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World Congress 2022 • Jun 15, 2022

Can CSS recreate Tufte's designs?

Håkon Wium Lie

Can modern CSS replace InDesign for high-end print publishing? Discover how to programmatically recreate Edward Tufte’s famously complex book layouts using just HTML and CSS.

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#1 about 2 min

Recreating complex print layouts with CSS technologies

How standard web formats can replace expensive design software for generating high-quality printed publications.

#2 about 4 min

Bridging scientific structure and typography with CSS

The historical evolution from early unstyled web pages to the adoption of print-inspired cascading style sheets.

#3 about 5 min

Establishing physical book layouts with CSS paged media

Using CSS rules to define physical document dimensions, margin scales, and dynamically generated running headers.

#4 about 7 min

Structuring side notes and figures using page floats

Extending baseline float declarations to reliably position elements against physical page edges and designated margin spaces.

#5 about 4 min

Spanning continuous images across a two-page printed spread

Generating selectable PDF elements and leveraging duplicate overlap hacks to simulate smooth image continuity across separated physical pages.

#6 about 2 min

Recognizing the limitations of CSS for optical alignment

Why manual human adjustments remain necessary for fine-tuning layout elements that appear visually flawed despite mathematical accuracy.

#7 about 4 min

Adapting complex print configurations for interactive screen browsing

Applying responsive behavior and supplemental scripts to collapse static print margins into accessible screen interactions.

#8 about 3 min

Automating typography adjustments with CSS text replacements

Injecting specialized Unicode punctuation using automated style substitution to enforce strict typographic standards.

Matching moments

3:31 min

Applying CSS techniques to printed book typography

Håkon Wium Lie · World Congress 2021

3:05 min

Formatting physical books and the aesthetic impact of CSS

Håkon Wium Lie · World Congress 2021

58 sec

Formatting printable documents with page media CSS

Chris Heilmann Chris Heilmann +2 · LIVE

9:28 min

Audience questions on design control and printed CSS standards

Håkon Wium Lie · World Congress 2021

2:04 min

Introduction to modern CSS capabilities for designers

Onur Gumus · LIVE

2:55 min

Evaluating the future utility of CSS Houdini web standards

Tanja Ulianova · World Congress 2023

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