CSS Zen Garden

The story

The CSS Zen Garden is a World Wide Web development resource built to demonstrate what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design. It launched in May 2003. Check the creator’s notes here.

How I got this challenge!

While I was looking for a new role, Shihan boss invited me to his office to discuss an opportunity at Deligram. He proposed me to take the challenge, so he can test my designing ability before hiring me.

The task is simple — take the challenge. And let me tell you, there are already 216+ design submissions from talented designers worldwide.

The challenge rules — were straightforward yet incredibly demanding:

• First submit a design.
• Write CSS to implement it.

But here’s the twist — I couldn’t change a single line of the HTML markup. All the magic had to happen with CSS alone, transforming the same static HTML into something entirely unique and visually stunning.

The design

As part of the process, I started by submitting my design concepts for mobile and desktop views, as per the discussion with Shihan bhai. After the design was reviewed and accepted, I began working on the CSS.

You can check out the live version here.

Here’s the final design:

Why this matters

The CSS Zen Garden isn’t just a test of technical skill—it’s a creative challenge that pushes you to think outside the box. It taught me how to work within constraints while still delivering a beautiful and functional design.

If you’re ready to push your skills or just want to explore creative design challenges like this, I’d love to hear from you!

Let me know if you’re stuck on anything or want to brainstorm design ideas together. Let’s make something amazing!