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Bootstrap 5
7.7.2020
It’s always notable when the world biggest CSS framework goes up a major version (it’s in alpha now).
It has dropped jQuery and IE, started using some CSS custom properties, gone fully customized with form elements, started to embrace utility classes, and includes a massive icon...
Fluid Images in a Variable Proportion Layout
3.7.2020
Creating fluid images when they stand alone in a layout is easy enough nowadays. However, with more sophisticated interfaces we often have to place images inside responsive elements, like this card:
For now, let’s say this image is not semantic content, but only decoration. That’s...
Refreshing Sidebar for 2020
3.7.2020
The new design for Sidebar is lovely. I like how it goes even deeper with the sticky elements than the last design.
But even more notably, Sacha Greif has been posting five links per day to Sidebar since 2012. That’s a remarkable achievement.
Direct Link to Article — Permalink…...
A Complete Guide to Dark Mode on the Web
1.7.2020
“Dark mode” is defined as a color scheme that uses light-colored text and other UI elements on a dark-colored background. Dark mode, dark theme, black mode, night mode… they all refer to and mean the same thing: a mostly-dark interface rather than a mostly-light interface.
The post A Complete...
Styling Layout Wrappers In CSS
29.6.2020
Two things that strike me often about the web are how many ways there are to go about the same thing and how many considerations go into even the most seemingly simple things.
Working with wrapper elements is definitely on both those lists. Wrappers (or containers or whatever) are so common...
Rough Notation
22.6.2020
This is a neat little library. It uses SVG to insert hand-drawn looking annotations to elements (probably text), like underlines and box highlights (there are 6 design options, all configurable). Super clever.
Here’s a little demo:
CodePen Embed Fallback
Aside from it just being cool,...
Building a hexagonal grid using CSS grid
18.6.2020
I think of grids as arrangements of rectangles with vertical and horizontal lines running through. And they are, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still do clever things in how we place things on those grids and what we do with the elements afterwards.
In this demo by Jesse Breneman,...
Striking a Balance Between Native and Custom Select Elements
12.6.2020
Here’s the plan! We’re going to build a styled select element. Not just the outside, but the inside too. Total styling control. Plus we’re going to make it accessible. We’re not going to try to replicate everything that the browser does by default with a native <select> element. We’re going...
On fixed elements and backgrounds
3.6.2020
After just playing with apsect-ratio and being pleasantly surprised at how intuitive it is, here’s an example of CSS acting unintuitively:
If you have a fixed element on your page, which means it doesn’t move when you scroll, you might realise that it no longer acts fixed if you apply a...
Chrome 83 Form Element Styles
3.6.2020
There have been some aesthetic changes to what form elements look like as of Chrome 83. Anything with gradient colorization is gone (notably the extra-shiny <meter stuff). The consistency across the board is nice, particularly between inputs and textareas. Not a big fan of the new <select...
Flexbox-like “just put elements in a row” with CSS grid
21.5.2020
It occurred to me while we were talking about flexbox and gap that one reason we sometimes reach for flexbox is to chuck some boxes in a row and space them out a little.
My brain still reaches for flexbox in that situation, and with gap, it probably will continue to do so. It’s worth noting...
First Steps into a Possible CSS Masonry Layout
18.5.2020
It’s not at the level of demand as, say, container queries, but being able to make “masonry” layouts in CSS has been a big ask for CSS developers for a long time. Masonry being that kind of layout where unevenly-sized elements are layed out in ragged rows. Sorta like a typical...
Pseudo-elements in the Web Animations API
14.5.2020
To use the Web Animations API (e.g. el.animate()) you need a reference to a DOM element to target. So, how do you use it on pseudo-elements, which don’t really offer a direct reference? Dan Wilson covers a (newish?) part of the API itself:
const logo...
Working With MDX Custom Elements and Shortcodes
7.5.2020
MDX is a killer feature for things like blogs, slide decks and component documentation. It allows you to write Markdown without worrying about HTML elements, their formatting and placement while sprinkling in the magic of custom React components when necessary.
Let’s harness that magic and look...
Playing With (Fake) Container Queries With watched-box & resizeasaurus
5.5.2020
Heydon’s <watched-box> is a damn fantastic tool. It’s a custom element that essentially does container queries by way of class names that get added to the box based on size breakpoints that are calculated with ResizeObserver. It’s like a cleaner version of what Philip...
Using Formik to Handle Forms in React
28.4.2020
There is no doubt that web forms play an integral role in our web site or applications. By default, they provide a useful set of elements and features — from legends and fieldsets to native validation and states — but they only get us so far when we start to consider the peculiarities of using...
Create a Responsive CSS Motion Path? Sure We Can!
15.4.2020
There was a discussion recently on the Animation at Work Slack: how could you make a CSS motion path responsive? What techniques would be work? This got me thinking.
A CSS motion path allows us to animate elements along custom user-defined paths. Those paths follow the same structure as SVG paths....
JavaScript Picture-in-Picture API
14.4.2020
As a huge fan of media on the web, I’m always excited about enhancements to how we can control our media. Maybe I get excited about simple things like the <video> tag and its associated elements and attributes because media on the web started with custom codecs, browser extensions,...
Thinking in Behaviors, Not Screen Sizes
11.4.2020
Chase McCoy wrote a nifty post about the “gap problem” when making a grid of items. His argument might be summarized like this: how should we space elements with margins in CSS? He notes that the gap property isn’t quite ready for prime time when it comes to using it with flexbox, like this:
.grid...
Why Do Some HTML Elements Become Deprecated?
2.4.2020
The internet has been around for a long while, and over time we’ve changed the way we think about web design. Many old techniques and ways of doing things have gotten phased out as newer and better alternatives have been created, and we say that they have been deprecated.
Deprecated. It’s a word...