Letters Spread From Center Effect: CSS Text Animation

Letters Spread From Center Effect

All the letters appear stacked on one spot in the middle, then fan out to their places like a deck of cards. Each offset is worked out in calc() from the letter's index and the count.

Also known as: text expand from center, fan out text animation, letters fly out from middle.

Fan favorite

Color Font size 40px Dark background

HTML

<div class="txt-letters-spread-from-center" aria-label="Fan favorite"><span style="--i: 0">F</span><span style="--i: 1">a</span><span style="--i: 2">n</span><span style="--i: 3">&nbsp;</span><span style="--i: 4">f</span><span style="--i: 5">a</span><span style="--i: 6">v</span><span style="--i: 7">o</span><span style="--i: 8">r</span><span style="--i: 9">i</span><span style="--i: 10">t</span><span style="--i: 11">e</span></div>

CSS

.txt-letters-spread-from-center {
  --c: var(--txt-color, #3b82f6);
  font-size: var(--txt-size, 32px);
  font-family: system-ui, sans-serif;
  font-weight: 700;
  line-height: 1.2;
  /* --n = number of letters */
  --n: 12;
  color: var(--c);
  white-space: nowrap;}
.txt-letters-spread-from-center span {
  /* how many letter widths this letter sits from the middle */
  --o: calc((var(--n) - 1) / 2 - var(--i));
  display: inline-block;
  animation: txt-letters-spread-from-center-fan 1.4s both;
}
@keyframes txt-letters-spread-from-center-fan {
  0% {
    opacity: 0;
    transform: translateX(calc(var(--o) * 0.55em)) rotate(calc(var(--o) * 5deg)) scale(0.6);
    animation-timing-function: ease-out;
  }
  22% {
    opacity: 1;
    transform: translateX(calc(var(--o) * 0.55em)) rotate(calc(var(--o) * 5deg)) scale(1);
    animation-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.3, 0.9, 0.3, 1);
  }
  100% { opacity: 1; transform: translateX(0) rotate(0) scale(1); }
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .txt-letters-spread-from-center, .txt-letters-spread-from-center *, .txt-letters-spread-from-center::before, .txt-letters-spread-from-center::after, .txt-letters-spread-from-center *::before, .txt-letters-spread-from-center *::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.

Letters Spread From Center Effect

HTML

CSS

Customizing this snippet

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