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INTERACTION_146

Interactive Background Grid.

Grid cells light up around the pointer as it moves. An even low-contrast grid before the trigger; raising cell brightness by distance from the pointer with a masked radius once pointer movement over the section.

CATEGORY
Mouse
COMPLEXITY
Easy
TECH
CSS + JS
PLATFORM
Desktop
PERFORMANCE
Light
LIVE PLAYGROUND
Desktop only
CSS / CSS
/* Interactive Background Grid — Grid cells light up around the pointer as it moves. */
.interactive-background-grid {
  --dur: 240ms;
  --ease: cubic-bezier(0.22, 1, 0.36, 1);
  --stagger: 60ms;
  will-change: transform, opacity;
}

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

/* an even low-contrast grid -> raising cell brightness by distance from the pointer with a masked radius */
@keyframes interactive-background-grid-in {
  to {
    opacity: 1;
    transform: none;
    filter: none;
  }
}

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

/** Interactive Background Grid — trigger: pointer movement over the section */
export function InteractiveBackgroundGrid({ 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="interactive-background-grid" data-state="out">
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

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Large ambient light that trails the pointer across a section.

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Cursor Parallax

Layers drift at different depths as the pointer moves.

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FOLLOW THE LIGHT
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Cursor Spotlight

A wide soft light follows the pointer across a dark section.

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STUDIO WORKSELECTED PROJECTSCONTACT
Desktop only
INTERACTION_141CSS + JS

Cursor Trail

A short trail of fading dots follows the pointer.

Mouse / MediumView