Hui Jing Chen: Position Paper

My name is Hui Jing and I have been experimenting and building demos as well as production sites with various modern layout techniques that allow designs that are more than just standard 12-column based layouts. CSS properties like Grid, Flexbox, object-fit and so on, allow for much better art direction on the web and fully embrace the dynamic nature of this medium.

The topic of discussion I’m proposing is for advanced layout using recent and upcoming CSS innovations, which could possibly tie into responsive design for long-form publications as well.

The following demos demonstrate what is possible on the web today:

• aligning content
• overlapping content
• overlapping content, blend modes
• responsive layout based on viewport
• responsive layout based on viewport

The following demos demonstrate vertical writing on the web:

• ability to toggle between horizontal and vertical layout
• vertical text related features

A key outcome of this workshop would ideally be, for those of us who create for the web to share ideas with those working in digital publishing, and vice versa. For web developers showcase what is now possible with modern CSS, to facilitate discussion on what is useful/desirable for digital publishing in general. Such feedback can aid in the prioritisation of work on the side of the browser vendors and standards authors as well.

Cheers,
Hui Jing