text-scramble

text-scramble

A line of text that resolves from random glyphs. Part of motion-anything; obeys MOTION-SPEC.md. Technique popularized by Codrops, reimplemented dependency-free.

When to use it

• A hero word / short headline with a technical or futuristic tone; cycling a few phrases on one line.

When NOT to use it (restraint)

• Long text or body copy — unreadable while scrambling. One short line.
• Calm / editorial / luxury tones (feels gimmicky).

How to apply

1. Copy text-scramble.js into the project and link it.
2. Mark the element:

   <span class="scramble" data-text="motion, anything"></span>
   

3. Auto-plays data-text on load. To change the phrase later: scrambleTo(el, "next phrase").

Accessibility & performance

• Under prefers-reduced-motion the final text appears instantly (no scramble). The resolved data-text is always the real content.
• Swaps text content on rAF; keep the line short so it stays cheap.

Framework notes

• React: keep a ref and call scrambleTo(ref.current, text) on mount / when the phrase changes.