product would require building all of that infrastructure outside this repository.

For production-quality SwiftUI animation reference, Apple's own sample code projects carry explicit iOS version targets and are tested against current Swift releases. SwiftUI-experiments documents interaction ideas, not implementations suitable for shipping.

Editorial conclusion

iOS developers and designers who want to see how specific gesture, animation or interaction patterns can be prototyped in SwiftUI will get direct value from this collection. All code is available for reuse. Before doing so, check whether a specific experiment relies on UIKit rather than SwiftUI, since pixel animation explicitly uses mostly UIKit. Teams expecting a Swift package, shared components or production-tested code should look elsewhere: the README states plainly that every experiment is a prototype, and the repository provides no build documentation, no version requirements and no test suite.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. Issues
2. License: MIT
3. mikelikesdesign/SwiftUI-experiments on GitHub
4. README
5. Releases