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Shader Art Direction in Astro Without Burning Performance

Use WebGL for visual identity while keeping animation constrained and optional.

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A shader can be part of brand identity, not just decoration. The trick is controlling where and when it runs.

Practical constraints

  • Keep shader surfaces shallow and bounded.
  • Use one animation loop per surface.
  • Do not hydrate heavyweight frameworks just to draw pixels.
  • Respect prefers-reduced-motion.

This pattern keeps visual uniqueness while preserving maintainability and runtime efficiency.

When to use shaders

Use shaders as controlled accents for brand and information hierarchy, not as full-page animation.

Keep each shader block bounded and skip it entirely for reduced motion.