Blueprint a CSS framework
Olav Bjørkøy has created Blueprint a CSS framework which has received a lot of attention is the blogsphere in the past couple of days.
Most web designers and developers have their own adhoc CSS frameworks, but they are usually fairly rough, subject to change and often include bugs.
So a good consistent and bug free CSS framework is a useful tool for a good number of web designers and developers, if they are willing to embrace it. So is Blueprint a framework that could gain acceptance by a large number, well maybe.
What I like about Blueprint:
- Solid typography
- Grid structure, to form basis of site building.
What I don’t like about Blueprint:
- Font size is based on pixels, I prefer ems because of problems with fixed font size IE6 and below and text zoom in IE7.
- Grid size is fixed in pixels and not related to vertical rhythm.
I hope Blueprint will continue to grow and develop into a solid framework. In the meantime I will keep using my adhoc framework. It is far less mature that Blueprint, so if you need a base to develop your own framework while using ems and a grid based on a vertical rhythm, use it at your own risk.
Tips
- The base font size 12px and grid size 18px is set is layout.css, delete those lines and site will be elastic.
- Vertical and horizontal spacings should be in units of 1.5em.
- Elastic images should be in multiples of 1.5em.
- Elastic flash should be in multiples of 1.5em.
- Add a little javascript and you can have a fluid elastic site.
I will try and keep developing my adhoc framework, just don’ expect the same speed and determination of Olav. I have a WebJam presentation to prepare this weekend.