11 · CSS, Mobile-First Flex, Tailwind

Pragmatic styling stack: global CSS tokens, mobile-first flex/grid, and Tailwind when it saves time.

Mental Model

Start mobile-first; grow to tablet/desktop with min-width media queries.
Use global CSS vars for color/spacing; Tailwind only when it speeds up delivery.
Flex for linear flows, grid for complex layouts; keep components layout-agnostic.

Starter Snippets

/* global.css */

:root { --bg:#fff; --ink:#111; --gap:1rem; }

body { margin:0; background:var(--bg); color:var(--ink); }


/* mobile-first */

.stack { display:flex; flex-direction:column; gap:var(--gap); }

@media (min-width:768px) { .stack.row { flex-direction:row; align-items:flex-start; } }


// tailwind.config.js

module.exports = { content: ["./app/**/*.{ts,tsx}"], theme: { extend: {} } };

Rules of Thumb

Reserve Tailwind for utility bursts; keep shared tokens in CSS.
Avoid coupling components to layout; compose with wrappers.
Test on narrow viewports first; add gap/padding tokens before custom values.