A week or so ago, I saw (via Twitter), that Twitter released a CSS library called Bootstrap (view the source code). I'm familar with Grid 960px and YUI, but haven't used either of them extensively for any project. I checked out Bootstrap and saw the similarities, as the project description readily acknowledges.

While I have a good eye for design, it is not my forte, and I've gone through several iterations with DemocracyMap's interface, trying to find the right balance and way to organize layouts flexibly as I develop with a readily evolving dataset.

Below is a screenshot of the layout created in a night with Bootstrap. The use was intuitive, orderly, and appears to be pretty easily maintainable. I was able to iterate quickly changing layouts quickly. This was my fourth iteration, playing with sizes of columns and the map, and simplifying the header (title, search, links).

[update] starting to decorate Agencies

[update] fleshing out more City, County, and State levels