Tailwind CSS Scrims

Configurable Tailwind plugin for generating scrim utility classes.

What are Scrims?

In photography, a scrim is something that softens light — from the sun, or a flash — and is typically a piece of fabric, paper or acrylic stretched across a frame.

In UX, a scrim is a design technique (a gradient or overlay) used to make text more legible when overlaid on an image. The kind of visual treatment that is becoming increasingly common in card-based design.

A typical scrim is a neutral gradient that starts about half-way down an image and increases to 30%-40% opacity, creating a subtle darkening effect that provides enought contrast for white text to be legible.

Install

tailwindcss-scrims automatically generates generates scrim class variations for specified directions, distances and gradient densities.

npm install --save-dev tailwindcss-scrims

Usage

// tailwind.js
module.exports = {
  // ...
  plugins: [
    require('tailwindcss-scrims')({
      directions: {
        't': 'to bottom',
        'b': 'to top',
        'r': 'to left',
        'l': 'to right',
      },
      distances: {
        '1/4': '25%',
        '1/3': '33.33333%',
        '1/2': '50%',
        '2/3': '66.66666%'
        '3/4': '75%',
      },
      colors: {
        default: [rgba(0,0,0,0.4), rgba(0,0,0,0)],
      },
      variants: ['responsive', 'hover'],
    })
  ]
  // ...
}

Options

directions (optional)

Default:

{
  't': 'to bottom',
  'b': 'to top',
  'r': 'to left',
  'l': 'to right',
}

This is where you can define the direction — or location of emphasis — for a scrim. i.e. where the scrim color is darkest. Each direction is specified as a key/value pair. The key is used in the utility class name, the value is a valid CSS Gradient direction.

distances (optional)

Default:

{
  '1/4': '25%',
  '1/3': '33.33333%',
  '1/2': '50%',
  '2/3': '66.66666%'
  '3/4': '75%',
}

This defines the distance the scrim covers. i.e. how much of the image is covered by the scrim gradient. Each distance is specified as a key/value pair. The key is used in the utility class name, the value is a valid CSS Gradient 'stop' location.

colors (optional)

Default:

{
  default: [rgba(0,0,0,0.4), rgba(0,0,0,0)],
}

colors define the {start} and {end} colors (including alpha) for a scrim.

variants (optional)

Default:

['responsive', 'hover']

As per the tailwind plugin docs you can also pass variants (responsive, hover, etc.) as an option.

require('tailwindcss-scrims')({
  variants: ['responsive', 'hover'],
})

Example

This configuration:

// tailwind.js
module.exports = {
  // ...
  plugins: [
    require('tailwindcss-scrims')({
      directions: {
        't': 'to bottom',
        'b': 'to top',
      },
      distances: {
        default: '25%',
        '1/2': '50%',
      },
      colors: {
        default: [rgba(0,0,0,0.4), rgba(0,0,0,0)],
      },
      variants: [],
    })
  ]
  // ...
}

Results in the following utilities:

.scrim-t::after: {
  content: " ",
  position: absolute,
  top: 0,
  left: 0,
  width: 100%,
  height: 100%,
  backgroundImage: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(0,0,0,0.4), rgba(0,0,0,0) 25%);
}
 
.scrim-t-1\/2::after: {
  content: " ",
  position: absolute,
  top: 0,
  left: 0,
  width: 100%,
  height: 100%,
  backgroundImage: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(0,0,0,0.4), rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%);
}
 
.scrim-b::after: {
  content: " ",
  position: absolute,
  top: 0,
  left: 0,
  width: 100%,
  height: 100%,
  backgroundImage: linear-gradient(to top, rgba(0,0,0,0.4), rgba(0,0,0,0) 25%);
}
 
.scrim-b-1\/2::after: {
  content: " ",
  position: absolute,
  top: 0,
  left: 0,
  width: 100%,
  height: 100%,
  backgroundImage: linear-gradient(to top, rgba(0,0,0,0.4), rgba(0,0,0,0) 50%);
}