Spacing
Report an Issue
Join the Slack Discussion
We use an 8-point grid to define our spacing, meaning we use multiples of 8, from 4 to 80. We define dimensions, padding and margins of both block and inline elements. Individual elements are positioned relative to each other. Smaller components, such as iconography and typography, can align to a 4-point grid.
Spacing Class Structure
We created responsive margin and padding classes that use the following shorthand for values. These classes are built from a default Sass map in multiples of 8, ranging from 4 to 80, and support divs, paragraphs, and HTML5 elements.
Use this format: <p class="{property}{sides}-{breakpoint variable}-{size}">
Class Values
| Property | Sides | Breakpoint Variable | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| “m” = Margin | “t” = Top | “xs” | “4” = 4px |
| “p” = Padding | “r” = Right | “sm” | “8” = 8px |
| “b” = Bottom | “md” | “12” = 12px | |
| “l” = Left | “lg” | “16” = 16px | |
| “x” = set both *-left and *-right | “xs” | “24” = 24px | |
| “y” = set both *-top and *-bottom | “32” = 32px | ||
| “64” = 64px | |||
| “80” = 80px |
Class Examples
| Class Example | Spacing Size |
|---|---|
| “mb-4” | {Margin}{Bottom}, All Screens, {4px} |
| “ml-xl-4” | {Margin}{Left}, {Extra Large Screens Only}, {4px} 0 Margin on All Smaller Screens. |
| “pr-md-4” | {Padding}{Right}, {Medium Screens and Above}, {4px} 0 Padding on All Smaller Screens. |
Margin Use Example
<h2>Margin</h2>
<p class="mb-2">This sentence has 0.125rem (browser renders to 2px) of margin spacing below it</p>
<p class="mb-4">This sentence has 0.25rem (browser renders to 4px) of margin spacing below it</p>
<p class="mb-8">This sentence has 0.5rem (browser renders to 8px) of margin spacing below it</p>
<p class="mb-12">This sentence has 0.75rem (browser renders to 12px) of margin spacing below it</p>
<p class="mb-16">This sentence has 1rem (browser renders to 16px) of margin spacing below it</p>
<p class="mb-24">This sentence has 1.5rem (browser renders to 24px) of margin spacing below it</p>
<p class="mb-32">This sentence has 2rem (browser renders to 32px) of margin spacing below it</p>
<p class="mb-64">This sentence has 4rem (browser renders to 64px) of margin spacing below it</p>
<p class="mb-80">This sentence has 5rem (browser renders to 80px) of margin spacing below it</p>
<p class="mb-12 mb-md-36 mb-lg-72">This sentence has 12px of margin below it on small screens, 36px of margin on MEDIUM size screens and 72px on LARGE size screens.</p>Padding Use Example
<h2 class="mt-24">Padding</h2>
<p class="pb-2">This sentence has 2px of padding spacing below it</p>
<p class="pb-4">This sentence has 4px of padding spacing below it</p>
<p class="pb-8">This sentence has 8px of padding spacing below it</p>
<p class="pb-12">This sentence has 12px of padding spacing below it</p>
<p class="pb-16">This sentence has 16px of padding spacing below it</p>
<p class="pb-24">This sentence has 24px of padding spacing below it</p>
<p class="pb-32">This sentence has 32px of padding spacing below it</p>
<p class="pb-64">This sentence has 64px of padding spacing below it</p>
<p class="pb-80">This sentence has 80px of padding spacing below it</p>
<p class="pl-md-32">This sentence has 32px of padding spacing to the left on medium screens and above.</p>
The Center Class
We have a class called “mx-auto” that horizontally centers fixed-width block-level content. If the content has display: block; and a set width, our class will set the horizontal margins to auto.
<h2 class="mt-24">Center</h2>
<div class="mt-32 mx-auto" style="width: 250px;">
<p class="mb-12">Centered element with a margin top of 32px. First child paragraph has a margin bottom of 12px.</p>
</div>