What is Tactical Theming?

Well, let's start off with some basic definitions:

Tactic (n.) 1766, from Modern Latin tactica, from Greek taktike (tekhne) "(art of) arrangement," from fem. of taktikos "pertaining to arrangement".

Theming (n.) No matching terms found in the online etymological dictionary (no surprise there), but for our purposes let's define theming as transfering a design from it's source (PSD/prototype) to a set of CSS and/or template files.

Boot camp (n.) By 1941, U.S. Marines slang, said to be from boot (n.) as slang for "recruit," which supposedly dates from the Spanish-American War and is a synecdoche from boots, leggings worn by U.S. sailors.

Tactical theming is just that, the art of arranging the transfer of theme elements. And TTBC is your crash course on the matter, boots!

Three tactics will be discussed:

• Atomic Design - Atomic design (not bomb, we're creating not destroying) is methodology for creating design systems. How do we define the atoms, molecules, organisms that comprise templates and pages, and what are the related best practices (file structure, element definition) for implementing these in your theme.
• Theming without Templates - Yeah, I said it...you got a problem with that, boot?! Yes, all themes have a basic set of templates, and yes, you can modify their HTML, but is this always the best approach? We'll examine an alternative tactic, using Singularity, Panels, DS, and Context to manage layout and keep it consistent.
• Communication - Communicate early and often. Whether working in agile or waterfall, development simply cannot happen in a vacuum. What is possible when themers and devs actually talk to one another? Come to Boot Camp and find out!

Enlist for Tactical Theming Boot Camp and kick your behind into a new paradigm of theming!