Why proportional layouts are essential for responsive designs

Whist media queries are incredibly powerful we are now aware of some limitations. Any fixed width design, using only media queries to adapt for different viewports will merely "snap" from one set of CSS media query rules to the next with no linear progression between the two. From our own experience in Chapter 2, Media Queries: Supporting Differing Viewports, where a viewport fell between the fixed-width ranges of our media queries (as may be the case for future unknown devices and their viewports) the design required horizontal scrolling in the browser. Instead, we want to create a design that flexes and looks good on all viewports, not just particular ones specified in a media query. I'll cut to the chase. (See what I did there? It's a film-based saying to match our film-based site… No? I'll get my coat…) We need to switch our fixed, pixel-based layout to a fluid proportional one. This will enable elements to scale relative...