Adam Kalsey

This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.

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California Government CSS Design

21 Nov 2003

CalGrants.org, a site that I’ve been working on for the last couple of months has finally launched after many rounds of revisions and copy edits. The site was built in conjunction with design firm THOMAS|ferrous and PR firm Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn. As far as I know, this is the first California state government site that is designed with entirely CSS layout techniques.

The site features an accessible design that allows screen readers, PDAs, and non-graphic browsers to have full access to the content while providing a rich graphic experience to others. All text is resizable and the layout flows to accommodate the size changes.

The headings use a replacement technique that swaps out text headings for graphics in browsers that support it. All non-content images are pulled in through CSS, getting design elements out of the HTML entirely. Since pages of the site are intended to be printed, a print stylesheet was crafted to ensure a quality printed page.

Here’s proof that a CSS site doesn’t need to be the boxy, minimalist designs that are often shown as examples.

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