Letter by Letter Blur In Text: CSS Text Animation

Letter by Letter Blur In Text

Letters sharpen out of a blur one after another, so a wave of focus travels across the word. Unlike a whole-line blur in, the long overlap between letters gives a soft gradient of focus.

Also known as: letter blur reveal, staggered blur text, focus pull text animation.

Soft focus

Color Font size 40px Dark background

HTML

<div class="txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in" aria-label="Soft focus"><span style="--i: 0">S</span><span style="--i: 1">o</span><span style="--i: 2">f</span><span style="--i: 3">t</span><span style="--i: 4">&nbsp;</span><span style="--i: 5">f</span><span style="--i: 6">o</span><span style="--i: 7">c</span><span style="--i: 8">u</span><span style="--i: 9">s</span></div>

CSS

.txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in {
  --c: var(--txt-color, #3b82f6);
  font-size: var(--txt-size, 32px);
  font-family: system-ui, sans-serif;
  font-weight: 700;
  line-height: 1.2;
  color: var(--c);
  white-space: nowrap;}
.txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in span {
  display: inline-block;
  animation: txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in-focus 1s cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.6, 0.3, 1) calc(var(--i) * 80ms) both;
}
@keyframes txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in-focus {
  0%   { opacity: 0; filter: blur(0.35em); transform: translateX(0.15em); }
  40%  { opacity: 1; }
  100% { opacity: 1; filter: blur(0); transform: translateX(0); }
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in, .txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in *, .txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in::before, .txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in::after, .txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in *::before, .txt-letter-by-letter-blur-in *::after {
    animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
    animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
    transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
  }
}

Customizing this snippet

Color: set --txt-color on the element or a parent. Currently previewing #3b82f6.
Font size: set --txt-size. Every other dimension is in em, so the whole thing scales together. Currently previewing 40px.
Speed: change the duration on the transition or animation shorthand. 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.

Letter by Letter Blur In Text

HTML

CSS

Customizing this snippet

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