Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out the easiest/most efficient way to code this. The layout is a basic 1 page portfolio, and the background image is attached.

So far I've been setting it up in a CSS grid system (broken up into 16 vertical divs). Two problems I'm running into (as still quite a newb at coding):

1) how to line up image elements (esp. the brown signs) 'on top' with a specific place on the background image [without absolute positioning-- if possible]

2) on the right hand (menu), how to have an image span 2 rows without shifting other elements around

Attached is a copy of the basic background & layout-- any/all helpful advice greatly appreciated!

16 vertical divs

Wow.. that's a lot, seems like overkill.
An image gallery is essentially just a big list, and unordered or definition lists work very well for this type of thing. Rather than using 16 divs, you might try a list, floating the images.