For far too long we’ve been forced to reuse layout patterns that have worked in the past, creating a web full of sites that all look the same. Lack of browser support, no true layout system, and designers who are forced to make safe decisions for budget or timeline reasons have led us to create work that is rarely creative nor inspiring.
I’ve spent years exploring how we can make the web a more unique space. Many CSS properties have been overlooked, but support has grown and many of these features are available now or can be used as enhancements. One of these new features is CSS Grid Layout, which will play a major role in layout design. Having a true, 2 dimensional grid will give our layouts much more flexibility and it is on us to explore the possibilities.
12. ‘‘ Douglas Adams
I love the whooshing noise they
make as they go by.
I love deadlines.
13.
14. craft & create
Artist
Spotlight
Shyama Golden
Shyama Golden,1
known for her huge,
humorous paintings, has transitioned from
being a graphic designer to an illustrator and,
more recently, from oil paints to the iPad.
interview Elliot Jay Stocks
artwork courtesy of Shyama Golden
D
id you always want to be an illustrator?
Yes—I’ve been drawing ever since I was really
little, but I studied graphic design when I went to col-
lege, and pretty much worked solely on graphic design
for 10 years after that. However, the school I went to
was really focused on studio art; it was more traditional,
I think, than most schools. I did a lot of screen printing
too, which I love because it uses both the problem-
solving skills of a designer and the drawing skill of an
illustrator. I stuck with graphic design for a really long
time, but there was always a part of me that wanted to
draw more.
Recently I’ve transitioned into doing that: these days
I do branding and identity design as a part-time job, and
spend most of my time doing illustration. Even with
80
1. shyamagolden.com
111. row - fill in each row in turn, adding new rows as necessary
column - fill in each column in turn, adding new columns as necessary
dense - fill in holes earlier in the grid if smaller items come up later
sparse | dense & row | column
grid-auto-flow
142. Wilson Miner
“When We Build”
‘‘We’re actually in the
process of building an
environment where we’ll
spend most of our time for
the rest of our lives …