Part 4
Blueprint CSS

Remember how we used Compass to shortcut some cross-browser issues? Compass also helped with mixins for various tasks, such as shortening text or making a list a bit more exciting.

Blueprint is a framework that goes one step further than Compass—it’s an even more extensive set of mixins that allows you to easily design your own site. Blueprint has many more predefined classes that you use when building a site. Take the caps class that we’ll come across in Task 36, ​Using Predefined Fancy Fonts​. All we need to know is the class name, and Blueprint will sort out all the styling aspects of it for us.

The Blueprint website has a downloadable file containing Blueprint.^[14] We’re only covering a few aspects of Blueprint, but you can find a wiki and discussion forums on the site, where you can ask for help if necessary.

Here’s a summary of what we’re going to look at using Blueprint.

• Remember when we looked at how to make columns of text in Compass (Task 33, ​Jazzing Up Layouts with Columns​)? Well, we can do it another way using Blueprint. To see how, check out Task 35, ​Producing More Two-Column Layouts​.

• Then we’ll look at some predefined font styles that come with Blueprint in Task 36, ​Using Predefined Fancy Fonts​.

• Finally, we’ll look at ways to improve button aesthetics in Task 37, ​Making Beautiful Buttons​.