Master CSS pixels for Retina displays

  • Knowledge needed: Basic HTML5 and CSS
  • Requires: Text editor, image processor, HD smartphone or tablet
  • Project Time: 1 hour

Above is a screenshot of an entire Windows 98 desktop, circa 1999, on a contemporary 24in iMac running OS X Lion; it looks like a postage stamp. Changes in screen resolution effect changes in web design. Designers can now deploy a barrage of techniques unheard of in the 90s. We use well-hinted TFT-compatible fonts and vertical rhythms for typography, and craft grid layouts against duodecimal metrics for clean organisation. Well-balancedback grounds and stunning logos spring from our 24-bit colour-wheel based palettes and increasingly complex gradient techniques.

Resolutions are increasing as screen sizes, in many places, shrink. Ultra-high pixel density displays, smartphones and tablets provide a new environment in which to foster fresh techniques. But the principles pixel density techniques are based on are older than many contemporary web developers may realise.

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The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Ecommerce Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Editor, Digital Art and 3D Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq. 

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