Super Volatile

Krzysztof Szafranek's link blog

Hi, I'm Krzysztof and I make websites.
When I'm not making websites, I read these.
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webdesign

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Dec 31 / 2:41pm

How the Boston Globe Pulled Off HTML5 Responsive Design

I think up until now it has only been used in blogs and portfolios and things like that. The pieces have been there but it just hasn't been put together. I think it is also having a client that is that this is brave enough to say that this important for their business and makes the leap. Because it does take more time and more testing and things like that than your typical Web developer that can just throw something together.
more on readwriteweb.com

Badly edited but technically interesting interview with the people behind responsive redesign of BostonGlobe.com. Unfortunately, Ethan Marcotte, who invented the term “responsive design” and participated in the project too, didn't take part in the interview.

Filed under: responsive design   webdesign  
 
Nov 20 / 1:45pm

Reader redesign: Terrible decision, or worst decision?

The only thing left with any color of consequence it the obscenely red subscribe button in the top left, which in keeping with the spirit of prioritizing the exactly wrong thing -- you don't even need to use very often.
more on brianshih.com

Former PM of Google Reader brutally criticizes the recent redesign.

Filed under: google reader   webdesign  
 
Nov 6 / 1:26pm

My offer to Google Reader

And so I put my resources where my mouth is. As the former lead designer for Google Reader, I offer my services to Google, rejoining for a three month contract in order to restore and enhance the utility of Google Reader, while keeping it in line with Google’s new visual standards requirements. I will put my current projects on hold to ensure that Google Reader keeps its place as the premier news reader, and raises the bar of what a social newsreader can be.
more on fury.com

“Google has politely declined my offer.”

Filed under: google reader   webdesign  
 
Aug 16 / 12:21am

I don’t care about Responsive Web Design

Web design is responsive design, Responsive Web Design is web design, done right.

And that’s why I don’t care about Responsive Web Design.

more on stuffandnonsense.co.uk

Short and to the point view on responsive design by Andy Clarke.

Filed under: webdesign  
 
Jul 31 / 9:05pm

20 things that drive web developers crazy

We should hang out more, so during QA don't use bug tracking software. Come sit with us for an entire day and point out changes you want made over our shoulders. Use the opportunity for some impromptu design updates as well.
more on netmagazine.com

Aaah, communication between designers and developers...

Filed under: webdesign   webdevelopment  
 
May 28 / 12:33am

Quitting web design

So thanks in part to working with Jeffrey, I quit doing web design and never looked back.
more on brianalvey.com

How Zeldman's Designing With Web Standards made a person quit web design profession.

Filed under: webdesign  
 
Dec 21 / 2:53pm

Style versus design

Designers driven by Style can succeed if they are lucky enough to pick and choose projects that benefit from their stylistic obsessions. Most web designers do not have that luxury. But that doesn't stop them from applying the stylistic vocabulary of leading designers to the projects they do have to work on. And so we end up with e-commerce sites that resemble rave flyers, and informational sites embellished with occasionally dazzling but more frequently misguided and inappropriate intros.
more on adobe.com

Zeldman's article from 1999, updated in 2005, recently got some attention again as being up to date as in the year of its publication. Fortunately, I think it's now obsolete and the web has moved on. And all that thanks to the impassionate power of money. Clients now expect return from their investments and websites that don't meet down-to-earth goals go out of business.

Filed under: webdesign  
 
Sep 22 / 1:11am

Dark Patterns: User Interfaces Designed to Trick People (Presented at UX Brighton 2010)

more on slideshare.net

Detailed analysis of web design patterns invented to trick users into spending money in ways these users didn't plan. Ryanair gets honorable mention.

Filed under: UX   webdesign  
 
Sep 4 / 4:39am

‘UX Professional’ isn’t a Real Job

A web site or app should be the product of a Web Designer and a Web Developer (who occasionally are the same person, as demonstrated by Shaun Inman). Anyone else who is added into this equation is a waste of money and time.
more on thinkvitamin.com

Ryan Carson on UX designers.

Filed under: UX   webdesign  
 
Aug 22 / 7:54pm

Typograph – Scale & Rhythm

Of course, good typesetting is something more than selecting a series of sizes, just as music consists of something more than well-chosen notes. Rhythm, in particular, enables a sequence of notes to beat with musical life, and tempo sustains their wit. It is much the same for the world of letters.
more on lamb.cc

An excellent and practical explanation of typographic rhythm in web design.

Filed under: typography   webdesign