Fluid design is a web design approach where the layout of a website is built using proportional measurements instead of fixed units like pixels. This makes the design adapt seamlessly to different screen sizes and resolutions, ensuring a consistent experience across a wide range of devices. For example, our website https://futuremandigital.com/ utilizes fluid design.
Example Fluid Scaling Code
// top padding that scales from 50px -> 150px based on view width between 375px -> 3840px
padding-top: clamp(3.1250rem, 2.4486rem + 2.8860vw, 9.3750rem);Fluid design provides large benefits to designers, developers, and users. However it can be difficult to get started because it requires a mix of design and development knowledge, along with with some tricky math equations like the example above. Don't fret however, Futureman Digital is here to help.
In an effort to jumpstart fluid design, Futureman Digital has created a variety of tools to help you get started on your own fluid design project. Check out the following to get started
Clamp Calculator: Tools & Visualizers to create/preview your own fluid clamp values
Tailwind Fluid Spacing Library: Futureman Digital's in-house spacing library
Tailwind Clamp Plugin: Futureman Digital's in-house tailwind clamp utility plugin
Proportional Measurements: Layout elements are defined using a combination of percentages, ems, and rems, rather than fixed pixel values. We accomplish this by utilizing the clamp() function of css to scale a style between a floor and a ceiling. For example, a minimum supported browser size (375px), up to a ceiling (4k / 3840px)
Accessibility: When using REM as a scaler in your fluid styling, design elements will scale with a device's font size specifications. This maintains accessibility compliance, while handling device zoom in a more graceful manner than traditional fixed value design.
Responsive Nature: Unlike fixed designs, fluid designs adapt automatically to the size of the user’s screen, offering better usability on devices with varying dimensions.
No Fixed Breakpoints: While responsive design often relies on breakpoints to adapt to screen sizes, fluid design is inherently adaptable without needing predefined steps. However breakpoints are still there if you need them for large layout shifts.
Seamless Scaling: Text, images, spacing and other elements scale fluidly, maintaining their proportions as the viewport changes.
Improved User Experience: Ensures the website looks good and is usable on all screen sizes.
Future-Proofing: More adaptable to new screen sizes and resolutions.
Design Consistency: Maintains the look and feel of the website across devices.
Complexity in Layout: Managing proportions and ensuring elements behave correctly as they resize can be more complex than fixed-width layouts.
Edge Cases: Very large or very small screens may cause design issues if not handled carefully.