7 Utility-First Design Tips for 2025
ShiRang Ranganathan
September 12, 2025 • 7 min read
Utility-first design with Tailwind CSS continues to be the most productive way to build UIs. Here are 7 essential strategies and techniques to master class composition in 2025.
1. Use Semantic Class Orderings
Structure your classes in a logical sequence that improves readability and maintenance:
Your content here
</div>
2. Leverage Nested Configurations
Keep your config DRY by using nested structures for common themes:
// tailwind.cong.js
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
brand: {
500: "#3b82f6",
600: "#2563eb"
}
}
}
}
3. Optimize for Print
Use the print variant for clean outputs:
Your printable content
<button class="print:hidden">Print</button>
4. Use Conditional Tailoring
Build reusable component patterns with conditional classes:
Example: Alert Component
Base classes apply to all alerts, additional conditional ones extend based on severity.
5. Add Custom Variants
Extend the default hover/focus with your own variants:
plugins: [
function ({ addVariant }) {
addVariant('onprint', ['print', '&:print']);
}
],
6. Optimize for RTL
Ensure proper right-to-left layout support:
theme: {
direction: 'rtl'
},
7. Combine with PostCSS
Use PostCSS to simplify your class naming conventions:
postcss.config.js
module.exports = {
plugins: [
require('postcss-preset-env'),
],
},