How it works
By setting a delay on a Figma prototype transition, the design will automatically advance to a second screen after your chosen time. When you set that second screen as your goal screen on your prototype test block, participants will be automatically presented with a task complete screen as soon as the transition occurs, effectively hiding the design and ending the task.
Setting up your Figma file
Create your prototype
Set up a Figma prototype with two frames:
Frame 1: The design you want participants to evaluate. e.g. a landing page, advertisement, or UI screen
Frame 2: A duplicate of your design or neutral screen that acts as your endpoint
Add a timed transition
Connect Frame 1 to Frame 2 using a timed transition to control how long participants see your design:
Select Frame 1 in Figma
In the prototype panel, add a connection from Frame 1 to Frame 2
Set the interaction to After delay
Enter your desired duration in milliseconds (e.g. 5000ms for a 5 second exposure)
You can adjust the delay to suit your research needs, shorter durations work well for testing immediate recall, while longer durations may be appropriate for more complex designs. The maximum time Figma allows for a delay is 20000ms for a 20 second exposure.
Setting up the 5 second test task
Writing your task instructions
Use the task instructions field to tell participants what to focus on during their brief exposure. Since they won't have time to interact with the design, frame the task around observation rather than action.
Example instructions: Take a look at the screen displayed to you, it will automatically move on after a few seconds. Pay attention to whatever stands out to you. You'll be asked about your first impressions afterwards.
Tip: Follow up your prototype block with an Open answer or Multiple choice block to capture what participants noticed, remembered, or felt during their exposure.
Choosing your task type
Select Goal based as your task type. This ensures that when participants reach the second frame, they are automatically shown a task complete screen.
Set your goal screen
Select Pick a goal screen and navigate to Frame 2 and select Set as goal screen. Once set, participants will see the task complete screen the moment the timed transition fires, preventing them from interacting further with the prototype.
Disable task education screen
This is system message that explains to participants how to interact with a prototype; including how to navigate, move the task tile, and end the task. To avoid setting incorrect expectations, we recommend disabling the task education screen when running a 5 second test.
What participants experience
Participants read your task instructions
The prototype loads and Frame 1 is displayed
After your set delay, the prototype automatically transitions to Frame 2
Participants are presented with the task complete screen and move on to the next block
Reviewing your results
Because this setup uses a goal based prototype task, all participants who reach the goal screen (Frame 2 via the timed transition) will be recorded as having Reached the goal screen. You won't get meaningful path analysis data given the limited interaction, but you will have access to session recordings and any responses collected in follow-up blocks.
For the richest insights, pair this block with an Open answer block asking participants to describe what they noticed or recalled from the design.