Why design engineers should learn shaders

The design engineer advantage

Design engineering is becoming one of the most sought-after roles in the industry. It combines the skills of a front-end developer with the taste and design sensibilities of a designer. These people can build beautiful interfaces full of life and motion, and understand what makes them amazing and memorable.

Add shaders to that toolkit, and you unlock something different - the ability to create visuals that feel magical, responsive, and genuinely unique.

Shaders let you work directly with the GPU, pixel by pixel. You're not limited to what CSS can do or what a component library provides. They can take work from excellent to exceptional, and set the things you create apart from everything else.

It's a rare skillset because of how difficult it can be to learn, and the amount of time it takes to become proficient - but most designers don't code, and most developers don't write shaders. As a design engineer who can do both, you become valuable in a way that's hard to replicate.

What you can build with Three.js shaders

The practical applications are everywhere once you know how to use them. Here's what design engineers can ship with shader knowledge:

Incredible showcases

Create 3D product experiences that respond to cursor movement, scroll, or touch. These aren't just static renders - they're living surfaces that invite interaction. With Three.js and shaders, you can build product configurators, interactive hero sections, or immersive landing pages that feel premium.

This example from Buttermax is one of my absolute favourites from the last couple of years - it's such an impressive example of how far you can push creativity with shaders.

Cursor-driven effects

Go beyond CSS and JS interactions. Build effects where the entire canvas responds to pointer movement: warping patterns, shifting colors, or creating trails that follow the cursor.

The Interactivity technique I'm finishing up in Fragments shows how to map mouse position to shader uniforms, create cursor trails with data textures, and handle multiple click interactions simultaneously.

This example from Luis Bizarro - https://bizar.ro/ goes so far with its bonkers fluid, chromatic aberration cursor effect. I love it!

GPU-powered animations

Run smooth animations with millions of data points at 60fps. Particle systems, flow fields, and complex simulations that would crash a browser with traditional DOM manipulation run effortlessly on the GPU. The GPU excels at this type of work, and understanding how to use it effectively can create unforgettable experiences.

I've always been fascinated by Flow Fields and how they can be used to create such beautiful and organic patterns with millions of particles rendered on the GPU. This example is taken from Gravity 7.

Unique visual styles

Create one-of-a-kind aesthetics that can't be replicated with CSS or images alone. Procedural color palettes, noise-driven textures, geometric patterns - shaders let you generate visuals that are mathematically beautiful and infinitely variable.

This site by Robert Borghesi - Astrodither is an excellent example of the levels of creativity you can achieve with shaders. Combine post processing effects with a banging sound visualisation and you get pure magic.

How shaders differentiate your skillset

In a world where so many people use frameworks like Tailwind CSS and Shadcn UI and where design systems are becoming increasingly popular, shaders give you a way to stand out.

I've worked in this field for many years, and I've seen the landscape change considerably. We're reaching a point where the floor for what is possible is rising rapidly - creating something that looks good and functions well is becoming easier and more accessible every day.

In this world, it's important to explore the ceiling of what's possible and differentiate your skillset. Here's why shaders matter:

• You can ship experiences others can't - Most teams need to hire specialists or use expensive libraries. You can build it yourself.
• You bridge design and engineering - Understanding both the visual language and the technical implementation makes you invaluable on product teams.
• You create memorable work - Shader-driven experiences stick with users. They're novel, interactive, and feel premium.
• You future-proof your career - As web experiences become more immersive, shader knowledge becomes more valuable.

Learning to write shaders gives you the ability to create magic - something that very few others can replicate. It's not just about being future-proof - it's about being able to deliver anything you can imagine.

Getting started with Three.js shaders

The barrier to entry feels high, but it's more approachable than it seems. Three.js provides excellent abstractions, and tools like TSL (Three Shading Language) make shader programming more accessible.

Start with simple techniques in Fragments, and build from there:

• Geometric shapes - Learn to draw and manipulate basic forms
• Procedural color palettes - Generate smooth, beautiful color gradients
• Noise - Create organic, natural-looking textures and patterns
• Interactivity - Make shaders respond to user input

Each technique builds on the last. You don't need to master everything at once - just enough to be functional and start experimenting. Knowledge is compounding in this space, so the more you try, the more tools you'll have at your disposal.

Tools as an alternative

Not everyone wants to write shaders from scratch. If you prefer visual tools, here are some platforms that make it easier to compose shaders for your projects. Whether you use these or not, understanding how shaders work will actually make you better at using them:

Unicorn Studio

A visual editor for composing shaders with tightly integrated input controls that go beyond sliders and text boxes. It makes combining multiple shaders to create complex effects really straightforward.

Paper

A design tool with customisable shader effects that you can drop into your designs and export directly to code. It's focused on designers and design engineers to simplify the handoff process.

Shaders

This one really stands out. It brings masking and blending together in a way that lets you layer and combine shader effects intuitively - it follows my own process of experimenting really closely. The ability to export code directly to any of your coding projects is incredible, and I've been using it quite a lot lately. This is going to be massive.

The real value

For design engineers working with Three.js, shaders are the missing piece that transforms great work into unforgettable work. They're the difference between following trends and creating them.

Learning shaders isn't just about adding a new skill - it's about expanding what's possible in your work. When you can create visuals that respond dynamically, feel alive, and can't be replicated with traditional web technologies, you unlock a new dimension of creative expression. You become someone who can deliver anything you can imagine, not just what frameworks and libraries allow.

That's a rare position to be in, and it's worth the effort to get there.

Black Friday deal - 25% off Fragments

Ready to start learning shaders? From November 24th through the end of the month, Fragments is 25% off. This is a great opportunity to get lifetime access to the collection of techniques, utilities, and sketch breakdowns at a discounted price.

Unlock Fragments and start building the skills that set you apart.