Every day this week, we'll be publishing an article that's been hand picked by our editor, as part of CSS Theme Week.

One of the most commonly used arguments regarding CSS that I hear from designers who don't like web standards is, "CSS designs are so boring. They're too boxy." I can't help but find this statement to be a bit silly. To me, that's like saying buildings built with wood are boxy. An architect can create a boring-looking building. But, using the same tools, an architect can create a stunning work of art. It all depends on creativity and experimentation.

It's true that CSS is heavily reliant upon a grid -- everything flows on x and y axes (and can be positioned as such, much like designs built in Photoshop). However, this doesn't mean that your design has to be boring. If you understand how the grid works, you can fracture or abstract that grid to make your layout more dynamic and interesting. In achieving this goal (while supporting flexibility and maintainability), CSS designs have so much more to offer than table-based layouts.

Before you begin, be sure to download the files that I used to produce these examples, so you can follow along.

Grids and Wireframes

"You have to know the rules before you can break them."

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