Foundation
Spacing units
Formation’s spacing units are based on multiples of 8 to maintain a consistent rhythm when applied to margins, padding, and other dimensions.
Why multiples of 8?
The number 8 is easily broken down into smaller measurements before it approaches sub-pixel units. Additionally, many popular screen sizes are also divisible by 8.
Spacing unit tokens
| Token | Pixels | Rems | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
0 |
0px | 0rem |
|
1px |
1px | .1rem |
|
0.25 |
2px | .2rem |
|
0.5 |
4px | .4rem |
|
1 |
8px | .8rem |
|
1.5 |
12px | 1.2rem |
|
2 |
16px | 1.6rem |
|
2.5 |
20px | 2rem |
|
3 |
24px | 2.4rem |
|
4 |
32px | 3.2rem |
|
5 |
40px | 4rem |
|
6 |
48px | 4.8rem |
|
7 |
56px | 5.6rem |
|
8 |
64px | 6.4rem |
|
9 |
72px | 7.2rem |
|
10 |
80px | 8rem |
|
15 |
120px | 12rem |
|
-1px |
-1px | -.1rem |
|
-0.25 |
-2px | -.2rem |
|
-0.5 |
-4px | -.4rem |
|
-1 |
-8px | -.8rem |
|
-1.5 |
-12px | -1.2rem |
|
-2 |
-16px | -1.6rem |
|
-2.5 |
-20px | -2rem |
|
-3 |
-24px | -2.4rem |
|
-4 |
-32px | -3.2rem |
|
-5 |
-40px | -4rem |
|
-6 |
-48px | -4.8rem |
|
-7 |
-56px | -5.6rem |
|
-8 |
-64px | -6.4rem |
|
-9 |
-72px | -7.2rem |
|
-10 |
-80px | -8rem |
|
-15 |
-120px | -12rem |
|
Using the spacing tokens
In order to keep spacing consistent throughout VA.gov, it is recommended you favor using the units functions instead of hard coding pixels (or relative units) for margins and padding.
In order to access the spacing tokens in your project, you will need to import Formation’s base files into your project files. Here is how this site is doing that.
There are two ways of using the spacing tokens in your code.
Output CSS as REM units
.foo {
margin: units(5);
padding: units(2.5);
}
will compile to:
.foo {
margin: 4rem;
padding: 2rem;
}
Output CSS as PX units
.foo {
margin: units-px(5);
padding: units-px(2.5);
}
will compile to:
.foo {
margin: 40px;
padding: 20px;
}