Bracket Rotating Text
Two brackets squeeze in on the word, pinching it to nothing, then spring back open around the next one. Each bracket rides a half-width layer, so translateX(100%) lands it in the middle.
Also known as: brackets word swap, code bracket text animation, squeeze text rotator.
Let's
talk
build
ship
HTML
<div class="txt-bracket-rotating-text">Let's
<span class="txt-bracket-rotating-text-slot">
<span style="--i: 0">talk</span>
<span style="--i: 1">build</span>
<span style="--i: 2">ship</span>
<i class="txt-bracket-rotating-text-open" aria-hidden="true"></i><i class="txt-bracket-rotating-text-close" aria-hidden="true"></i>
</span>
</div>CSS
.txt-bracket-rotating-text {
--c: var(--txt-color, #3b82f6);
font-size: var(--txt-size, 32px);
font-family: system-ui, sans-serif;
font-weight: 700;
line-height: 1.2;
display: flex;
align-items: center;
gap: 0.4em;
white-space: nowrap;}
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-slot {
position: relative;
display: inline-grid;
padding: 0 0.45em;
color: var(--c);
}
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-slot span {
grid-area: 1 / 1;
justify-self: center;
/* 3 words x 2s = 6s */
animation: txt-bracket-rotating-text-word 6s infinite;
animation-delay: calc(var(--i) * 2s - 6s);
}
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-slot span:not(:first-child) {
opacity: 0;
}
/* each bracket sits on a layer half the slot wide */
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-open,
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-close {
position: absolute;
top: 0.08em;
bottom: 0.08em;
width: 50%;
animation: 2s infinite;
}
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-open {
left: 0;
animation-name: txt-bracket-rotating-text-open;
}
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-close {
right: 0;
animation-name: txt-bracket-rotating-text-close;
}
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-open::before,
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-close::before {
content: "";
position: absolute;
top: 0;
bottom: 0;
width: 0.22em;
border: 0.1em solid currentColor;
border-radius: 0.04em;
}
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-open::before {
left: 0;
border-right: 0;
}
.txt-bracket-rotating-text-close::before {
right: 0;
border-left: 0;
}
@keyframes txt-bracket-rotating-text-open {
0%, 70% { transform: translateX(0); animation-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.6, 0, 0.9, 0.5); }
85% { transform: translateX(calc(100% - 0.36em)); animation-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.3, 1.6, 0.5, 1); }
100% { transform: translateX(0); }
}
@keyframes txt-bracket-rotating-text-close {
0%, 70% { transform: translateX(0); animation-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.6, 0, 0.9, 0.5); }
85% { transform: translateX(calc(-100% + 0.36em)); animation-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.3, 1.6, 0.5, 1); }
100% { transform: translateX(0); }
}
@keyframes txt-bracket-rotating-text-word {
0%, 23.33% { opacity: 1; transform: scaleX(1); animation-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.6, 0, 0.9, 0.5); }
28.33% { opacity: 0; transform: scaleX(0.1); }
95% { opacity: 0; transform: scaleX(0.1); animation-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.3, 1.6, 0.5, 1); }
100% { opacity: 1; transform: scaleX(1); }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
.txt-bracket-rotating-text, .txt-bracket-rotating-text *, .txt-bracket-rotating-text::before, .txt-bracket-rotating-text::after, .txt-bracket-rotating-text *::before, .txt-bracket-rotating-text *::after {
animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
}
}Customizing this snippet
- Color: set
--txt-coloron the element or a parent. Currently previewing#3b82f6. - Font size: set
--txt-size. Every other dimension is inem, so the whole thing scales together. Currently previewing40px. - 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.