Link tags: modes

Can you feel the rhythm‽ · 13 March 2024

Adam makes a very good point here: the term “vertical rhythm” is quite chauvanistic, unconciously defaulting to top-to-bottom writing modes; the term “logical rhythm” is more universal (and scalable).

A long-term plan for logical properties? | Miriam Eric Suzanne

Well, now I’m really glad I wrote that post about logical properties!

We’re not there yet. So how do we get there?

Well, I don’t know for sure – but articles like this are very helpful as we try to work it out!

Design for reading: tips for optimizing content for Reader modes and reading apps

The more I consume content in reading apps, the more I am reminded of the importance and the power of progressive enhancement as a strategy to create resilient and malleable experiences that work for everyone, regardless of how they choose to consume our content.

Top stuff from Sara here!

We have a tendency to always make an assumption about how our readers are reading our content—probably in the browser, with our fancy styles applied to it. But if we make a habit out of thinking about the Web in layers and CSS as an enhancement on top of the content layer, then we can start optimizing and enhancing our users’ reading experiences regardless of their context.

Thinking about the different ways in which users access the Web only shines light on the importance of a progressively enhanced approach to building for the Web. The more we think about the Web in layers and try to improve the experience of one layer before moving to the next, the more resilient experiences we can create. That’s what the essence of progressive enhancement is about.

Why the GOV.UK Design System team changed the input type for numbers - Technology in government

Some solid research here. Turns out that using input type=”text” inputmode=”numeric” pattern="[0-9]*" is probably a better bet than using input type="number".

Modest JS Works | You were never sold on heavy-handed JavaScript approaches. Here’s a case for keeping your JS modest.

The fat JavaScript stacks-du-jour have a lot of appeal. They promise you to be able to do more with less. But what if I want to do less?

This is a terrific little (free!) online book all about modest JavaScript. The second part has practical code, but it’s the first part—all about the principles of staying lean—that really resonates with me.

Don’t build more JS than you can maintain over the long term. If you’re going to be building something for a long time, make sure what you are building will grow with you. Make sure you don’t depend on other people’s work too much, lest you want to keep refactoring your code when the framework you picked goes out of style.

Carson: Textured fluid type - Steve Honeyman

I reckon it’s time for distressed type to make a comeback—CSS is ready for it.

CSS Is So Overpowered It Can Deanonymize Facebook Users

First of all, don’t panic—this browser vulnerability has been fixed, so the headline is completely out of proportion to the reality. But my goodness, this was a clever technique!

The technique relies on luring users to a malicious site where the attacker embeds iframes to other sites. In their example, the two embedded iframes for one of Facebook’s social widgets, but other sites are also susceptible to this issue.

The attack consists of overlaying a huge stack of DIV layers with different blend modes on top of the iframe. These layers are all 1x1 pixel-sized, meaning they cover just one pixel of the iframe.

Habalov and Weißer say that depending on the time needed to render the entire stack of DIVs, an attacker can determine the color of that pixel shown on the user’s screen.

The researchers say that by gradually moving this DIV “scan” stack across the iframe, “it is possible to determine the iframe’s content.”

Getting Started With CSS Layout — Smashing Magazine

Rachel gives a terrific explanation of CSS layout from first principles, starting with the default normal flow within writing systems, moving on to floats, then positioning—relative, absolute, fixed, and sticky—then flexbox, and finally grid (with a coda on alignment). This is a great primer to keep bookmarked; I think I’ll find myself returning to this more than once.

Dark theme in a day – Marcin Wichary – Medium

On Ev’s blog, Marcin goes into great detail on theming an interface using CSS custom properties, SVG, HSL, and a smattering of CSS filters.

I was kind of amazed that all of this could happen via CSS and CSS alone: the colours, the transitions, the vectors, and even the images.

CSS: Current, Soon, Someday (Web Directions Code 2017) // Speaker Deck

Oh, how I wish I could’ve been at Web Directions Code in Melbourne to see this amazing presentation by Charlotte. I can’t quite get over how many amazing knowledge bombs she managed to drop in just 20 minutes!

Photo Toning with Gradients & Blend Modes

This use-case for blend modes is making me thirsty.

Also: look who’s blogging again!