Building with a lightness of touch

I’m a few weeks into a daunting client project. My design direction has been signed off, and I’m currently laying front-end foundations.

I recently attended WDC Bristol where I caught a timely talk from Andy Bell called Be the browser’s mentor, not its micromanager. And I feel fortunate, because Andy’s triggered something of a reset.

I’m using what I learned from his presentation to underpin this scary client build with a strikingly efficient CSS-led methodology that asks the browser to do most of the work, and it feels so undeniably appropriate and refreshing. The WDC video isn’t online yet, so here’s the All Day Hey version.

If, like me, you despair at the tech stacking and JavaScriptification of everything, shut that out and pay attention to those who understand the material of the web, its inherent resilience and efficiency. We’re lucky that principled voices still advocate for simple and inclusive methods because building with efficiency and a lightness of touch makes the work feel meaningful and, sometimes, fun.

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