March meetup

**March Meetup — devs.gent**
Location: iO | Digital Agency, Raymonde De Larochelaan 15, Gent
Hosted by: The devs.gent team
Food & drinks provided
Come hang out with fellow devs for two sharp, practical talks on modern CSS & View Transitions — plus time to chat and connect afterward.

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️Agenda
19:00 Doors open — food & drinks
19:40 Beyond the Spec: Cranking View Transitions up to 11 (Safely, Maybe) — Bramus Van Damme
20:30 CSS State Machine — Brecht De Ruyte
21:15 Socializing
22:00 Wrap-up

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Talk 1 — Beyond the Spec: Cranking View Transitions up to 11 (Safely, Maybe)
Bramus Van Damme (Chrome DevRel @ Google)

Abstract:
Ever wondered what happens when you push the View Transition API beyond its documented limits? This talk throws caution to the wind and explores the wild side of View Transitions, cranking them up to 11. We'll combine them with Scroll-Driven Animations, trigger them automatically with MutationObserver, and even resurrect classic Internet Explorer’s Page Transitions using this modern API. Prepare for unconventional use cases, unexpected results, and a healthy dose of experimentation as we venture beyond the spec. If you're a web developer who loves to tinker and push boundaries, this is the talk for you.

About Bramus: Bramus Van Damme is a web developer from Belgium. From the moment he discovered view-source at the age of 14 (way back in 1997), he fell in love with the web and has been tinkering with it ever since.

As a Chrome Developer Relations Engineer at Google, he spreads the word on CSS, UI, and DevTools. Before joining Google, Bramus worked as a freelance developer in various front- and backend roles. For seven years he also was a College Lecturer Web & Mobile, educating undergrad students all about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — in that order.

In his spare time Bramus likes to go Scuba Diving. In 2016 he became a certified PADI Master Scuba Diver, and in 2017 he became a professional dive leader after finishing his PADI Divemaster training (Certification #405966).

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Talk 2 — CSS State Machine
Brecht De Ruyte

Abstract:
For years, managing UI state on the web meant reaching for JavaScript. But in 2026, CSS has quietly become a state machine of its own. Pseudo-classes track interaction. Media queries read environment and user preferences. :has() observes the DOM tree. Container queries respond to size, style, scroll position, and even anchor placement. Scroll-driven and scroll-triggered animations react to where the user is on the page. And with sibling-index(), CSS can now respond to what's happening next door.

In this atypical "overview" talk, you'll get a practical tour of the CSS features that let you keep and respond to state — from things you can ship today to the cutting-edge stuff landing in browsers right now. Welcome CSS, to the state machine.

About Brecht:
Brecht De Ruyte is a Belgium-based, self-taught front-end developer with a deep-rooted passion for UX and design. By day, he crafts digital experiences at iO; by night, he helps shape the future of the web as a Google Developer Expert and a contributor to the W3C Open UI community. A guest author for Smashing Magazine, Brecht shares his technical deep-dives and UI experiments at utilitybend.com.

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RSVP (limited spots)
We keep spots limited to avoid overcrowding. Please RSVP only if you’re sure you can make it — and cancel early if plans change so someone else can join. Thanks for helping reduce no-shows
Looking forward to seeing you there!