A List Apart

Responsive Images and Web Standards at the Turning Point

Responsible responsive design demands responsive images—images whose dimensions and file size suit the viewport and bandwidth of the receiving device. As HTML provides no standard element to achieve this purpose, serving responsive images has meant using JavaScript trickery, and accepting that your solution will fail for some users. Then a few months ago, in response to an article here, a W3C Responsive Images Community Group formed—and proposed a simple-to-understand HTML picture element capable of serving responsive images. The group even delivered picture functionality to older browsers via two polyfills: namely, Scott Jehl’s Picturefill and Abban Dunne’s jQuery Picture. The WHATWG has responded by ignoring the community’s work on the picture element, and proposing a more complicated img set element. Which proposed standard is better, and for whom? Which will win? And what can you do to help avert an “us versus them” crisis that could hurt end-users and turn developers off to the standards process? ALA’s own Mat Marquis explains the ins and outs of responsive images and web standards at the turning point. Application Cache is a Douchebag

We’re better connected than we’ve ever been, but we’re not always connected. ApplicationCache lets users interact with their data even when they're offline, but with great power come great gotchas. For instance, files always come from the ApplicationCache, even when the user is online. Oh, and in certain circumstances, a browser won't know that that the online content has changed — causing the user to keep getting old content. And, oh yes, depending on how you cache your resources, non-cached resources may not load even when the user is online. Lanyrd’s Jake Archibald illuminates the hazards of ApplicationCache and shares strategies, techniques, and code workarounds to maximize the pleasure and minimize the pain for user and developer alike. All this, plus a demo. Dig in. Say No to Faux Bold

Browsers can do terrible things to type. If text is styled as bold or italic and the typeface family does not include a bold or italic font, browsers will compensate by trying to create bold and italic styles themselves. The results are an awkward mimicry of real type design, and can be especially atrocious with web fonts. Adobe’s Alan Stearns shares quick tips and techniques to ensure that your @font-face rules match the weight and styles of the fonts, and that you have a @font-face rule for every style your content uses. If you’re taking the time to choose a beautiful web font for your site, you owe it to yourself and your users to make certain you’re actually using the web font — and only the web font — to display your site’s content in all its glory. Content Modelling: A Master Skill

The content model is one of the most important content strategy tools at your disposal. It allows you to represent content in a way that translates the intention, stakeholder needs, and functional requirements from the user experience design into something that can be built by developers implementing a CMS. A good content model helps ensure that your content vision will become a reality. Lovinger explains how to craft a strong content model and use it to foster communication and align efforts between the UX design, editorial, and technical team members on your project. Tinker, Tailor, Content Strategist

What does content strategy mastery look like? As in any field, it comes down to having master skills and knowing when to apply them. While there are different styles of content strategy (from an editorial and messaging focus to a technical and structural focus), the master content strategist must work with content from all angles: messaging architecture and messaging platforms; content missions and content management. Above all, she must advocate for multiple constituents, including end users, business users, stakeholders, and the content vision itself. Rachel Lovinger shares the skills that go into achieving CS mastery. Getting Clients

Co-founder of Mule Design and raconteur Mike Monteiro wants to help you do your job better. From contracts to selling design, from working with clients to working with each other, his new book from A Book Apart, released today, is packed with knowledge you can’t afford not to know. A List Apart is pleased to present an exclusive excerpt from Chapter 2 of Design Is a Job. Dive into Responsive Prototyping with Foundation

There are hundreds of devices out there right now that can access the full web, as Steve Jobs once put it. They come with different capabilities and constraints, things like input style or screen size, resolution, and form. With all these devices set to overtake traditional desktop computers for web traffic next year, we need tools to help us build responsively. Jonathan Smiley shows how to dive into responsive design using Foundation, a light front-end framework that helps you rapidly build prototypes and production sites. Style Tiles and How They Work

How do you involve your client in a successful design process? Many of our processes date back to print design and advertising. It’s time we evolved our deliverables to make clients a more active participant in the process. The style tile is a design deliverable that references website interface elements through font, color, and style collections delivered alongside a site map, wireframes, and other user experience artifacts. Learn how style tiles can align client and designer expectations, expedite project timelines, involve stakeholders in the brainstorming process, and serve an essential role in responsive design. Artistic Distance

Pimpin’ ain’t easy; neither is self-critique. If you are passionate about what you create, it is impossible to completely disassociate yourself from your work in order to objectively evaluate and then improve it. But the ability to achieve “artistic distance”—that is, to attain a place that allows you to contemplate your design on its own merits—will enable you to improve your own work immeasurably and, ultimately, to cast off the immature shackles of ego. Learn to let your work shine by letting go of it. Acquire the knack of achieving artistic distance. The Best Browser is the One You Have with You

The web as we know and build it has primarily been accessed from the desktop. That is about to change. The ITU predicts that in the next 18–24 months, mobile devices will overtake PCs as the most popular way to access the web. If these predictions come true, very soon the web—and its users—will be mostly mobile. Even designers who embrace this change can find it confusing. One problem is that we still consider the mobile web a separate thing. Stephanie Rieger of futurefriend.ly and the W3C presents principles to understand and design for a new normal, in which users are channel agnostic, devices are plentiful, standards are fleeting, mobile use doesn’t necessarily mean “hide the desktop version,” and every byte counts.

accessibility web - Google News

Appliance Repair Business in Houston, TX, Works with Online Marketing Firm to ... - PR.com (press release)
Fri, 18 May 2012 07:09:06 GMT

Appliance Repair Business in Houston, TX, Works with Online Marketing Firm to ... PR.com (press release) Locally owned and operated company Family Over Everything Repairs has announced a partnership with local online marketing specialist Prospect Genius that will boost the company's Web visibility and accessibility. The move is intended to make the ... and more »

Technology accessibility is improving, but big challenges lie ahead - Phys.Org
Wed, 16 May 2012 19:08:10 GMT

Technology accessibility is improving, but big challenges lie ahead Phys.Org Smith's company Anikto (the word is Greek for "Open") has for years been advocating more accessible web design, hardware and software. In recent years (he's been blogging on the subject since 2004), he's finding that the somewhat broad concept is ... and more »

Internet Society: Treaties Like ACTA Won't Solve Piracy - ReadWriteWeb
Thu, 17 May 2012 17:10:57 GMT

ReadWriteWeb

Internet Society: Treaties Like ACTA Won't Solve Piracy ReadWriteWeb Newly reinstalled Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed what he perceives to be a plain and simple solution to a host of Internet problems, including piracy and freedom of accessibility. Essentially, Mr. Putin would redeclare the Internet a ...

The Facebook IPO Drinking Game - Huffington Post
Thu, 17 May 2012 18:55:44 GMT

The Facebook IPO Drinking Game Huffington Post Our final SoLoMo app (and hopefully the last time I will ever have to write "SoLoMo" ever again) is Ban.jo, which differentiates itself by being available for iPhone AND Android AND on the web. Accessibility! Aside from cross-OS availability, ... and more »

SEO Workers announces the launch of its new Responsive Web Design service - PR Leap (press release)
Fri, 18 May 2012 07:04:24 GMT

SEO Workers announces the launch of its new Responsive Web Design service PR Leap (press release) That allows the construction of just one website, and providing specific layout information to each individual device according to its display characteristics. Britsios added, "We have long been advocates of making usability and accessibility a ...

Safelite AutoGlass(R) Launches iPhone and Android Apps for Easy Customer ... - MarketWatch (press release)
Thu, 17 May 2012 13:11:55 GMT

Safelite AutoGlass(R) Launches iPhone and Android Apps for Easy Customer ... MarketWatch (press release) Much like the Safelite.com website, the app provides customers with a simple way to assess damage and schedule an appointment. The app covers four types of damage: chipped windshield, cracked windshield, broken side window and broken rear window. and more »

Mobile Sites: Choosing an Implementation Process & Strategies - Search Engine Watch
Thu, 17 May 2012 13:20:15 GMT

Mobile Sites: Choosing an Implementation Process & Strategies Search Engine Watch As mentioned before the HTML5 doctype and clean, compliant, accessible, code is the very first step into your new future proof, responsively designed, semantically correct, progressively enhanced and yes, accessible website. Many articles will ask, ...

TPC Online™ Announces Its 75000th Active Member. - San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Tue, 15 May 2012 17:05:40 GMT

TPC Online™ Announces Its 75000th Active Member. San Francisco Chronicle (press release) The growing popularity of TPC Online™ stems from its accessibility for both trainees and administrators. Trainees now have access to their assigned courses 24 hours a day from any internet-connected computer. They have found that this access allows ... and more »

Shakespeare Library Makes The Bard Accessible - Huffington Post
Tue, 15 May 2012 14:15:41 GMT

Shakespeare Library Makes The Bard Accessible Huffington Post But as the Folger celebrates its 80th anniversary, the staff is rethinking the meaning of "accessibility," taking the library's offerings and pushing them out through an increasing variety of social media channels, Web-based tools and even virtual ...

How public should public records be? Increased availability sparks privacy ... - Phys.Org
Wed, 16 May 2012 11:38:14 GMT

How public should public records be? Increased availability sparks privacy ... Phys.Org Online technology has vastly increased citizens' access to public records such as political campaign contributions and real estate transactions. But that explosion of information availability also sparks privacy concerns and may dampen some people's ...