Ask HN: Why hasn't a vertical rhythm CSS reset caught on?

3 points

6 years ago

I submitted a link a couple of days ago of a CSS reset that positions your plain HTML elements onto a vertical grid (https://jhildenbiddle.github.io/vertical-rhythm-reset/), to create a vertical rhythm. Here's a link about how vertical rhythm works in general (https://zellwk.com/blog/why-vertical-rhythms/). (I'm not affiliated with either of these links in any way, I just like the concept.)

Implementing vertical rhythm with a CSS reset seems to me like an obviously correct thing to do. To give your raw textual HTML building block of paragraphs, headers, and lists a consistent spacing strategy. But the concept hasn't caught on, why not?

Vertical rhythm appeared on my radar around the same time as the general concept of graphic design grids (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_%28graphic_design%29) which have entirely taken over the in digital-product design. Why aren't vertical grids based on the line height more popular? Or are they popular and just not implemented with a CSS reset?

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