Definition

liquid (lik-wid): a substance that flows readily and takes the shape of its container.

Liquid layouts are layouts that fill the browser window. Rather than set a fixed width, they allow the user to control the display, and therefore are not subject to the ongoing question of which screen resolution to support.

Purpose

The purpose of No Resolution is to promote the use of liquid layouts in CSS based design. There are a lot of gallery websites out there, and most of the websites featured are less than 800 pixels wide, while a few are 1000 pixels wide. Liquid layouts are often avoided, and with good reason: it’s hard to design the appearance of a website without control over the dimensions. That being said, No Resolution exists to showcase those websites that have succeeded at liquid design, and serve as a resource to those exploring it. No Resolution includes layouts that are purely liquid (also called fluid), mixed liquid and fixed, elastic, and progressive. You can learn more about liquid design in the Resources section.

Disclaimer

Liquid layouts are great. This is not to say that fixed width layouts are bad. They are just too common. “No Resolution” is not a place to defend or attack liquid or fixed layouts; there are enough places for that kind of discussion.

Criteria

All sites on No Resolution meet the following criteria:

• Valid XHTML/HTML4 and CSS design
• No table based layouts
• Attractive design and clean code

Any form of mixed layout that has at least one variable-width column classifies as a liquid layout. Elastic (em) width sites are also accepted.

Version 5

Version 5 was launched in October of 2007 and saw a radical change in the site, from “Liquid Designs” to “No Resolution.” The design itself is a bit darker and meaner.

Version 4

Version 4 had a starfish and was reminiscent of the beach. It has sand and sea and it’s a lot more colorful than previous versions. Graphics were made with Inkscape and the GIMP.

Version 3

This version was launched on July 23, 2006. It brought a clean, easy-to-read look and a simpler site structure with a rather complex CSS technique for the homepage. It was featured on CSS Mania and The Daily Slurp.

Version 2

Liquid Designs was rebuilt, realigned, and redesigned on November 12, 2005. This brought a lot of changes, including a new domain, attractive layout, simplified gallery, and better structured news and archives. The design fared well too. It was featured on CSS Collection, CSS Smooth Operator, CSS Mania, netculture, and Light on Dark.

Version 1

Version 1 was launched in September, 2005. It was ugly.

Credits

No Resolution was created by Christian Montoya and Vihutuo, who still believes that liquid design is the way to go. Check out his other sites at the portal page.