Articles

Elements Design Guidelines Code Reference Accessibility

Articles

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Last Updated
2.13.0

Articles combine multiple elements to create a comprehensive written work, for example, a commentary on recent market performance.

Elements Design Guidelines Code Reference Accessibility

Anatomy

Articles can include a variety of elements in order to clearly communicate information. The order of initial elements (e.g., the eyebrow, title, deck, and author bar) should remain consistent, but elements that make up the body of the article (e.g., paragraphs, lists, etc.) can be used in whatever order best displays the article’s content. Use Exhibits to add supplementary content—like images, charts or videos—in to an article's written content.

Name	Required	Description
Eyebrow	No	Classifies the article to show its relationship to similar sets of information.
Title	Yes	Communicates the topic of an article to capture the attention of the reader.
Deck	No	Provides further context around the content of an article.
Author Bar	Yes	Displays the identity of the author, metadata about the article, and, when appropriate, additional functionality related to the article.
Paragraphs	Yes	Contain the core written content of an article.
Headings	No	Create hierarchy, breaking article content down into distinct sections.
Unordered Lists	No	Display a series of related pieces of information.
Ordered Lists	No	Display a sequential series of related pieces of information.
Footnote	No	Contains additional text content which is not integral to the meaning of an article but still needs to be included (e.g., legal disclosures).

Elements

Container

The container wraps all of the other elements, providing a max-width of 565px to control the line length of the written content, and centering the content within the available space.

Container

This is the container for all of the article content. It provides a max width and centers the content within the available space.

<article class="mds-article">
    <div class="mds-article__container">
        This is the container for all of the article content. It provides a max width and centers the content within the available space.
    </div>
</article>

The mds-article parent element automatically styles base HTML elements (e.g., <p>, <h1>) etc. When using this element, CSS classes are not needed, except when applying a specific style to override the default.

Eyebrow

Eyebrows classify the article to show its relationship to similar sets of information.

Eyebrow

Stock Analyst Update

<article class="mds-article">
    <div class="mds-article__container">
        <p class="mds-article__eyebrow">
            Stock Analyst Update
        </p>
    </div>
</article>

Title

Titles communicate the topic of an article to capture the attention of the reader.

Default

Morningstar: Snap Probably Not the Next Facebook

<article class="mds-article">
    <div class="mds-article__container">
        <h1>Morningstar: Snap Probably Not the Next Facebook</h1>
    </div>
</article>

By default, the title is the <h1> within an article.

Deck

Decks provide further context around the content of an article.

Default

Morningstar: Snap Probably Not the Next Facebook

<article class="mds-article">
    <div class="mds-article__container">
        <p class="mds-article__deck">Morningstar: Snap Probably Not the Next Facebook</p>
    </div>
</article>

Author Bar

The author bar displays the identity of the author, metadata about the article (e.g. the date the article was published), and, when appropriate, additional functionality related to the article.

Author Bar

Christine Benz

Apr 17, 2017 | 15 min

<article class="mds-article">
    <div class="mds-article__container">
        <div class="mds-article__author-bar">
            <img class="mds-profile-image" src="/images/components/profile-images/[email protected]" alt="false">
            <div class="mds-article__author-bar-text">
                <div class="mds-article__author-bar-author-name">
                    Christine Benz
                </div>
                <div class="mds-article__author-bar-article-info">
                    Apr 17, 2017 | 15 min
                </div>
            </div>
            <div class="mds-article__author-bar-actions">
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</article>

Always use a Profile Image when a photograph of the author is available.

Paragraphs

Paragraphs contain the core written content of an article.

Author Bar

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus id ipsum sed tellus tincidunt auctor non nec ligula. Ut eu elit ultricies justo tempus blandit.

<article class="mds-article">
    <div class="mds-article__container">
        <p>
            Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus id ipsum sed tellus tincidunt auctor non nec ligula. Ut eu elit ultricies justo tempus blandit.
        </p>
    </div>
</article>

Headings

Headings create hierarchy, breaking article content down into distinct sections.

Headings

Heading Large

Heading Medium

Heading Small

<article class="mds-article">
    <div class="mds-article__container">
        <h2>Heading Large</h2>
        <h3>Heading Medium</h3>
        <h4>Heading Small</h4>
    </div>
</article>

Use header sizes to create nested hierarchies, always working from small to large. For example, if you need two levels of hierarchy, use the Small and Medium sizes.
Always use sequential <h#> tags when creating hierarchies within an article; don’t skip through the list (e.g., a title is always <h1>, so any header to follow should be an <h2>, anything nested within that an <h3>, and so on).

Unordered Lists

Unordered lists display a series of related pieces of information.

Unordered Lists

Unordered List Item 1
Unordered List Item 2
- Unordered List Item 3

<article class="mds-article">
    <div class="mds-article__container">
        <ul>
            <li>Unordered List Item 1</li>
            <li>Unordered List Item 2
                <ul>
                    <li>Unordered List Item 3</li>
                </ul>
            </li>
        </ul>
    </div>
</article>

Avoid having more than two levels of hierarchy.

Ordered Lists

Ordered lists display a sequential series of related pieces of information.

Ordered Lists

Ordered List Item 1
Ordered List Item 2
Ordered List Item 3

<article class="mds-article">
    <div class="mds-article__container">
        <ol>
            <li>Ordered List Item 1</li>
            <li>Ordered List Item 2</li>
            <li>Ordered List Item 3</li>
        </ol>
    </div>
</article>

Footnote

Footnotes contain additional text content which is not integral to the meaning of an article but still needs to be included (e.g., legal disclosures).

Ordered Lists

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus id ipsum sed tellus tincidunt auctor non nec ligula. Ut eu elit ultricies justo tempus blandit.

<article class="mds-article">
    <div class="mds-article__container">
        <p class="mds-article__footnote">
            Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus id ipsum sed tellus tincidunt auctor non nec ligula. Ut eu elit ultricies justo tempus blandit.
        </p>
    </div>
</article>

Responsiveness

Articles resize fluidly, however, their content has a max-width of 565px in order to control the line length of the text-based content. Apply the mds-article--responsive modifier class to an article to trigger responsive typographic size, element size, and element spacing adjustments at a 768px viewport width.

Explore Live Demo

An article from the Morningstar Blog shown above and below the responsive breakpoint.

Examples

.COM

This example shows an article that features Links, plus an Exhibit containing a Header and a Data Table.

Explore Live Demo

An article from Morningstar.com.

Morningstar Blog

This example shows an article that features an Exhibit paired with the Title and Deck. When using an Exhibit as an introductory element within an article, use the mds-exhibit--lead modifier class to properly adjust the styling of the surrounding elements.

Explore Live Demo

An article from the Morningstar Blog

Use When

Composing a piece of written content, such as an analyst report on an investment.

Visual Language

By default, article content is centered within the space available to its container.
Exhibits receive a margin-bottom when placed within an article.
Profile Images receive a specific width and height when placed in an article.
Article elements have stack space automatically included to create a consistent vertical rhythm.

Behaviors

Any functionality placed within the author bar should be relate directly to the article.

Editorial

Ensure any written content included in an article has gone through the editorial review process appropriate for your product.
When using Exhibits within an article, always follow their editorial guidelines.

CSS

Class References

Since articles use a parent class to house multiple child elements, they automatically style base HTML elements (e.g., <p>, <h1>, etc.). When using the mds-article parent container, element-specific CSS classes aren’t needed, except when applying a specific style to override the default.

Class	Applies to	Outcome
`mds-article--responsive`	`mds-article`	Triggers responsive typographic size, element size, and element spacing adjustments at a `768px` viewport width.
`mds-exhibit--in-header`	`mds-exhibit`	Removes the `border-top` in the author bar and proportionally adjusts the spacing in cases where an Exhibit is used directly following the Title or Deck of the article.
`mds-article--bold`	`<span>`	Sets the `font-weight: $mds-font-weight-bold`
`mds-article__heading--large`	`<h#>`	Adjusts styling to render a large heading.
`mds-article__heading--medium`	`<h#>`	Adjusts styling to render a medium heading.
`mds-article__heading--small`	`<h#>`	Adjusts styling to render a small heading.

Mixin References

Mixin	Outcome
`@include mds-article-eyebrow();`	Includes eyebrow styles.
`@include mds-article-title();`	Includes title styles.
`@include mds-article-deck();`	Includes deck styles.
`@include mds-article-paragraph();`	Includes paragraph styles.
`@include mds-article-heading-large();`	Includes large heading styles.
`@include mds-article-heading-medium();`	Includes medium heading styles.
`@include mds-article-heading-small();`	Includes small heading styles.
`@include mds-article-ul();`	Includes unordered-lists styles.
`@include mds-article-ol();`	Includes ordered list styles.
`@include mds-article-footnote();`	Includes footnote styles.

Best Practices

Always follow the accessibility guidance for Profile Images and Exhibits when using them within an article.

Implementation

Always use sequential <h#> tags when creating hierarchies within an article; don’t skip through the list (e.g., a title is always <h1>, so any header to follow should be an <h2>, anything nested within that an <h3>, and so on).