The web is fundamentally different from other platforms, built around a radical political vision for resilience, adaptability, and user control. With that vision under threat, the Cascade takes on an almost absurd task – styling unknown content, with unknown collaborators, on an infinite and unknowable canvas, across browsers, languages, writing modes, and device interfaces.

This talk is a dive into the origins of the web, and CSS in particular – the design constraints, the range of strange proposals, and how we got where we are. By the end, we have a better understanding of the cascade, and see the ‘CSS is Awesome’ meme in a new light.

Micro interactions are the subtle, yet powerful details that bring user interfaces to life. From a button’s hover effect to a loading animation, these small moments shape the overall user experience.

In this talk, Julia will explore different types of micro interactions, how to add them to a design system, and discuss how to balance functionality with delight. Whether you're a designer, or developer, you'll find something interesting for you.

CSS hasn't stopped advancing, and 2025 doesn't show any signs of stopping. It's impossible for anyone to be completely up to date with all these CSS toys, but this talk is a huge step towards fixing that!

We won't go deep, but Adam will go wide, and you'll leave inspired and excited for all the new tools you learned the web platform is providing.

Let's take a little time to discuss the future of CSS together. Bring your questions, and let's get the discussion going!