Knockout Text Hover Effect
A solid block with the word punched clean through it. On hover the block drops into an underline and the letters fill back in. An SVG mask cuts the holes, so any background shows through.
Also known as: cutout text hover, text mask block, punched out text.
HTML
<svg class="hfx-text-knockout" viewBox="0 0 220 90" role="img" aria-label="Bold">
<defs>
<mask id="hfx-text-knockout-holes">
<rect width="220" height="90" fill="#fff"/>
<text x="110" y="67" text-anchor="middle" font-size="62" fill="#000">BOLD</text>
</mask>
</defs>
<g mask="url(#hfx-text-knockout-holes)">
<rect class="hfx-text-knockout-block" width="220" height="90" rx="8"/>
</g>
<text class="hfx-text-knockout-word" x="110" y="67" text-anchor="middle" font-size="62">BOLD</text>
</svg>CSS
.hfx-text-knockout {
--c: var(--hfx-color, #3b82f6);
font-size: var(--hfx-size, 16px);
width: 10em;
overflow: visible;
font-family: system-ui, sans-serif;
font-weight: 900;
cursor: default;
}
.hfx-text-knockout-block {
fill: var(--c);
transform-box: fill-box;
transform-origin: 50% 100%;
transition: transform 0.5s cubic-bezier(0.7, 0, 0.2, 1);
}
.hfx-text-knockout-word {
fill: currentColor;
opacity: 0;
transition: opacity 0.3s ease;
}
.hfx-text-knockout:hover .hfx-text-knockout-block { transform: scaleY(0.07); }
.hfx-text-knockout:hover .hfx-text-knockout-word {
opacity: 1;
transition-delay: 0.15s;
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
.hfx-text-knockout, .hfx-text-knockout *, .hfx-text-knockout::before, .hfx-text-knockout::after, .hfx-text-knockout *::before, .hfx-text-knockout *::after {
animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
}
}Customizing this snippet
- Color: set
--hfx-coloron the element or a parent. Currently previewing#3b82f6. - Base size: set
--hfx-size. Every other dimension is inem, so the whole thing scales together. Currently previewing16px. - Speed: change the duration on the
transitionoranimationshorthand. Staggered delays are relative, so they keep their rhythm. - Reduced motion: the rule at the end of the CSS turns the motion off for people who asked their OS for less of it. Keep it.