Glass and frosted text: transmission, IOR and refraction
Real glass in a browser: transmission near 1, IOR ~1.5, and why frosted glass is just roughness applied to refraction. Clear glass vs frosted, and when glass beats chrome.
Glass is three numbers
Transmission near 1 says light passes through. IOR (index of refraction) around 1.5 says how much it bends — ordinary glass is 1.5, crystal around 2.0. Roughness says whether the surface is polished or frosted. Every glass preset on the site is a position on those three numbers, with values shown on its page.
Why glass needs a busy environment
A transparent object is visible because of what it does to what's behind and around it. Flat backgrounds make glass vanish. Environments with gradients — Dawn, Sunset, City — give refraction something to distort, which is what makes the letterforms readable.
Frosted = rough transmission
Frosted glass is not a different material; it is glass with roughness raised so transmitted light scatters. The frosted preset on this site reads as 'quiet premium' precisely because it keeps transmission high while smearing the detail behind it.
When to pick glass over chrome
Glass communicates transparency, literal or corporate. It photographs lighter than any metal, sits beautifully on brand-color backgrounds, and does not fight busy layouts — where chrome demands to be the loudest thing in frame.