- G-001 Cover sheet
- G-005
- Drawing
- G-005
- Title
- Specimens
- Rev
- 843d87c
Design atlas
Live specimens of web techniques, each with a prompt starter, references and the specimens it mixes well with. Pick a few and copy one brief.
Hover, drag and click them
Every preview is running code
- MO-01MotionStrong fitWeight:Light
Scroll-driven story
The page is a sequence of scenes. Scrolling scrubs each scene, so the reader sets the pace.
Prompt starter
Build [subject] as a scroll-driven story in 5 pinned scenes. Use CSS scroll-timeline / view-timeline, with GSAP ScrollTrigger as fallback. Each scene carries one idea and one animation scrubbed by scroll. Add a progress rail, and keep a readable static layout under prefers-reduced-motion.
Pairs with your mix - MO-02MotionStrong fitWeight:Light
Morphing layouts
Elements glide between layouts instead of jumping when you filter, sort or open something.
- See it live
- MDN: View TransitionsChrome docs
Prompt starter
Build [subject] so every state change morphs: filtering a grid, opening a card into a detail view, switching pages. Use the View Transitions API with a view-transition-name per item and a FLIP fallback. Keep each transition under 400ms.
Pairs with your mix - MO-03MotionStrong fitWeight:Light
Kinetic typography
Type is the visual. Variable font axes stretch, gain weight and wave with time, scroll or cursor.
- See it live
- v-fonts.comCodePen: kinetic type
Prompt starter
Make the hero of [subject] pure kinetic type: a variable font with width and weight axes, each letter reacting to cursor distance and scroll velocity. No images. Split letters into spans, animate font-variation-settings, and keep the text selectable and readable at rest.
Pairs with your mix - MO-04MotionGood fitWeight:Light
Character animation
A small mascot with squash, stretch and blinks gives the page a personality.
- See it live
- Rive communityLottieFiles
Prompt starter
Design an original SVG mascot for [subject] and animate it: squash-and-stretch idle bounce, random blinks, and a reaction when the user hovers the main button. Pure SVG plus CSS/WAAPI, no external assets.
Pairs with your mix - MO-05MotionStrong fitWeight:Light
Micro-interactions
Toggles, likes and buttons that answer every click with a tiny, specific motion.
- See it live
- CodropsCodePen: micro-interactions
Prompt starter
Give every control in [subject] a micro-interaction: button press depth, submit morphing into a checkmark, toggle with spring overshoot, like-burst. Use CSS + WAAPI with spring-like easing via linear(), each under 300ms.
Pairs with your mix - GN-01GenerativeNeeds tuningWeight:Heavy
Shader art
A GPU fragment shader paints a living, domain-warped noise field. The cursor steers it.
- See it live
- ShadertoyThe Book of Shaders
Prompt starter
Create a full-bleed WebGL fragment shader background for [subject]: domain-warped fbm noise in [palette], drifting slowly and reacting to cursor position. Cap DPR at 1.5, pause offscreen, and show a static gradient when WebGL is unavailable.
Pairs with your mix - GN-02GenerativeNeeds tuningWeight:Heavy
Liquid distortion
Ripples bend the surface under the cursor, like a finger dragged through water.
- See it live
- Codrops demosShadertoy: ripple
Prompt starter
Add a liquid hover distortion to the hero of [subject]: a WebGL plane that ripples outward from the cursor and settles back, with the hero typography or pattern as its texture. Include a non-WebGL fallback.
Pairs with your mix - GN-03GenerativeStrong fitWeight:Medium
Cellular automata
Simple rules grow complex patterns. Hover to plant new cells.
- See it live
- LifeWikiReaction-diffusion tutorial
Prompt starter
Use a cellular automaton as the living background of [subject]: Conway’s Life or reaction-diffusion on a coarse grid, fading trails, reseeding when it stagnates, and the cursor planting cells. Canvas 2D, ~10 simulation steps per second, 60fps drawing.
Pairs with your mix - GN-04GenerativeStrong fitWeight:Medium
Flow fields
Hundreds of particles trace an invisible current that bends toward the cursor.
- See it live
- Tyler Hobbs: flow fieldsGenerative Artistry
Prompt starter
Draw a flow-field particle system behind [subject]: 500–1500 particles following a time-varying noise field, leaving fading trails in [palette], gently attracted to the cursor. Canvas 2D, paused when offscreen.
Pairs with your mix - GN-05GenerativeStrong fitWeight:Medium
ASCII rendering
Everything is drawn with characters. A plasma field turns into living text.
- See it live
- play.coreCodePen: ASCII
Prompt starter
Render the hero of [subject] in ASCII: a monospace character grid where a plasma/noise field maps to a density ramp, the cursor sends a ripple, and the headline is carved out of the field. Draw with Canvas fillText one row at a time.
Pairs with your mix - GN-06GenerativeStrong fitWeight:Light
Generative identity
The logo is an algorithm. Tiles rotate and recolor, so every visitor sees a different variant.
- See it live
- Truchet tilesGenerative Artistry
Prompt starter
Design a generative identity for [subject]: a 4×4 Truchet-tile mark from a seeded RNG in two brand colors that slowly mutates. Map seed to variant so stickers and social images can reuse an exact variant, and export it as SVG.
Pairs with your mix - GN-07GenerativeStrong fitWeight:Medium
Dithering
1-bit ordered dithering turns smooth light into a crunchy, printed texture.
- See it live
- Ditherpunk (Surma)CodePen: dithering
Prompt starter
Give [subject] a 1-bit dithered look: render a lit sphere (or the hero image) at low resolution, apply a 4×4 Bayer ordered dither in two ink colors, and upscale with nearest-neighbor. The light follows the cursor.
Pairs with your mix - PH-01Physics & playGood fitWeight:Heavy
Physics UI
Navigation items are real objects. Throw them around and they bounce. Double-click to drop them again.
- See it live
- Matter.js demosRapier
Prompt starter
Turn the navigation of [subject] into physics objects: labeled circles that drop into a box, collide, and can be thrown with mouse or touch, using Matter.js. Clicking a body still navigates. Provide a normal link list for keyboard users and reduced motion.
Pairs with your mix - PH-02Physics & playGood fitWeight:Medium
Gamified page
The page hides a tiny game. Catch the stars to raise your score.
- See it live
- Bruno Simonneal.fun
Prompt starter
Hide a mini-game in [subject]: collectible items drift up, clicking pops them with particles, and the score unlocks something real (a discount code, a hidden section). Canvas game loop, works on touch, never blocks the main content.
Pairs with your mix - PH-03Physics & playStrong fitWeight:Medium
Playable explainer
A concept you poke instead of read. Change the stiffness and watch the spring answer live.
Prompt starter
Explain [concept] as a playable explainer: a live simulation with 2–3 sliders, a plot that updates in real time, and short text beside each step, in the spirit of Bartosz Ciechanowski and Nicky Case. Every number on screen is computed, never faked.
Pairs with your mix - PH-04Physics & playStrong fitWeight:Medium
Elastic cursor
A verlet rope hangs from the cursor and swings with momentum.
- See it live
- Hakim El Hattab labCodePen: verlet rope
Prompt starter
Attach an elastic verlet rope to the cursor in [subject]: 20–30 segments with gravity and damping, a tapered stroke in [palette]. Hide it on touch devices and under reduced motion.
Pairs with your mix - SP-01Spatial & 3DStrong fitWeight:Medium
Infinite canvas
No pages, just a board you pan around. Content lives in space, connected by lines.
- See it live
- tldrawAwwwards interactive
Prompt starter
Lay out [subject] as an infinite canvas: content cards placed in 2D space and joined by curved lines, drag to pan with inertia, wheel or pinch to zoom, a minimap, and a “back to center” button. Keep a linear list for screen readers.
Pairs with your mix - SP-02Spatial & 3DStrong fitWeight:Light
Desktop OS metaphor
The site is a fake operating system. Sections open as windows you can drag around.
- See it live
- PoolsuiteWindows 93
Prompt starter
Build [subject] as a fake desktop OS: icons on a desktop, sections opening as draggable, focusable windows with title bars, and a taskbar with a live clock. Use an original retro style without real OS branding. On phones, windows become full-screen sheets.
Pairs with your mix - SP-03Spatial & 3DGood fitWeight:Heavy
Procedural 3D
Geometry built from math, spinning over a synthwave floor. The cursor steers the camera.
- See it live
- three.js examplesWebGPU samples
Prompt starter
Create a procedural 3D hero for [subject] with Three.js: an object generated from code (no model files), lit and slowly rotating, camera steered by the cursor, light post-processing. Pause offscreen, cap DPR, static poster fallback.
Pairs with your mix - SP-04Spatial & 3DStrong fitWeight:Light
Tilt & holo cards
Cards lean toward the cursor and catch a glare that slides across them.
- See it live
- MDN: perspectiveCodePen: holo cards
Prompt starter
Make the cards of [subject] tilt in 3D toward the cursor with a holographic glare that follows the pointer. CSS perspective and transforms driven by pointer position, smoothed with lerp, flat on touch and reduced motion.
Pairs with your mix - AE-01AestheticsStrong fitWeight:Light
Neo-brutalism
Thick borders, hard shadows, loud color, zero polish, all on purpose.
- See it live
- Brutalist WebsitesFigma: 2026 trends
Prompt starter
Design [subject] in neo-brutalist style: one loud background color, 3px black borders, hard offset shadows, oversized system type, a ticker marquee, and buttons that physically press in. Keep contrast at WCAG AA.
Pairs with your mix - AE-02AestheticsStrong fitWeight:Light
Y2K chrome
Liquid chrome type, sparkles and candy gradients, straight out of 2001.
- See it live
- Figma: 2026 trendsCodePen: chrome text
Prompt starter
Style [subject] with Y2K energy: an animated liquid-chrome headline (gradient + background-clip), candy-colored blurred blobs, sparkle glyphs and rounded pill UI. Fun but legible, no stock clipart.
Pairs with your mix - AE-03AestheticsGood fitWeight:Light
Collage & texture
Torn paper, tape, halftone dots and grain. It looks handmade even though it is code.
- See it live
- 2026 trends: texturesFigma: collage trend
Prompt starter
Give [subject] a collage look: torn-paper shapes, tape strips, halftone dots and film grain made with SVG filters and patterns, plus slightly rotated cut-out letters for headlines. All procedural, no scanned assets.
Pairs with your mix - AE-04AestheticsGood fitWeight:Medium
Liquid glass
Frosted panels float over moving color, with bright edges like real glass.
- See it live
- MDN: backdrop-filterCodePen: liquid glass
Prompt starter
Build the UI of [subject] as liquid glass: translucent panels with backdrop-filter blur and saturation over slowly moving color blobs, bright 1px edge highlights, and readable text contrast at every position. Check it on a low-end GPU.
Pairs with your mix - AE-05AestheticsStrong fitWeight:Light
Swiss editorial
Strict grid, giant numerals, one red block. Order is the aesthetic.
- See it live
- Fonts In UseTypographica
Prompt starter
Design [subject] in modern Swiss style: a strict 12-column grid, huge numerals and flush-left type, one red accent block that wipes in on scroll, generous white space, no decoration.
Pairs with your mix - AE-06AestheticsStrong fitWeight:Light
Terminal / CRT
Glowing phosphor text types itself out behind scanlines.
- See it live
- CodePen: CRT terminalAwwwards interactive
Prompt starter
Make [subject] feel like a CRT terminal: phosphor-green monospace text that types itself, scanlines, slight flicker and curvature, and real commands the visitor can type (help, posts, contact). Turn the flicker off under reduced motion.
Pairs with your mix - SN-01Senses & inputGood fitWeight:Heavy
Sound-reactive
Tap a column to play a note. The visuals respond to what you hear.
Prompt starter
Add a sound layer to [subject]: tapping regions plays notes from a pentatonic scale via Tone.js or Web Audio, and visuals pulse with each note. Sound stays off until the visitor turns it on, with a visible mute toggle.
Pairs with your mix - SN-02Senses & inputNeeds tuningWeight:Medium
Device tilt
On a phone you tilt to roll the marble. Here the cursor stands in for the gyroscope.
- See it live
- MDN: device orientation
Prompt starter
Make [subject] respond to phone tilt: DeviceOrientation drives a parallax scene or a rolling marble, with an explicit “Enable motion” button for the iOS permission and pointer control as the desktop fallback. Test on a real device.
Pairs with your mix - SN-03Senses & inputStrong fitWeight:Light
Cursor spotlight
The cursor is a flashlight. A second layer appears only where you point.
- See it live
- Hakim El Hattab labCodePen: spotlight
Prompt starter
Hide a second layer in the hero of [subject] that only shows through a soft circular mask at the cursor (CSS mask-image driven by --x/--y variables). On touch, the spotlight follows the finger. Never put essential information only in the hidden layer.
Pairs with your mix
No specimen matches that. Try a broader word, like “3D” or “type”.
How a mix is built
One idea, held up by the rest
A good page carries one big idea. Pick it first, add one or two specimens that support it, finish with one look, and keep every word readable without the effects.
| Item | Part | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HeroOne specimen carries the page's idea. | 1 |
| 2 | SupportOne or two more add depth without competing. | 1–2 |
| 3 | AestheticOne look ties everything together. | 1 |
| 4 | ContentReal words and links, readable without any effect. | All |
Specimens per family
- Motion5
- Generative7
- Physics & play4
- Spatial & 3D4
- Aesthetics6
- Senses & input3
Fit
- Strong fit
- usually right in one pass
- Good fit
- may need a styling round
- Needs tuning
- expect one tuning pass
Weight
- Light
- CSS or SVG only
- Medium
- a canvas loop or a small library
- Heavy
- WebGL, physics or audio
For agents
Read it, extend it
The catalog is also served as JSON. Every specimen is one file in the template's source, with its preview beside it: adding a design is adding a file.