Atlas Design

Background atomics

Background atomics are single classes that can be added to other components to affect how their background is rendered.

cssproperty value screensize
background-size 100, 200 n/a
background-image-pattern Applies var(--background-image-pattern) value n/a

Usage

First in order to apply a background pattern, specify the --background-image-pattern variable in a style tag. Then include the background-image-pattern class. Note: if you intend to apply a background color as well, you should ensure your asset is transparent. You can do this by authoring a transparent png, or by adding fill-opacity (try .1) to an existing opaque svg. You may also combine this with background color classes from color atomics.

A confetti background

with fill-opacity=".1" on an svg

HTML 
<section
    class="padding-lg background-image-pattern background-color-primary color-primary-invert"
    style="--background-image-pattern: url('https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/media/background-patterns/pixie-sticks.svg')"
>
    <h2 class="font-size-h2">A confetti background</h2>
    <p>with <code>fill-opacity=".1"</code> on an svg</p>
</section>

Adjusting background sizes

You can adjust the look and feel of your pattern with different background-size values.

background-size-100

background-size-200

HTML 
<section
    class="background-size-100 background-image-pattern padding-lg background-color-primary color-primary-invert"
    style="--background-image-pattern: url('https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/media/background-patterns/plus.svg')"
>
    <p><code>background-size-100</code></p>
</section>
<section
    class="background-size-200 background-image-pattern padding-lg margin-top-xxs background-color-primary color-primary-invert"
    style="--background-image-pattern: url('https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/media/background-patterns/plus.svg')"
>
    <p><code>background-size-200</code></p>
</section>

Theming and accessibility concerns

Be aware that a transparent svg will not be themeable, so while background colors will differ on different themes, your svg or png will not. With semi-transparent greyscale images, this can still look good, but you should ensure you test carefully on different themes to achieve the result you're looking for. Additionally, if your image is not made transparent enough, it may negatively affect the readability (contrast ratio) of text on your background.

background-size-100

HTML 
<section
    class="padding-lg background-color-primary color-primary-invert background-image-pattern background-size-100"
    style="--background-image-pattern: url('https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/media/background-patterns/plus.svg')"
>
    <p><code>background-size-100</code></p>
</section>

Why don't we just inline these SVGs into Atlas?

Keeping svg source code out of Atlas reduces our file sizes, and maintains flexibility for you the developer.

Available classes

List of all available classes:

Atomics 
background-image-pattern
background-size-100
background-size-200

Flying flyout