MailChimp’s online writing style guide is a fantastic example of thinking about how users feel in different situations when they are getting communication, and how the writing should work in each situation.
November 4, 2011
Items of Interest
Page 37
Luke Wroblewski reflects on the last year and a half of multi-device web design, which has been an incredibly fast-moving conversation, and compiles an overview and set of resources.
November 1, 2011
“It’s no surprise that deception appears in web user interfaces; what is surprising is how little we talk about it. All the guidelines, principles, and methods ethical designers employ to design usable websites can be subverted to benefit business owners at the expense of users. Study the dark side so you can take a stand against unethical web design practices and banish them from your work.”
November 1, 2011
A solid, elegant JavaScript-based solution for creating an expanding text area in a web form. Useful when we don’t know how much will be written and the layout needs to be compact.
November 1, 2011
a list apart / css / design / forms / javascript
Visualizing the fragmentation of Android devices. Indicates, especially, how soon the devices stop getting updates.
October 27, 2011
“We’re really good at criticizing things. We can spot the flaws instantly. But that’s different than a critical exploration of what we’re trying to do. Where we learn what it takes to make a great design. Where we explore both the problem space and the possible design solutions.”
October 27, 2011
“So, dear friends, at Capitol Hill and in the White House and on Wall Street. To media moguls at The New York Times, CNN, and even The Daily Show: Be patient. It isn’t the right time yet for demands. This is a new paradigm, a new road we are walking. This occupation may look like those of yesteryear, but it is not. This is a revolution that is shaping not just policy and what we do, but process and how we do it. This is the moment that social justice organizations and community groups that have labored late into the evening trying to reach consensus have waited for. This is the moment that awkward and difficult anti-oppression trainings and nonviolence teach-ins have prepared for.”
October 27, 2011
How and why to establish and evolve a site’s design language with a test-driven, semantic, live style guide.
October 26, 2011
“Designers and other UX types are self-reflective sorts. We spend lots of time—perhaps too much time—talking about what design is, how we do it, and what tools we use. However, it seems to me that a critical topic is missing from most of these conversations: UX leadership. If we are to ensure the longevity of individual careers and our profession as a whole, I believe this needs to become a focus in our industry. I’ll explain why.”
October 26, 2011
In her presentation at An Event Apart in Washington DC 2011 Karen McGrane discussed the need for structured content in Web sites. These are Luke Wroblewski’s notes from that presentation. It seems like this is a deeply necessary conversation.
October 25, 2011
an event apart / cms / content strategy / design / development