cssgridgenerator
Editorial

CSS Grid Portfolio Layout Generator

Project tiles at mixed sizes, with the work you want seen first taking the biggest cell.

Open in
1040px

Drag across the grid to draw an area. Arrow keys nudge, Shift + arrows resize.

space to pan · ⌘scroll to zoom
11fr21fr31fr4
1200px2200px3200px4
feature1 / 1 / 3 / 3
project-a1 / 3 / 2 / 4
project-b2 / 3 / 3 / 4
project-c3 / 1 / 4 / 4

Named areas. The CSS is a picture of the layout, and only the properties that actually change get repeated inside each media query.

.portfolio {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: 1fr;
  grid-template-rows: auto auto auto auto;
  gap: 16px;
  grid-template-areas:
    "feature"
    "project-a"
    "project-b"
    "project-c";
}

.portfolio > .feature { grid-area: feature; }
.portfolio > .project-a { grid-area: project-a; }
.portfolio > .project-b { grid-area: project-b; }
.portfolio > .project-c { grid-area: project-c; }

@media (min-width: 860px) {
  .portfolio {
    grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr;
    grid-template-rows: 200px 200px 200px;
    gap: 20px;
    grid-template-areas:
      "feature   feature   project-a"
      "feature   feature   project-b"
      "project-c project-c project-c";
  }
}

How this layout works

A portfolio is a gallery with an opinion. The difference is that one or two tiles are deliberately larger, and that asymmetry is what stops the page reading as a contact sheet.

Vary the spans, not the gaps. Uneven gutters read as a mistake; uneven tile sizes on an even gutter read as a decision. Everything here sits on one gap value.

At mobile every tile becomes full width and the ordering carries the hierarchy instead of the sizing. Put the strongest project first in the DOM so it leads on both layouts without a reorder.

Every property used here is listed in the CSS Grid cheat sheet, with the reason to reach for it.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make one portfolio tile bigger than the others?
Give it a two-column, two-row span and leave the gap alone. Uneven tile sizes on a consistent gutter read as a decision; uneven gutters read as a bug.
How should a portfolio grid behave on mobile?
One column, with the strongest project first in the DOM. At phone width there is no room for size to carry the hierarchy, so order has to do it — and keeping it in source order means no reordering is needed.
How do I center a grid in CSS?
Use justify-content: center on the grid container to centre the whole grid inside it, and margin-inline: auto with a max-width to centre the container in the page. These are different jobs: the first moves the tracks within the container, the second moves the container itself.
How do I center items inside a CSS grid?
Set place-items: center on the container. That is shorthand for align-items plus justify-items, and it centres every item inside its own cell on both axes. For a single item, use place-self: center on that item instead.
How do I make a CSS grid responsive?
Use grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(260px, 1fr)) and it reflows at every width with no media queries at all. Add breakpoints only when the exact column count matters, or when the layout has to change shape rather than just wrap.
When should I use CSS Grid instead of Flexbox?
Use Grid when things must line up in two directions at once, and Flexbox when content flows along one axis. A page skeleton or dashboard is Grid; a navbar or row of buttons is Flexbox. They nest: Grid for the page, Flexbox inside the cells.

How to use it

  1. Open the pattern

    The portfolio grid loads into the editor already responsive, with every breakpoint set up.

  2. Change the tracks

    Edit the column and row sizes in the Tracks panel. Anything valid in a track list works.

  3. Redraw at another width

    Move the ruler past a breakpoint marker and rearrange. Only the placement changes.

  4. Copy the code

    Take CSS, HTML, Tailwind or a shadcn component. The media queries are already written.

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