Code Playground

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Document</title>
  	<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.4.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
  	<link rel="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Heebo:100,300,400,500,700,800,900" type="stylesheet" />
</head>
<body>
  <main id=app>
    <h1>Gooey Navigation</h1>
    <p>Not very practical unless you change the <code>--distance</code> to something like <code>-35%</code>, <br>but a fun little experiment none-the-less!</p>

</main>

<filter id="schlurp">
      <feGaussianBlur id="SourceGraphic" stdDeviation="10" />
      <feColorMatrix values="
         1 0 0 0 0
         0 1 0 0 0
         0 0 1 0 0 
         0 0 0 20 -10
      " />
    </filter>

:root {
  --default: #00ffc3;
  --hover: #efceff;
  --size: 80px;
  --distance: calc(var(--size)*-1.1);
}

.goo,
.goo ul {
  background: inherit;
  filter: url("#schlurp");
}

ul {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  background: inherit;
  padding: 0 calc(var(--size) / 2);
}
ul li {
  width: var(--size);
  height: var(--size);
  background: var(--default);
  margin: 0 3px;
  color: black;
  position: relative;
}

.goo ul li:before {
  content: "";
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  position: absolute;
  left: 0;
  top: 0;
  border-radius: 100%;
  background: inherit;
  transition: all 0.85s ease;
  transform: translate3d(0, 0, 0);
  will-change: transform;
  -webkit-backface-visibility: hidden;
          backface-visibility: hidden;
}
.goo ul li.hover:before {
  transition: all 0.5s cubic-bezier(0.09, 1.98, 0.41, 0.71);
  transform: translate3d(0, var(--distance), 0);
  background: var(--hover);
}

.menu {
  position: absolute;
  z-index: 1;
  background: transparent;
  text-align: center;
}

.menu li {
  background: transparent;
  display: flex;
  align-items: flex-start;
  justify-content: center;
  transition: all 0.85s ease;
  height: calc(var(--size) * 2);
}
.menu li:hover {
  transition: all 0.5s cubic-bezier(0.09, 1.98, 0.41, 0.71);
  transform: translateY(-53%);
  color: white;
}
.menu li a {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-rows: 1fr 1fr;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  cursor: pointer;
  color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6);
  transition: color 0.5s ease;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
}
.menu li:hover a {
  color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9);
}

nav {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  margin: 50px;
  background: var(--default);
  border-radius: 120px;
  position: fixed;
  bottom: 20px;
  left: 20px;
  right: 20px;
}

/* unimportant styles */
body {
  color: white;
  background: #333844;
  padding: 20px;
  font-family: "Heebo", sans-serif;
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  text-align: center;
}

p {
  max-width: 70ch;
  font-weight: 200;
}

ul {
  list-style: none;
  margin: 0;
}

svg {
  width: calc(var(--size)/3);
  height: calc(var(--size)/3);
  fill: none;
  stroke: currentColor;
  stroke-width: 2;
  stroke-linecap: round;
  stroke-linejoin: round;
}

Frontend Forever App