Brand & Motion · 10 min · Sep 10, 2025

Kinetic Typography

Make type move with purpose, performance, and accessibility.

Kinetic Typography

1. Readability First, Always

Readability First, Always

Kinetic type adds emotion and hierarchy, not decoration. If motion hurts legibility, it fails no matter how clever the animation is.

Key takeaways:
  • Motion supports meaning
  • Hierarchy drives timing
  • Never fight legibility

2. Core Techniques

Core Techniques

Use masks and clip-paths for reveals; stagger per letter for rhythm, and leverage variable fonts to animate weight/width without swapping files.

Key takeaways:
  • Mask/clip reveals
  • Per-glyph stagers
  • Variable fonts

3. Timing, Easing & Voice

Timing, Easing & Voice

Keep intros under a second. Choose two or three standard easings and stick to them. Motion should feel like your brand’s voice—calm, playful, or bold.

Key takeaways:
  • Short intros
  • Consistent curves
  • Match brand tone

4. Performance Details

Performance Details

Animate GPU-friendly properties; isolate layers with `will-change` sparingly; and avoid animating layout properties that cause reflow.

Key takeaways:
  • Transform/opacity only
  • Layer isolation sparingly
  • Avoid layout thrash

5. Accessibility & Controls

Accessibility & Controls

Honor reduced-motion, ensure WCAG AA contrast, and give users a control to pause or tone down continuous movement.

Key takeaways:
  • Prefers-reduced-motion
  • Contrast & size
  • Pause or reduce

6. Systematize It

Systematize It

Codify durations, easings, and common patterns as tokens and utilities. Add a motion checklist to design and code reviews so quality stays high across teams.

Key takeaways:
  • Motion tokens
  • Reusable snippets
  • Review checklists

Table Of Contents

1. Readability First, Always 2. Core Techniques 3. Timing, Easing & Voice 4. Performance Details 5. Accessibility & Controls 6. Systematize It
Back to all posts