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Material 3D Prism Carousel
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A sophisticated 3D cube carousel built exclusively with CSS and Tailwind. It adheres to Material Design 3 principles, featuring the standard M3 color palette (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Error containers) and high-radius rounded corners. The component utilizes CSS 3D transforms for a spatial navigation experience without any JavaScript overhead, making it extremely lightweight and performant.
Features
- Pure CSS 3D Transformations
- Material Design 3 Color Tokens
- Responsive scaling for mobile devices
- Zero-JavaScript state management using radio inputs
- Interactive segmented navigation dots
- Smooth cubic-bezier transitions
Uses
- Product showcase landing pages
- Interactive feature tours
- Portfolio category selection
- Settings or configuration wizards
- Gamified dashboard navigation
Benefits
- Extremely fast load times (No JS)
- High visual engagement through depth
- Accessibility-friendly label-input mapping
- Consistent Material 3 aesthetic
- SEO friendly static content structure
Techniques Used
CSS Perspective, transform-style: preserve-3d, TranslateZ depth positioning, Radio-checked pseudo-selector logic, CSS Custom Properties for M3 tokens.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the 3D spatial rotation achieved without JavaScript?
The carousel utilizes CSS 3D transforms combined with the checkbox hack. By using hidden radio inputs and the :checked pseudo-class, the parent container applies specific rotateX or rotateY transforms to the prism wrapper based on which navigation element is selected.
How are Material Design 3 (M3) color tokens implemented in Tailwind?
The component leverages Tailwind CSS utility classes to map M3 color roles, such as primary-container and tertiary-container, to the cube faces. This ensures the 3D surfaces maintain proper tonal palettes and contrast ratios defined by the M3 specification.
What CSS property is critical for maintaining the depth of the 3D carousel?
The 'transform-style: preserve-3d' property is applied to the carousel's inner wrapper. This ensures that the child elements (the prism faces) are positioned in 3D space rather than being flattened into the plane of the parent element.
How is the prism's geometry calculated for different face sizes?
The distance of each face from the center is determined using a 'translateZ' value. This value is calculated based on the width of a face and the number of sides, ensuring that the edges of the prism faces meet perfectly to form a closed geometric shape.
Are the Material Design 3 high-radius corners preserved during 3D rotation?
Yes, the component applies 'rounded-3xl' or custom large border-radius utilities to each face. CSS 3D transforms natively support border-radius, and by using 'overflow-hidden' on the faces, the M3 aesthetic is maintained even as the prism rotates through the Z-axis.