Translate X and Y percentage values based on elements height and width?

Question

Translating an elements Y axis 50% will move it down 50% of its own height, not 50% of the parents height as I would expect. How do I tell a translating element to base it\'

Answer 1

Your statement is absolutely right about the percentages coming from the very translated element. Instead of using translate property in your case you should be using absolute positioning to stay relative to the parent div. I absolutely positioned vertically your red div here:(don`t forget about adding position relative to the parent div.It has to be positioned other than static default):

js fiddle pen here

 body {
    margin: 0;
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
    }
 body > div {
    width: 200px;
    height: 200px;
    background: #ff0;
    position: relative;
    }
 body > div > div {
    width: 10%;
    height: 10%;
    -webkit-transform: translateY(-50%);
    background: #f00;
    position: absolute;
    top: 50%;
    }