Four Ways To Improve Your Projects
March 23, 2024•443 words
created_at: 2016-06-11 17:08:05
This past year has been jammed back with new tools, tricks, and packages to
fill up our build processes including. It seemed like we talked about React
and PostCSS the most. SVG became a norm instead of some weird thing that
nobody used.I want to break out and list some things that I want to use and
some things I use on a regular basis.ColorsOne thing that I always struggle
with is making a great color palette. This is one of the main things that I
like to try and nail down before I start a project because it is one of those
things I feel like I never get right. There are two tools that help
me:Colorhunt - Find color pallets quick and easy Blend - Generate simple and
beautifulgradientsGrid SystemIf a project were small in size and just needed
to be a page or two, I would usually load in Foundation or Bootstrap just to
get the grid. But if the project is large enough it would be something that I
would like to have more control over.The grid system you use can be the most
important part of your project. It could add a lot of bloat and weight to your
project.Neutron - Sass framework that is flexible and creates semantic website
layoutsMilligram - Minimalist CSS frameworkFlexboxIt is now time to get to
know Flexbox. News came down recently that Microsoft is killing support for
IE8, 9, and 10. We can now start looking at some features that we once labeled
as "experimental" and can use these things in production.Here are a few
resources to get you started and get working with Flexbox.What Is Flexbox? -
An excellent overview of Flexbox spec.Flexbox Froggy - A game for moving
FlexboxFlexbox- A massive roundup of different Flexbox linksPostCSSPostCSS is
a tool for transforming CSS with JS plugins. It has been taking everyone by
storm this past year. It has a lot of the right elements of other
preprocessors, but it's very easy to write your plugins.The ecosystem is rich,
and there are many different functions that could be added to your projects
and make it work for you. PostCSS feels like the future of CSS. It is
something that you should spend some time using this year.Plugin Boilerplate -
How to make your own postcss pluginPlugin Boilerplate [Catalog of PostCSS
plugins] - A list of awesome postcss pluginsWhats NextSometimes, it feels like
there are so many new things that it is hard to keep up. But sometimes it is
fun to go out and play with the new stuff to get you excited about the craft
again.