❡Launch - Blueprint, a CSS framework
After reading an article by Jeff Croft on frameworks for designers, I started looking at the existing CSS frameworks, trying to find one that was right for me.
Never again was I to repeat the tedious task of creating a grid from scratch, defining default typography, or battling with inconsistent default browser CSS.
The only viable option I found was the Yahoo UI Library, but with its dozens of files, weighing in at a hefty 11mb (archived), YUI is just way too bloated for what I want from a designers framework.
(YUI is still a great framework though, and there’s lots to learn from going through its impressive code.)
Presenting Blueprint
Not happy with what I had found, I began writing my own CSS framework, and, after a while, figured that this was something others might find useful as well. So today, I’m releasing Blueprint: a light-weight, easy to use framework for CSS development.
(And when I say light-weight, I mean it. It’s almost too small to be called a framework.)
Here’s some of the features Blueprint brings to the table (not <table>, mind you):
- An easily customizable grid
- Some default typography
- A typographic baseline
- CSS reset for default browser styles
- A stylesheet for printing
- No bloat of any kind
The framework has only five CSS files, making it a light, refreshing breeze compared to the tornado that is YUI. All you have to do is include two CSS files (screen.css and print.css) in the <head> of each HTML file, and you’re ready to go.
Blueprint is still in early development, so you shouldn’t use it any projects of importance just yet. I, however, am using it in all my new projects, fixing bugs as they appear. In other words, new versions should be released quite often.
Get your, got mine
If you’re still interested, head over to the Blueprint site to see an example, read the quick tutorial, or just grab yourself a copy. Oh, and please make sure to check out the “credits” section.
If anyone would like to contribute suggestions, bug reports, or even better, bug fixes, I’d love to hear from you: olav at bjorkoy dot com.
~ 03 Aug 2007