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August 22, 2024

Company Workshop

Naming & Organizing Conventions

towards a cascade-aligned programming

workshops.oddbird.net/rf24/conventions/

Cmd/Ctr-K for Controls

A poll… OOCSS, ITCSS,
SMACSS, BEM, CUBE,
Utility-First, other …

What are you trying? Are you happy with it?

✅ Love it
⚠️ Could be improved
❌ Needs to change

‘Branded’ conventions
Built up over 20 years of CSS

Writing Selectors
Organizing Rules

Two primary concerns:
Writing selectors
(or naming the elements we select)
Organizing selector rules
Across an entire project

Hopefully… More Consistent Code

Hopefully… More Reliable Code

Hopefully… More Organized Code

Hopefully… More Maintainable Code

Mental Model
Writing Selectors
Organizing Rules

But the rules we define
For naming and organizing selectors
Often reflect some mental model of the language
How it works, and how we interact with it

Branded… Conventions are Useful

(as a point of reference)

Different Project Needs

Important to remember
Different projects have different needs,
Different constraints…

Different Team Structures

Different team structures
Different budgets & priorities
And those differences matter…

Just… 🤷🏻‍♀️ Conventions

Your mileage will vary

All just conventions
A set of guidelines someone found useful
In their org, their team, their code
Your mileage will vary

Just because InstaSalesFace Did It

Doesn’t mean we all need to

Just because instaSalesFace did it
Doesn’t mean it will work for the rest of us
There’s not a single correct approach

I think they are all pretty neat and I see the point…

— Chris Coyier

I tend to agree with Chris Coyier who says
They’re all pretty neat…

But I’m a bunch of years into this and still generally… write the selector I need and then style with that.

— Chris Coyier

There’s no Miracle Cure

Conventions won’t save us

Important to say up-front
There’s no miracle cure
To make CSS maintenance go away
If you refuse to weed the garden
Then the garden will have weeds

It’s a Process

Conventions can develop over time

Maintaining a convention, like weeding, is a process
Not a technical problem to ‘solve’ and move on
Conventions need to be documented and maintained

Prioritize Team Conversations

The result of ongoing conversations
They can change over time

If it’s not documented, It Doesn’t Exist

This documentation is essential
Communicate our priorities and goals and approaches
With new team members, or with ourselves next week
If a convention isn’t documented, it doesn’t exist
It will be impossible to maintain
Most of conventions build on old ideas…

Natalie Downe

CSS Systems, 2008

In 2008 Natalie Downe gave a talk
Very formative for me

~2006-2010… Major CSS Libraries

YUI, Blueprint, 960gs, etc…

She was reacting the the trends of the time
Large CSS libraries, one-size-fits all
The precursor to Bootstrap today

Central Class Library

<div class=" column col6of12 last " >

These libraries provide a list of classes
Takes away a lot of the planning required, but…

CSS frameworks decrease the maintainability of code.

— Natalie Downe, CSS Systems

Over time, frameworks make CSS harder to maintain
Our experience as well
Designed for general use, quick-start
More than you need, but never exactly what you need
Often get removed (painfully)

A CSS System

Glossary of shared vocabulary for developers
Reusable set of markup patterns & CSS
Personalized for an individual site

Instead she proposed
Customized libraries, specific to a need
Design systems, in CSS

A CSS System Overall Structure & Individual Components

Overall structure & individual components
These are distinct, and separate

Internals should be 100% Fluid

(this was before RWD & Media Queries)

Components should fit in any container
Be able to resize as needed

Fit inside Any Container

(which may provide sizing)

Container Queries help here!

Sizes come from the container
Define the layout context for descendants
Components get put into different containers on the page

Afraid Of Heights

(the variable axis for blocks)

But usually don’t set the height
The variable axis for block elements
Content needs somewhere to expand

Blocks of text stack… [demo link]

Block elements expand on the block axis
If they can’t expand
Content has nowhere to go

Nicole Sullivan

Object Oriented CSS, 2009

Nicole Sullivan’s OOCSS
(came out around the same time)
Highlights similar ideas

A CSS “object” is a repeating visual pattern, that can be abstracted into an independent snippet of HTML, CSS, and possibly JavaScript.

— Nicole Sullivan, OOCSS

Beyond Reusable Components

A reminder
Not just components are reusable…

Components Share Patterns

Avoid even unique component styles

But the patterns that we use
across components

Combined into custom… Object Libraries

Snippets combined into a custom
Library of reusable patterns

1. Separate Structure & Skin

First rule of OOCSS
Separate structure (of object)
from skin (of that object)

Object Structure Minimal & Reusable

Object Skin Multiple Theme Options

Not necessarily distinct elements

Mix & Match Structures & Skins

(Unique components, without unique CSS)

But distinct selectors, so we can mix/match
If we build the patterns to be reusable

New pages should Rarely Require New CSS

This is the goal of a good system
Can we re-use existing styles across pages?
Even better: across components/features?

2. Separate Container & Content

e.g. “internals should be fluid”

Second, we separate
container and content
Similar to CSS Systems

Be Flexible

Container sets width
Content sets height

e.g. “be afraid of heights”

2009-Present Systems & Objects Repackaged

SMACSS, BEM, ITCSS, CUBE, etc…

I’m going to quote these two a lot
Nearly every convention since
Is built on the ideas they presented
16 years ago

Macro Before Micro

From CUBE CSS by Andy Bell

Something they all share
Working from the macro to the micro
Broad strokes, then minute details

Most of the work is already done for you with global and high-level styles.

— Andy Bell, CUBE CSS

Rely on… Cascade and Inheritance

This is what cascade & inheritance were designed for
Achieving broad consistency
With very little code
And then providing targeted overrides as needed

CSS shines Building Systems

The goal is building systems
Rather than one-offs.
Find what is consistent across components
Build abstractions
This is where CSS shines…

Platform Built-in Naming & Organizing Conventions

Both HTML & CSS provide a starting point
built-in naming & organizing convention

Start with… Semantic HTML

Converting a static design to code
Starts with semantic HTML

Built-in Functionality

HTML gives us so much for free!
Before we start adding any classes
We get built-in naming
From meaningful HTML elements and attributes
Also interactive links, buttons, form controls, etc

Even ‘meaningless’ `article` & `section` Elements

Some of the newer elements don’t provide much
Unless we attach an accessible label,
article and section are basically fancy divs
We use them anyway!
Why make up our own names, when HTML provides them?

Building with accessible semantics from the get-go can give you expressive, meaningful style hooks for free.

— Ben Myers, Style with Stateful, Semantic Selectors

css…

/* expressive semantics */
form:has(:invalid) [type="submit"] { … }

/* some name we came up with? */
.form__btn--submit--invalid { … }

We can reference els & attrs in selectors
Also have access to pseudo-classes & pseudo-elements
Extended with ARIA attributes as needed
Selectors help enforce/encourage semantic HTML patterns
When we reduce this to a class-name string,
We lose all the meaningful built-in associations

css…

a[href*="://"] { /* external links */ }
a[href^="https:"] { /* secure links */ }
a[href$=".pdf"] { /* pdf links */ }

button[aria-pressed=true] { /* pressed buttons */ }
img:not([alt]) { /* images without alt text */ }

There’s so much we can do
Without ever coming up with our own names

css…

.flow > * + * {
  margin-block-start: var(--flow-space, 1em);
}

Axiomatic CSS and Lobotomized Owls by Heydon Pickering

Selector combinators let us expand on that
Defining relationships

“Intelligent” Selectors

No “intervention by the author”

Semantic CSS With Intelligent Selectors by Heydon Pickering

Dealing With Specificity

Selectors (Level 4)

While we’re talking about selectors
Let’s dig into specificity a bit

css…

* { /* universal */ }
p { /* type */ }
.summary { /* attribute */ }
#call-to-action { /* id */ }

Simple Selectors

There are four ‘categories’ of selector
Each with increasing priority in cascade…

css…

* { /* 'universal' */ }

The universal (star) selector

The universal (star) selector
Alone in its category…

OddBird.net with red outlines around every element on the page — Similar to *initial values* - generic and universal

Selects all HTML elements
(but not pseudo-elements like before or after)
We can use this for extremely generic resets
Or initial values, like we get from the spec
But more often use it contextually
Narrowed by additional selectors

css…

button, div, span {
  /* 'type' (element) */ }
::before, ::after, ::part() {
  /* 'pseudo-element' */ }

Type (element) selectors

Element & pseudo-element ‘type’ selectors

OddBird.net with red outlines around every link on the page — Similar to *browser defaults* - provide a baseline

Are much more targeted, but still fairly broad
Help us establish broad defaults
Similar to user agent styles

css…

.action, .summary {
  /* 'class' */ }
:hover, :user-invalid {
  /* 'pseudo-class' */ }
[type=“submit”] {
  /* 'attribute' */ }

Attribute selectors

Attribute selectors
Include classes and pseudo-classes
Select elements based on any attributes or states
Classes are just a special attribute shorthand
Where we have the most control & flexibility

OddBird.net with red outlines around only the nav links which have a data-nav attribute — Establish *reusable patterns*

Great for defining reusable patterns
Become the backbone of our design systems

css…

#send { /* 'id' */ }

ID selectors

Finally ID selectors
Valid ID’s are required to be unique on a page

One-off overrides

Should only ever select one element per page
Extremely targeted/specific styles

css…

h2:has(> button[aria-expanded="false"]) + div {
  display: none;
}

Disclosure Widgets by Adrian Roselli

We can combine these selectors
to express fairly complex ideas
Read from right to left…
A div that comes after an h2
(which has a button child, that is not expanded)
Look at all that information we’re communicating to the browser!

Specificity is a “Heuristic”

a practical assumption that approximates the goal

But what we’re worried about now
Is the specificity of a selector in the cascade
And for this step the browser uses a heuristic
a practical assumption

More Explicit Selectors
are Likely
More Important

More explicit selectors
(more narrowly targeted to specific elements)
are likely more important than less specific selectors
That makes some sense, right?
One-offs override reusable patterns,
which override element defaults,
which override global initial values?

css…

/* 1 IDs, 2 attributes, 2 element type */
/* specificity: 1,2,2 */
form#contact button[type='submit']:active {
  border-color: seaGreen;
}

So we count up how many terms we used in our selector,
And which category those terms belong to
Here the border-color declaration has a selector
With 1 ID
2 Attributes
2 Element types
A specificity of 1, 2, 2

Our old coin sorter, with all slots crossed off except for the largest one with coins in it, and an arrow pointing at those coins that says 'move on'

The total isn’t what matters
We actually compare the categories one at a time

Like Versioning… `[``1``,0,2]` `vs [0,3,2] vs [0,2,3]`

Like software versions
We can look at the first number
That might give us a winner already

Move on when tied `[0,``3``,2]` `vs [0,``2``,3]`

We only have to look at the next column (attributes)
If there’s a tie in the first

Heuristics Are Assumptions

It’s a good heuristic
Most of the time
But heuristics are assumptions, and…

Assumptions Often Fail

Especially “At Scale”

Assumptions always fail at some point
So the more code we write,
(The larger our code base)
The more likely we are to find those exceptions…

css…

/* …default table styles… */
table[rules=cols i] > tfoot > tr > td,
table[rules=cols i] > tfoot > tr > th,
table[rules=all i] > tfoot > tr > td,
table[rules=all i] > tfoot > tr > th {
  border-color: black;
}

html.spec.whatwg.org

Even browsers have some very specific defaults
Would be an issue, without origins
It’s good for this declaration to be specific
But it’s still just a specific default
(essential the specificity is contained)
On the other end…

css…

[hidden] { display: none; }

There are some broadly-defined defaults
Like display:none on the hidden attribute
Are really important!
Don’t want to override setting display to grid.
It’s a simple selector with broad reach
But shouldn’t be low priority

One Flexible Layer

Universal *
Element types
Reusable .classes & [attributes]
Unique #IDs

This becomes especially problematic
Because we only fully control
One of Four specificity categories
(Class and attribute selectors)
All the rest are limited in some way

css…

.block .element.modifier { /* 3 */ }
.block__element--modifier { /* 1 */ }

So we spend our time
Arguing over how many classes or attributes to use
Forcing lower and lower specificity
Through intricate naming conventions…
But that all requires careful coordination…

❗important 💣

Which can fall apart
If someone brings importance
To a specificity fight…

css…

.🤬-bootstrap {
  font-weight: bold !important;
}

Or a third-party tool
Doesn’t play by the same rules

😩🤬😩

And then we get frustrated

Specificity is Useful [present, debug]

Which could be a useful tool

demo:

We want modifiers to override defaults
Source order is fragile

When specificity falls short We Need an Escape Hatch

(still meaningful and expressive)

Still, there are time
When specificity falls short
We need an escape hatch
that’s still meaningful and expressive

Inverted triangle with
range across the top,
and specificity/explicitness
down the sides — **Inverted Triangle** CSS by **Harry Roberts**

Harry Roberts

Inverted Triangle CSS, 2014

Narrow » Broad Reach How Many Elements?

Low » High Specificity What Selector Weight?

Generic » Explicit What Desired Impact?

From p {} through .text-center {}

A graph
with specificity on the vertical axis,
and code line numbers horizontal,
divided into layers,
and a line showing that
specificity should only increase
throughout the code base — **Inverted Triangle** CSS by **Harry Roberts**

Inverted triangle with layers,
wide top to narrow bottom:
settings, tools, generics, elements,
objects, components, overrides — **Inverted Triangle** CSS by **Harry Roberts**

Elements grouped by Type
Classes grouped by Effect
IDs grouped by Component

From CSS Systems

General Styles (resets, type, colors)
Helper Styles (forms, errors, alerts)
Page Structure
Page Components
Overrides (avoid when possible)

From CSS Systems

Inverted triangle with layers,
wide to narrow -
the top layers are sass-only, no output,
then global css layers,
and finally scoped components — **Inverted Triangle** CSS by **Harry Roberts**

css…

@layer settings { … }
@layer tools { … }
@layer generic { … }
@layer elements { … }
@layer objects { … }
@layer components { … }
@layer overrides { … }

These provide us with…

Layers of Specificity

Layers of specificity
First we choose the declaration
In the highest layer
And only if there are multiple from that layer
Then we compare specificity

`@layer` `{ … }`

A layer rule starts with at-layer
And then brackets
We can put any CSS inside those brackets…

`@layer` `<name>` `{ … }`

And we can optionally give our layers a name
Any name we want

css…

@layer reset {
  audio[controls] { display: block; }
  [hidden] { display: none !important; }
}

`@import url(…)` `layer``;`
`@import url(…)` `layer(<name>)``;`

@layer settings { … }
@layer tools { … }
@layer generic { … }
@layer elements { … }
@layer objects { … }
@layer components { … }
@layer overrides { … }

As many layers as we want!

@layer Utilities { … }
@layer Components { … }
@layer Themes { … }
@layer Frameworks { … }
@layer Resets { … }

Any names that we want!

css…

@layer reset { /* least powerful */ }
@layer default { /* … */ }
@layer theme { /* … */ }
@layer components { /* more powerful */ }
/* unlayered styles: most powerful */

Stack in the order they’re introduced

`@layer` `<name>``,` `<name>``,` `<etc>``;`

Explicit Layer Order

Specificity is Contained

Only compared inside a layer

Quick Layers Live Demo [present, debug]

demo:

Source order is fragile, layers are explicit
Specificity only matters inside a layer
Un-layered styles win by default
Layers stack in order
Define the order up front

css…

/* establish layer order */
@layer one, two, three;

/* add code to layers as needed */
@import url(two.css) layer(two);
@layer three { … }
@layer one { … }
@layer two { … }

Generally, imports have to come first
Layer lists are allowed before imports
Order matters!

css…

@layer components {
  @layer state { … }
}

/* access nested layers */
@layer components.state { … }

Nesting Layers

css…

/* system.css */
@layer theme { … }
@layer components { … }

Nesting Layers (in files)

css…

@import url(system.css) layer(system);

@layer system.theme { … }
@layer system.components { … }

Nesting Layers (from imports)

css…

@import url(system.css) layer(system);

@layer system.theme { … }
@layer system.components { … }
@layer system.custom { … }

Nesting Layers (from imports)

Add your own sub-layer to an imported layer!

css…

@import url(bootstrap.css) layer(bootstrap.theirs);

@layer bootstrap.ours {
  /* anything here will override bootstrap */
}

css…

@layer components {
  @layer defaults, themes, state;
}

Order Nested Layers

Not Escalating ❗️importance

Managing Priorities

More Cascade Control
Fewer Specificity Hacks

Like Origins, ❗️important Layers Reverse

Resets
Themes
Components
❗important Components
❗important Themes
❗important Resets

Protect Styles From Future Layers

Getting Started

my recommendations

(your mileage may vary)

Define a A Layer Order

See example layer orders

css…

/* add as the first styles */
@layer reset, framework, components, utilities;

Start simple, and append as needed…

html…

<style>/* keep this before linked styles */
@layer reset, framework, components, utilities;
</style>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="…">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="…">

Can live in the HTML / template

If Possible Layer Overall Architecture

html…

<style>
@layer reset, framework, components, utilities;
@import url(…) layer(reset);
@import url(…) layer(framework);
</style>

Use (non-nested) imports

Prioritize Dependencies

*Including inter-org dependencies

Like resets, design systems, component libraries
Anything not project-specific

Clearly define… Each Tool’s Priority

Clearly define… Tool-Specific Overrides

css…

@import url(bootstrap.css) layer(bootstrap.vendor);

@layer bootstrap.overrides {
  /* anything here will override bootstrap */
}

As you go, Update Layer Order

Working from Lowest to Highest

html…

<template>…</template>
<style>
@layer components {
  /* … */
}
</style>

Single File Components

Don’t (Usually) Need Layers Per-Component

As useful, Layer Inside Components

Once We Start Layering

*the styles will be hidden from older browsers

There’s No Harm Layering More

Encourages Nuanced & Explicit Priorities

For flexibility… Layer Everything

Use un-layered for Prototyping & DeBugging

Tools should Understand Design

Can it handle colors and lengths?

Tools should Let Us Use CSS Features

(otherwise ‘tools’ become obstacles)

html…

<div class="Bgc(#0280ae.5) C(#fff) P(20px)">...</div>

No relation to Atomic Design

html…

<body class="bg-green black-70 pa4">
  <h1 class="f1">...</h1>
</body>

Tachyons

html…

<div class="md:flex">
  <div class="md:flex-shrink-0">
    <img class="rounded-lg md:w-56" src="..." alt="">
  </div>
  <div class="mt-4 md:mt-0 md:ml-6">
    <div class="uppercase tracking-wide text-sm text-indigo-600 font-bold">...</div>
  </div>
</div>

Tailwind CSS

I don’t Get It `¯\_``(ツ)``_/¯`

Often called Functional CSS

CSS is All About Context

Design is All Side Effects

CSS can’t be Functionally “Pure”

When you… reduce the amount of time you spend writing and editing CSS… you must instead spend more time changing HTML classes…

— Nicolas Gallagher

About HTML semantics and front-end architecture

css…

.btn {
  @apply font-bold py-2 px-4 rounded;
}
.btn-blue {
  @apply bg-blue-500 text-white;
}
.btn-blue:hover {
  @apply bg-blue-600;
}

A woman in a suit kneels to pet cute ducklings while the mother duck removes a bill from her purse. The text underneath says colour.css / layout.css / typography.css — Avoid Cute Duckling Scams

Paradigms… Object-Oriented or Functional

CSS is classes with properties, and inheritance
It’s clearly meant to be ‘object oriented’
These comparisons can be useful
But CSS isn’t a general-purpose language
It’s domain-specific, resilient, and contextual

Websites ~~don’t need to~~ cannot possibly look the same in every browser.

— The web, paraphrased

We’ve talked a lot about resilience
A web on everything, for everyone
It’s fundamentally impossible
For our website to look the same everywhere
In every browser

The fact we can control a paper page is really a limitation of that medium.

— John Allsopp, A Dao of Web Design

And that’s a feature of the medium
A design decision that’s been built-in
And so CSS is easiest to write & maintain
When we embrace the way it’s designed
(The Dao of web design)

Be the browser’s mentor, not its micromanager.

— Andy Bell

And our role in the system
To quote Andy Bell
We want to be the browser’s mentor
And not it’s micromanager

Define some constraints. Let the language work out the details.

— Keith J Grant

Resilient, Declarative, Contextual

We want to
Design some constraints
Let the language work out the details

If I were to brand OddBird Conventions…

If I were to brand our conventions at OddBird
(at a high level)
The way we approach and write CSS,
I would call it something like…

Poetic CSS

Poetic CSS

PoetiCSS

Or poetiCss
For any philosophy nerds

Use built-in CSS Language Features

CSS provides a lot of features
Selectors and specificity
Attribute selectors and pseudo-classes
Layers, queries, custom properties
These are all useful tools!
Like poetry: wide vocabulary, used sparingly

We Mix & Match

CSS Systems, OOCSS, ITCSS, CUBE…

Follow the Cascade Prefer Global Styles

Write Meaningful Selectors

Not Just Classes

Use custom elements, attributes, ids, pseudos…

CSS Classes considered harmful by Keith Cirkel

css…

.card.big { /* classes */ }
.card--big { /* BEM */ }

/* Custom element with attributes */
my-card[data-size="big"] { /* … */ }

CSS Classes considered harmful by Keith Cirkel

Work In Layers

(with or without @layer)

A Wider 🌊 Cascade Allows More Nuance

Content… Should be Fluid

Containers… Provide Structure

Don’t Overly Sandbox

Styles should be reusable…

From CSS Systems

Focus on What Not Where

From CSS Systems

Rarely use Location-Dependent Styles

From OOCSS

BEM often Gets This Backwards

On the surface this seems like a goal of BEM
But in practice it often ends up making the issue worse

The goal is… Portable Selectors

css…

/* .page header { … } */
.page__header { … }

BEM Avoids Nesting

BEM syntax often avoids nesting
By combining context and content into a single selector
But that’s not more portable
It’s still tied to a specific context

css…

header.masthead { … }

Prefer Modifiers

css…

/* Runs the risk of becoming out of date; not very maintainable. */
.blue { color: blue; }

/* Depends on location in order to be rendered properly. */
.header span { color: blue; }

/* Too specific; limits our ability to reuse. */
.header-color { color: blue; }

/* Nicely abstracted, very portable, doesn’t risk becoming out of date. */
.highlight-color { color: blue; }

Harry Roberts, CSS Guidelines

Context from Custom Properties

css…

a { text-decoration: underline; }
nav a { text-decoration: none; }

css…

a { text-decoration: var(--link-decoration, underline); }
nav { --link-decoration: none; }

Custom properties can be set contextually

Take care Overriding Styles

css…

a:not([data-link]) {
  text-decoration: var(--link-decoration, underline);
}

nav {
  --link-decoration: none;
}

Use :not() to exclude selectors
Use custom properties to provide a default, and explicit override
(This also works as a solution to the question about display/hiding)

CSS Utilities… Have One Job

The most popular and controversial trend
Is utility-first CSS
But utility classes have a long history
Going back to OOCSS, if not earlier
The job is to do one simple thing
(any simple thing)

css…

.wrapper {
  margin-inline: auto;
  padding-inline: 1rem;
  max-width: 60rem;
}

Useful!
For common & simple patterns

css…

[hidden] { display: none !important; }
[visually-hidden]:not(:focus-within) {
  clip: rect(0 0 0 0);
  clip-path: inset(50%);
  height: 1px;
  overflow: hidden;
  position: absolute;
  white-space: nowrap;
  width: 1px;
}

Doesn’t have to be a class
We’ll often use attributes instead
I noticed that CUBE does too
I find these nicely parallel

css…

.bg-primary { background: #ff00ff; }
.bg-secondary { background: #ffbf81; }

[data-bg=primary] { background: #ff00ff; }
[data-bg=secondary] { background: #ffbf81; }

For stored values from data

This especially makes sense
When using them to pass info from a database or JS
We can provide tokens as utilities
And apply them in our markup if needed

css…

[data-bg] { background: var(--canvas-color); }
[data-bg=primary] { --canvas-color: #ff00ff; }
[data-bg=secondary] { --canvas-color: #ffbf81; }

css…

[style*='--canvas-color:'] {
  background: var(--canvas-color);
}

Flexible Grid Settings [present, debug]

Don’t trust CSS Abstinence Rules

Avoiding the core features of CSS
Doesn’t make it better,
It just makes us work harder
No wonder we think CSS is broken,
We’ve all collectively ‘agreed’
Not to use any of the features!

Trust The Flow

Trust document flow
(not just normal flow layout,
but the flow of each layout system)
The flow of value resolution,
Cascading and inheritance
The flow of browser/author/user collaboration

Think in Systems

Even when we’re working on details
We want to think in systems
Not just the individual components
But the patterns that they share
And how they combine to create new ideas
But those big ideas have to fit a small space…

Be Concise

We want to be concise
Only say what’s essential
To get our design across
(I don’t mean minimalist design always,
But minimal constraints to achieve it)

Rely on… Expressive SubText

Relying on the subtext implications
Like relative units and built-in keywords
Wherever we can, using implied or intrinsic
Rather than explicit constraints
To make sure we still…

Say What You Mean

Say what we mean
The goal isn’t brevity at all cost
But to convey as much information as possible
About our intentions
In syntax that the browser understands

CSS is unlike anything else… designed for the realities of a flexible, multilingual, multi-device web.

— Rachel Andrew

The Way We Talk About CSS

Write CSS
Not too much
Mostly Reusable Patterns

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August 22, 2024

Company Workshop