<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <style> button { position: absolute; border: 1px solid blue; margin: 1px; padding: 0; writing-mode: vertical-rl; } div { position: absolute; background: yellow; } </style> </head> <body> <button style="top:0px"><img src="" width="20" height="80"></button> <button style="top:100px"><img src="" width="80" height="20"></button> <!-- solid-color <div>s that should completely cover the buttons above, provided they size themselves properly for their <img> content --> <div style="top:0px; width:40px; height:90px;"></div> <div style="top:100px; width:100px; height:40px;"></div> </body> </html>