Magnetic Type

· 1 min · Quick read · Joost van der Laan

Three lines of display type stretch away from a movable point, leaving fine ghost outlines behind.

Focus the Lab, use the arrow keys to move its virtual pointer, and press Escape to clear it.

Each letter sits on its home position like type set in a chase. Move your pointer across the field and the glyphs push away, springs pulling them back. The nearest character to your cursor turns electric blue — one accent event, per the series rule. Faint hairline outlines mark each glyph’s home, the registration marks of a print plate.

No libraries, no WebGL — canvas 2D, spring physics, and the site’s design-token CSS variables for ink and accent. The persisted site motion control follows the operating system until overridden; reduced and off render the type statically at full opacity.

TYPE 02 · MAGNETIC GLYPHS