CategoryOpinion Column

October 17, 2013 — Much has been written recently in the ongoing debate between native and HTML5 applications. There are three principal ways to develop a mobile solution: native code, hybrid mobile app, mobile Web app. Developing an application in HTML5 is a way to leverage code across multiple platforms, rather than having to write the entire application from scratch for each platform. Read more…

September 3, 2013 — Progressive enhancement has become a bit of a hot topic recently, most recently with Tom Dale [conclusively showing it to be a futile act, but only by misrepresenting what progressive enhancement is and what its benefits are. Read more…

August 28, 2013 — I have spent nearly a decade experimenting with a single goal in mind: to create scalable, predictably insightful, inspirational environments. I have led creative teams in these environments, and I’m currently doing it as the Director of Web Interface and Development at Astonish (a digital marketing company in Rhode Island, US). Read more…

August 21, 2013 — While srcset as implemented by WebKit doesn’t address to all the responsive images use cases, it does represent a major step toward a long overdue solution—hopefully the first of many. Read more…

June 14, 2013 —

Editor’s note: Please note that this article explores an entirely hypothetical scenario, and these are opinions, some of which you may not agree with. However, the opinions are based on current trends, statistics and existing technology. If you’re the kind of designer who is interested in developing the future, the author encourages you to read the sources that are linked throughout the article.

February 14, 2013 — When I think about where we are with the Web in comparison to other media in history, pinpointing it is really hard. Is it like when the Gutenberg Press was just invented and we’re experimenting with movable type, or are we still embellishing pages and slavishly copying books by hand? Read more…

October 30, 2012 — When one goes to the professional, one expects to invest in his expertise. This investment requires no great leap of faith, as it is supported by a trust acknowledged among the general populace and duly warranted by the traditions of the profession. The standards and practices of an individual professional in the fields of, say, law, medicine, or aviation seldom present any great challenge to their clients’ preconceptions. Read more…

July 18, 2012 — We love to tell users that they have done something wrong. We have error messages for everything from poorly formatted telephone numbers to incorrect logins. But what about our user’s successes, do we celebrate them? Do we tell them they are doing something right? Read more…

June 20, 2012 — Have you ever wanted your users to click a link but didn’t know how to get them to act? When some designers run into this problem, they’re tempted to use the words “Click here” on their links. Read more…

June 19, 2012 — Classes, classes, classes everywhere. What if we don’t need CSS classes at all? What if we stopped worrying about how many classes we’re using and what we should be calling them and just finished with them once and for all? Read more…