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INTERACTION_145

Cursor Text Distortion.

Type bends slightly toward the pointer as it passes. Flat, evenly spaced type before the trigger; skewing and offsetting characters by their distance from the pointer once pointer proximity to each character.

CATEGORY
Mouse
COMPLEXITY
Advanced
TECH
CSS + JS
PLATFORM
Desktop
PERFORMANCE
Light
LIVE PLAYGROUND
DISTORT
Desktop only
CSS / CSS
/* Cursor Text Distortion — Type bends slightly toward the pointer as it passes. */
.cursor-text-distortion {
  --dur: 280ms;
  --ease: cubic-bezier(0.22, 1, 0.36, 1);
  --stagger: 60ms;
  will-change: transform, opacity;
}

.cursor-text-distortion > * {
  opacity: 0;
  transform: translateY(14px);
  animation: cursor-text-distortion-in var(--dur) var(--ease) forwards;
  animation-delay: calc(var(--i, 0) * var(--stagger));
}

/* flat, evenly spaced type -> skewing and offsetting characters by their distance from the pointer */
@keyframes cursor-text-distortion-in {
  to {
    opacity: 1;
    transform: none;
    filter: none;
  }
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .cursor-text-distortion > * {
    opacity: 1;
    transform: none;
    animation: none;
  }
}
React / TSX
import { useEffect, useRef } from "react";

/** Cursor Text Distortion — trigger: pointer proximity to each character */
export function CursorTextDistortion({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const ref = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    const el = ref.current;
    if (!el) return;
    if (window.matchMedia("(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)").matches) {
      el.dataset["state"] = "in";
      return;
    }
    const io = new IntersectionObserver(
      ([entry]) => {
        if (entry?.isIntersecting) {
          el.dataset["state"] = "in";
          io.unobserve(el);
        }
      },
      { threshold: 0.2 },
    );
    io.observe(el);
    return () => io.disconnect();
  }, []);

  return (
    <div ref={ref} className="cursor-text-distortion" data-state="out">
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

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