Creative Dev
Tools we reach for when building a visual feature. Animation, visualization, 3D, physics, whiteboarding — each card has our take.
Animation
anime.js v4
OSSLightweight, tree-shakable, the sweet spot for UI motion.
— We use it in the hero you just saw.
GSAP
freemiumThe production workhorse. Industry standard for 20+ years.
— Reach for this when anime isn't enough. Paid license for a few features, free for 99% of cases.
Motion
OSSDeclarative animation primitives for React apps.
— What you reach for when React + declarative motion beats anime's imperative style.
Rive
freemiumDesigner-authored interactive animations as .riv files.
— When your design partner wants to ship the animation themselves.
3D
Babylon.js
OSSThree.js's heavier cousin, built for games and heavy physics.
— Pick this if you're pushing past Three's performance envelope.
React Three Fiber
OSSThree.js expressed through React components.
— Our choice when 3D is a component inside a larger app, not the whole app.
Three.js
OSSThe default WebGL library.
— Huge, well-documented, slow to learn — but there's a reason every 3D web app uses it.
Visualization
D3.js
OSSLow-level data-to-DOM binding, powerful and sharp-edged.
— Still the fullest-featured toolkit; pair with Observable Plot for faster wins.
Apache ECharts
OSSApache ECharts ships 50+ chart types production-ready.
— When you need charts that already work in every browser and locale.
Observable Plot
OSSD3's friendlier sibling from the same team.
— One-liners that look good out of the box — our default for ad-hoc data plots.
visx
OSSReact primitives wrapping D3 scales and axes.
— The React-D3 bridge without the React-D3 pain.
