Pick one background effect

Three options for launchpixel.in, each running live below on a demo cursor. Hover a preview to drive it yourself, or open the full page. Nothing is wired into the site yet.

Option A

Lightning arc

A thin electric filament trails the cursor. Fast flicks crack off short branches that die in a fifth of a second; at rest it shrinks to a spark and fades.

The most 'powerful' of the three, and the closest to your lightning-strike idea. Risk: lightning reads as a gimmick on a business site if it is the first thing people notice. It is 2D, not 3D.

Our JS (library: none)15.1 KB raw, 6.0 KB gzip
Desktop 1440x900 @2x60 fps, JS p95 0.1 ms/frame
Phone 390x844, CPU 4x slower30 fps (cap 30), JS p95 0.2 ms/frame
Mouse still0 frames drawn in 1.5 s
Starts after first paintFCP 676 ms, effect 714 ms
Layout shiftCLS 0
Reduced motion / 4-core devicestatic gradient

Open full page and move your mouseVideo, lightVideo, dark

Option B

Pixel field

A floor of square pixels in perspective. Around the cursor the pixels rise and turn orange in a soft hill; scrolling glides the floor toward you, so the 3D carries down the whole page.

The best fit for the name and the only one that is visible with the mouse still (a faint grid). Risk: in still frames the lifted pixels can look like the current confetti that Keshav called bad.

Our JS (library: none)12.7 KB raw, 5.3 KB gzip
Desktop 1440x900 @2x60 fps, JS p95 0.1 ms/frame
Phone 390x844, CPU 4x slower30 fps (cap 30), JS p95 0.1 ms/frame
Mouse still0 frames drawn in 1.5 s
Starts after first paintFCP 56 ms, effect 73 ms
Layout shiftCLS 0.0008
Reduced motion / 4-core devicestatic gradient

Open full page and move your mouseVideo, lightVideo, dark

Option C

Launch trail

The cursor is a small comet. Its ribbon lifts and flies off into depth, twisting so it catches light; a few dust specks at different depths shift with the cursor.

The calmest and most premium, and it says 'launch'. Real 3D depth (perspective and parallax). Risk: cursor trails are common, so the twist and depth have to carry it.

Our JS (library: none)14.7 KB raw, 5.7 KB gzip
Desktop 1440x900 @2x60 fps, JS p95 0.2 ms/frame
Phone 390x844, CPU 4x slower30 fps (cap 30), JS p95 0.4 ms/frame
Mouse still0 frames drawn in 1.5 s
Starts after first paintFCP 52 ms, effect 71 ms
Layout shiftCLS 0.0008
Reduced motion / 4-core devicestatic gradient

Open full page and move your mouseVideo, lightVideo, dark

My pick

C, launch trail

It is the only one that is real 3D without being busy, it says the first half of the name, and it looks the same quality in light and dark. A is the most dramatic, but lightning on an agency site risks the "fake, AI slop" reaction you gave the 3D hero on 24 October. B fits "Pixel" best, but in stills it can look like the square confetti Keshav called bad.

Whichever you pick, it replaces the current pixel trail rather than sitting next to it. On the home page it pauses while the hero logo animation is on screen, so only one 3D canvas runs at a time.