diff --git a/.bowerrc b/.bowerrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bac96ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.bowerrc
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+{
+  "directory": "vendor/assets/bower_components",
+  "analytics": false
+}
diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index 2549807..97980ae 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -14,10 +14,17 @@ gem 'sass-rails', '~> 5.0'
 gem 'turbolinks', '~> 5'
 gem 'uglifier', '>= 1.3.0'
 
+# assets
+gem 'bourbon'
+gem 'neat'
+gem 'bitters'
+
 group :development do
   gem 'rack-livereload'
   gem 'rails-erd'
   gem 'web-console'
+  gem 'better_errors'
+  gem 'binding_of_caller'
 end
 
 group :development, :test do
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 404f65b..d2ed7ea 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -43,8 +43,19 @@ GEM
     ast (2.3.0)
     awesome_print (1.7.0)
     bcrypt (3.1.11)
+    better_errors (2.1.1)
+      coderay (>= 1.0.0)
+      erubis (>= 2.6.6)
+      rack (>= 0.9.0)
     binding_of_caller (0.7.2)
       debug_inspector (>= 0.0.1)
+    bitters (1.2.0)
+      bourbon (>= 4.2)
+      sass (>= 3.4)
+      thor
+    bourbon (4.2.7)
+      sass (~> 3.4)
+      thor (~> 0.19)
     builder (3.2.2)
     byebug (9.0.5)
     choice (0.2.0)
@@ -119,6 +130,9 @@ GEM
       ruby-progressbar
     multi_json (1.12.1)
     mysql2 (0.4.4)
+    neat (1.8.0)
+      sass (>= 3.3)
+      thor (~> 0.19)
     nenv (0.3.0)
     nio4r (1.2.1)
     nokogiri (1.6.8)
@@ -234,7 +248,10 @@ PLATFORMS
 DEPENDENCIES
   awesome_print
   bcrypt (~> 3.1.7)
+  better_errors
   binding_of_caller
+  bitters
+  bourbon
   byebug
   figaro (~> 1.1.1)
   guard
@@ -248,6 +265,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   listen (~> 3.0)
   minitest-reporters
   mysql2 (>= 0.3.18, < 0.5)
+  neat
   pry-byebug
   pry-rails
   puma (~> 3.0)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 82d0c91..8de62f4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ This application manages quizzes intended to be used as pre-interview skill asse
     * honor RuboCop
     * keep tests green
 * pull --rebase !always `git config --global pull.rebase true`
+* cd vendor/assets/ && bitters install && cd ../..
 * place all required dev seed data in fixtures for rails db:fixtures:load
 
 # Docker
@@ -24,4 +25,3 @@ This application manages quizzes intended to be used as pre-interview skill asse
     - starts up simple server for viewing/demo sans guard
 
 visit http://localhost:3000
-
diff --git a/app/assets/stylesheets/application.css b/app/assets/stylesheets/application.scss
similarity index 76%
rename from app/assets/stylesheets/application.css
rename to app/assets/stylesheets/application.scss
index 0ebd7fe..4928999 100644
--- a/app/assets/stylesheets/application.css
+++ b/app/assets/stylesheets/application.scss
@@ -10,6 +10,15 @@
  * files in this directory. Styles in this file should be added after the last require_* statement.
  * It is generally better to create a new file per style scope.
  *
- *= require_tree .
- *= require_self
  */
+
+@import 'bourbon';
+@import 'base'; // bitters
+@import 'neat';
+
+@import 'core/**/*';
+@import 'atoms/**/*';
+@import 'molecules/**/*';
+// @import 'organisms/**/*';
+@import 'templates/**/*';
+@import 'pages/**/*';
diff --git a/bower.json b/bower.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f607884
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bower.json
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+{
+  "name": "skill-assessment-app",
+  "authors": [
+    "Harish Bhavanichikar",
+    "Jennifer Siegfried",
+    "Derek Montgomery",
+    "Mark Moser"
+  ],
+  "private": true,
+  "dependencies": {
+    "jquery": "1.9.1",
+    "handlebars": "3.0.2",
+    "jquery-validate": "",
+    "tota11y": "",
+    "jquery-mockjax": "^2.1.1",
+    "modernizr-lite": "*"
+  },
+  "ignore": [
+    "**/.*",
+    "node_modules",
+    "bower_components",
+    "test",
+    "tests"
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/config/application.rb b/config/application.rb
index 1f12e80..5b0cbe8 100644
--- a/config/application.rb
+++ b/config/application.rb
@@ -11,5 +11,14 @@ module SkillAssessmentApp
     # Settings in config/environments/* take precedence over those specified here.
     # Application configuration should go into files in config/initializers
     # -- all .rb files in that directory are automatically loaded.
+
+    # bitters
+    config.assets.paths << Rails.root.join('vendor', 'assets', 'base')
+
+    # bourbon
+    config.assets.paths << Rails.root.join('vendor', 'assets', 'bourbon')
+
+    # bower
+    config.assets.paths << Rails.root.join('vendor', 'assets', 'bower_components')
   end
 end
diff --git a/config/initializers/assets.rb b/config/initializers/assets.rb
index 01ef3e6..e012c15 100644
--- a/config/initializers/assets.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/assets.rb
@@ -9,3 +9,5 @@ Rails.application.config.assets.version = '1.0'
 # Precompile additional assets.
 # application.js, application.css, and all non-JS/CSS in app/assets folder are already added.
 # Rails.application.config.assets.precompile += %w( search.js )
+
+Rails.application.config.assets.precompile += ['vendor/assets/**/*']
diff --git a/vendor/assets/javascripts/.keep b/vendor/assets/javascripts/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29..0000000
diff --git a/vendor/assets/stylesheets/.keep b/vendor/assets/stylesheets/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29..0000000