Topics: Culture: Industry
Smart tags and their ilk. Surviving downturns and booms. Corporate news that changes things. (76 articles)
Flash and Standards: The Cold War of the Web
by Dan Mall
Issue 302March 9, 2010
You’ve probably heard that Apple recently announced the iPad. The absence of Flash Player on the device seems to have awakened the HTML5 vs. Flash debate. Apparently, it’s the final nail in the coffin for Flash. Either that, or the HTML5 community is overhyping its still nascent markup language update. The arguments run wide, strong, and legitimate on both sides. Yet both sides might also be wrong. Designer/developer Dan Mall is equally adept at web standards and Flash; what matters, he says, isn't technology, but people.
Training the Butterflies: Interview with Scott Berkun
by Liz Danzico, Scott Berkun
Issue 301February 23, 2010
Whether it’s in front of a huge audience or a handful of executives, smooth public speaking is essential to a successful web design career. Yet most of us are more afraid of speaking in public than we are of death. In a lively give-and-take, Liz Danzico interviews Scott Berkun, author of Confessions of a Public Speaker, for tips on how to prepare for public speaking, how to perfect your timing, and what to do when bad things happen.
Accent Folding for Auto-Complete
by Carlos Bueno
Issue 301February 23, 2010
Another generation of technology has passed and Unicode support is almost everywhere. The next step is to write software that is not just “internationalized” but truly multilingual. In this article we will skip through a bit of history and theory, then illustrate a neat hack called accent-folding. Accent-folding has its limitations but it can help make some important yet overlooked user interactions work better.
The Survey, 2009
by ALA Staff
Issue 298December 15, 2009
For the third year in a row, good citizens of the web, we ask that you take a few minutes to tell us about your professional skills, educational background, career prospects, job benefits, and more.
Getting to No
by Greg Hoy
Issue 294October 20, 2009
A bad client relationship is like a bad marriage without the benefits. To avoid such relationships, or to fix the one you’re in, learn the five classic signs of trouble. Recognizing the never-ending contract revisionist, the giant project team, the vanishing boss and other warning signs can help you run successful, angst-free projects.
Managing Werewolves
by Michael Lopp
Issue 285June 9, 2009
While you’re always optimistic when leading a team, you know that not everyone’s got your back. Liars and poor communicators can wipe out good work faster than a 404 error. Learn how to think critically about verbal and non-verbal behavior and to separate office politics from truth, so you don’t let the Werewolves win.
Filling Your Dance Card in Hard Economic Times
by Pepi Ronalds
Issue 278February 17, 2009
In space no one can hear you scream, and in a global economic meltdown, no industry—not even web design—is safe. But as a web designer, your skills and products are suited to ride out hard times, as long as you stay busy. Learn the seven steps to (relative) security in good times or bad: 1. Keep clients happy. 2. Know your goals. 3. Use your initiative wisely. 4. Communicate. 5. Put in a full day's work. 6. Do it right. 7. Find the love.
Findings from the Web Design Survey, 2008
by ALA Staff
Issue 281April 7, 2009
If we, the people who make websites, want the world to know who we are and what we do, it’s up to each of us to stand up and represent. This year, 30,055 of you did just that, taking time out of your busy work day to answer the detailed questions in the second A List Apart Survey. Find out what we learned about our profession and ourselves.
The Details That Matter
by Kevin Potts
Issue 277February 3, 2009
We no longer lay out pages with composing sticks and straight edges, and design is no longer a trade position requiring a lengthy apprenticeship, but an eye for details is every bit as important today as it was in the early days of graphic arts. Learn the habits of successful designers, who think critically as well as creatively, and who see the forest while never losing sight of the trees.
Getting Real About Agile Design
by Cennydd Bowles
Issue 273December 2, 2008
Agile development was made for tough economic times, but does not fit comfortably into the research-heavy, iteration-focused process designers trust to deliver user- and brand-based sites. How can we update our thinking and methods to take advantage of what agile offers?
Flexible Fuel: Educating the Client on IA
by Keith LaFerriere
Issue 273December 2, 2008
IA is about selling ideas effectively, designing with accuracy, and working with complex interactivity to guide different types of customers through website experiences. The more your client knows about IA's processes and deliverables, the likelier the project is to succeed.
Working From Home: The Readers Respond
by Our Gentle Readers
Issue 270October 21, 2008
We asked. Our gentle readers answered. In A List Apart No. 263 we inquired how you walk the blurry line when you work from home. Here are your secrets—how to balance work and family, maintain energy and focus, get things done, and above all, how to remember the love.
Ten Years
by Jeffrey Zeldman
Issue 269October 7, 2008
When Google was little more than a napkin sketch and the first dot-com boom was not even a blip, we started a magazine for people who make websites. Celebrate A List Apart's first decade. Join Zeldman for a look back at the way we were—and why we were that way. Find out what we've done and who did it with us, peek into our process, and get a clue about what's next.
Understanding Progressive Enhancement
by Aaron Gustafson
Issue 269October 7, 2008
Steven Champeon turned web development upside down, and created an instant best practice of standards-based design, when he introduced the notion of designing for content and experience instead of browsers. In part one of a series, ALA’s Gustafson refreshes us on the principles of progressive enhancement. Upcoming installments will translate the philosophy into sophisticated, future-focused design and code.
Deafness and the User Experience
by Lisa Herrod
Issue 265August 12, 2008
Because of limited awareness around Deafness and accessibility in the web community, it seems plausible to many of us that good captioning will fix it all. It won’t. Before we can enhance the user experience for all deaf people, we must understand that the needs of deaf, hard of hearing, and big-D Deaf users are often very different.
Putting Our Hot Heads Together
by Carolyn Wood
Issue 265August 12, 2008
The web is a conversation, but not always a productive one. Web discussions too often degenerate into whines, jabs, sour grapes, and one-upmanship. How can we transform discussion forums and comment sections from shooting ranges into arenas of collaboration?
The Survey, 2008
by ALA Staff
Issue 264July 29, 2008
Calling all designers, developers, information architects, project managers, writers, editors, marketers, and everyone else who makes websites. It is time once again to pool our information so as to begin sketching a true picture of the way our profession is practiced worldwide.
Walking the Line When You Work from Home
by Natalie Jost
Issue 263July 15, 2008
Working from home as a freelance contractor or remote employee can be a great thing, particularly if you live alone. But what if you have a spouse and/or children at home with you while you work? Every work environment offers distractions, but those who work from home with their families face a unique set of issues—and need equally unique ways of dealing with them.
Why Did You Hire Me?
by Keith LaFerriere
Issue 259May 20, 2008
Landing a new job or client is difficult in this economic climate. Undelivered contractual promises and work environment shortcomings can transform that challenge into a long-term nightmare. Keith LaFerriere shows how to get paid what you're worth; how to fight for control of your projects using management tools corporate cultures respect (even if they don't understand your work); and how to tell when it's time to jump ship.
The Cure for Content-Delay Syndrome
by Pepi Ronalds
Issue 259May 20, 2008
Clients love to write copy. Well, they love to plan to write it, anyhow. On most web design projects, content is the last thing to be considered (and almost always the last thing to be delivered). We’ll spend hours, weeks, even months, doing user scenarios, site maps, wireframes, designs, schemas, and specifications—but content? It’s a disrespected line item in a schedule: “final content delivered.” Pepi Ronalds proposes a solution to this constant cause of project delays.
Version Targeting: Threat or Menace?
by Jeffrey Zeldman
Issue 253February 19, 2008
Version targeting shakes our browser-agnostic faith. Its default behavior runs counter to our expectations, and seems wrong. Yet to offer true DOM support without bringing JScript-authored sites to their knees, version targeting must work the way Microsoft proposes, argues Jeffrey Zeldman.
The Rules of Digital Engagement
by Jonathan Follett
Issue 252February 5, 2008
Jonathan Follett takes another trip down the "the long hallway":http://www.alistapart.com/articles/longhallway, looking at ways to collaborate, communicate, and manage conflict in virtual space.
From Switches to Targets: A Standardista’s Journey
by Eric Meyer
Issue 251January 21, 2008
Grab your galoshes and walking stick and follow along with A List Apart's Eric Meyer as he considers the vices and virtues of version targeting as a standards toggle.
Understanding Web Design
by Jeffrey Zeldman
Issue 249November 20, 2007
We'll have better web design when we stop asking it to be something it's not, and start appreciating it for what it is. It's not print, not video, not a poster—and that's not a problem. Find out why cultural and business leaders misunderstand web design, and learn which other forms it most usefully resembles.
Findings From the Web Design Survey
by ALA Staff
Issue 247October 16, 2007
In April 2007, A List Apart and An Event Apart conducted a survey of people who make websites. Close to 33,000 web professionals answered the survey’s 37 questions, providing the first data ever collected on the business of web design and development as practiced in the U.S. and worldwide. Working with statisticians, we spent the next months crunching raw data into meaningful findings. Here we present what we have learned about our powerful yet little-studied profession.
Hat Heads vs. Bed Heads
by Keith LaFerriere
Issue 246September 25, 2007
Every team and office includes people with potentially conflicting personalities and working styles. By applying the right relationship management techniques, you can calm tension, communicate more easily, and run your projects more efficiently. Keith LaFerriere shows us how.
You Are Not a Robot
by Jonathan Kahn
Issue 239June 12, 2007
Are we not (wo)men? Cut us and we bleed. Present us with a problem and we solve it—using judgement, experience, and the ability to generalize. Learn why machines will never be able to do our jobs, and how knowing that fact can build respect for the profession.
Evangelizing Outside the Box: Web Standards and Large Companies
by Peter-Paul Koch
Issue 238May 29, 2007
Contrary to popular belief, designers and developers at many big companies use web standards in their work every day. They just don't talk about it. For standards awareness to reach the next level, they'll have to start talking, says PPK.
The Web Design Survey, 2007
by ALA Staff
Issue 236April 24, 2007
People who make websites have been at it for more than a dozen years, yet almost nothing is known, statistically, about our profession. Let's do something to change that. Presenting A List Apart's first annual Web Design Survey.
The ALA Primer Part Two: Resources For Beginners
by Erin Lynch
Issue 225October 9, 2006
In part one of this series, Erin Lynch suggested a few good starting points for those new to ALA. In part two, Erin and the rest of the ALA crew suggest resources for those new to the whole industry.
The ALA Primer: A Guide for New Readers
by Erin Lynch
Issue 223September 12, 2006
New to A List Apart? Welcome! ALA's own Erin Lynch suggests a few good places to start reading.
A Standardista’s Alphabet
by Jack Pickard
Issue 223September 12, 2006
"A is for Aaron, who fell down the stairs. K is for Kevin, menaced by bears." No wait, those are just the notes from our last staff meeting. Jack Pickard offers a lighter look at the world of web standards.
Everyware: Always Crashing in the Same Car
by Adam Greenfield
Issue 215April 18, 2006
Ubiquitous computing is coming—in some ways, it's already here. Shouldn't we think about what we want it to be? In our last issue, we published the introduction of Adam Greenfield's Everyware. In this issue, we're running the book's conclusion.
Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing
by Adam Greenfield
Issue 214April 4, 2006
Ubiquitous computing is no longer a mirage. The time to consider its implications is now, while we still have the opportunity to decide how it should be integrated into our lives. We're proud to offer a taste of Adam Greenfield's new book, Everyware.
Valentines to the Web
by Our Gentle Readers
Issue 212February 14, 2006
You love it! You really love it. ALA's readers tell us who gets their candy hearts this year.
Valentine’s Day Massacre
by Our Gentle Readers
Issue 212February 14, 2006
From buzzword-happy marketers to snobby standards gurus, from AJAX to Zope, ALA's gentle readers tell us what they bloody well hate about the web.
Web 3.0
by Jeffrey Zeldman
Issue 210January 16, 2006
Web 2.0 is a fresh-faced starlet on the intertwingled longtail to the disruptive experience of tomorrow. Web 3.0 thinks you are so 2005.
When You Are Your Own Client, Who Are You Going To Make Fun Of At The Bar?
by Jim Coudal
Issue 201August 22, 2005
Should your blog have a business? Jim Coudal shares insights into the adventure of transitioning from client services to product creation.
Everything I Need To Know About Web Design I Learned Watching Oz
by Brian Alvey
Issue 169February 2, 2004
Making it as a web designer is like staying alive in the slammer. So before you sharpen your Photoshop skills or crack open that new book on crafting more effective customer experiences, you’d be well advised to catch a few reruns of HBO’s Oz. ALA system designer Brian Alvey points out the parallels between a successful career in web design and the popular prison drama.
How to Save Web Accessibility from Itself
by Joe Clark
Issue 163November 14, 2003
An upcoming revision to the Web Accessibility Guidelines is in danger of becoming unrealistically divorced from real-world web development, yielding guidelines that are at once too vague and too specific. Your expertise and input can help create realistic guidelines that work.
The Long Hallway
by Jonathan Follett
Issue 236April 24, 2007
In the virtual conference room, no one can hear you scream. Social networking enables knowledge workers like us to build virtual companies with no office space and little overhead. But can we make them succeed? Follett dissects the skills required to create, manage, and grow the virtual firm.
Accessibility, Web Standards, and Authoring Tools
by Christopher Schmitt
Issue 141March 22, 2002
With the advent of more compliant web browsers, the quest for standards shifts to the tools pros use to build sites. Christopher Schmitt spoke with Adobe and Macromedia for the low-down on web standards, accessibility, and authoring tools.
Information vs. Experience
by Emmanuel King Turner
Issue 125October 26, 2001
The conflict between presentation and structure reveals two views of the web. Which one’s winning?
Patents, Royalties, and Web Standards
by Jeffrey Zeldman
Issue 122October 5, 2001
This week there is only one web story that matters. The W3C has written a patent policy that opens the door to royalty payments on web standards.
Global Treaty Could Transform the Web
by Dennis A. Mahoney
Issue 119August 17, 2001
Mahoney is boiling mad over a proposed global treaty that would turn our worldwide web into a mishmash of regional Intranets, each attending to whatever local regulation allows.
Nipping Client Silliness in the Bud
by Robin (roblimo) Miller
Issue 116July 6, 2001
Slashdot’s Robin (Roblimo) Miller could write a book about web clients’ mistakes. In fact, he’s writing it now – but he needs your help.
CSS Talking Points: Selling Clients on Web Standards
by Greg Kise
Issue 116July 6, 2001
Selling your clients on standards-compliant design doesn’t have to hurt. Kise's four-point CSS Selling Plan helps the medicine go down.
All the Access Money Can Buy
by Joe Clark
Issue 115July 22, 2001
Just when you think online multimedia will never be truly access, someone proves you wrong. In BMW Films, Clark sees a tantalizing glimpse of a better web.
Much Ado About Smart Tags
by Chris Kaminski
Issue 115July 22, 2001
Microsoft's proprietary Smart Tags: Boon or bane? Kaminski digs deep beneath the hype and paranoia in an extensive assessment of what Microsoft hath wrought.
The Client Did It: A WWW Whodunit
by Robbie Shepherd
Issue 114July 15, 2001
Shepherd on the fine art of telling bad clients to buzz off.
Cheaper Over Better: Why Web Clients Settle for Less
by Adam Schumacher
Issue 114July 15, 2001
Schumacher investigates why clients hire bad web designers — and what good web designers can do about it.
“Forgiving” Browsers Considered Harmful
by J. David Eisenberg
Issue 107April 27, 2001
By hiding the need for structure that the web will require as it moves toward XHTML and XML, “forgiving” web browsers have helped breed a world of structural markup illiterates. Eisenberg examines the damage done.
The Road to Dystopia
by Chris Kaminski
Issue 105April 13, 2001
Now that greed, pride, and stupidity have wrecked the web economy, how’s a semi-idealistic web developer supposed to make a living? Chris Kaminski hitches a ride down the road to dystopia.
Down By Law
by Carrie Bickner
Issue 104April 6, 2001
A U.S. law scheduled to take effect on the 20th of this month will force libraries and schools to censor Internet access or lose their funding. If enacted, the law will restrict free speech and punish the poorest of the poor. Librarian and web developer Carrie Bickner explores the politics of censorship and the digital divide.
A Failure to Communicate
by George Olsen
Issue 103March 30, 2001
It’s ironic that, as professionals dedicated to clear communication, information architects and user interface designers are having such trouble communicating with each other. Information designer George Olsen digs up the roots of communication breakdown and explores the three aspects of web design.
Web Designer and Proud of It
by Chris MacGregor
Issue 100April 2, 2001
Professional web designers do not “do? web page design, we practice it. Web design is not a merit badge to be added to your uniform in scouts (but the way things are going it is probably not far off), it is a career choice that demands continual growth and serious dedication. We continually work at improving our skills and techniques, learning how to use new tools and mastering the old ones. To elevate our profession from the perception it has now to the esteem that it deserves, the gap between the professional and the amateur should be evident to the casual viewer.
To Hell With Bad Browsers
by Jeffrey Zeldman
Issue 99February 16, 2001
In a year or two, all sites will be designed with standards that separate structure from presentation (or they will be built with Flash 7). We can watch our skills grow obsolete, or start learning standards-based techniques. In fact, since the latest versions of IE, Navigator, and Opera already support many web standards, if we are willing to let go of the notion that backward compatibility is a virtue, we can stop making excuses and start using these standards now. At ALA, beginning with Issue No. 99, we've done just that. Join us.
This HTML Kills: Thoughts on Web Accessibility
by Jim Byrne
Issue 98February 9, 2001
Activist Jim Byrne sounds off on the importance of web accessibility, and the difficulty of doing it right.
One Boy’s Life: Surviving the Dotcom Blitz
by Nick Finck
Issue 95January 19, 2001
A boy, a job, and a floundering economy. Nick Finck tells his personal story of hirings and firings on the cusp of the dotcom crunch.
Survivor! (How Your Peers are Coping With the Dotcom Crisis)
by Jeffrey Zeldman
Issue 95January 19, 2001
It’s ugly out there, but how bad is it, really? We asked 40 colleagues to share how they were coping (or not) with the layoffs and business failures plaguing our industry.
A Case for Web Storytelling
by Curt Cloninger
Issue 92December 10, 2000
In our attention to style and technology, we often overlook a vital element in the web design mix: narrative voice.
Rolling the Start-up Dice (A Survival Guide)
by Marlene Bruce
Issue 92December 10, 2000
So you want to work for an Internet start-up company. Bruce and Moyer show you the ropes.
The Web is Like Canada
by Joe Clark
Issue 84October 10, 2000
Those who "get" the web create it. Those who do not get the web are put in charge. Joe Clark presents a vision for defending our web against their worst ideas.
Indie Exposure: It’s All About You
by Julia Hayden
Issue 82September 29, 2000
Reports of the death of online content have been greatly exaggerated. Julia Hayden finds that independent content production is alive and well.
Experience Design
by Bob Jacobson
Issue 77August 18, 2000
It’s time for web designers to peek over the cubicle and start sharing ideas with their peers in related design disciplines. Jacobson suggests one way to do that in this overview of the emerging Experience Design paradigm.
Dr. Strangeglobe: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The W3C.
by Erika Meyer
Issue 76August 11, 2000
Can the mysterious Dr Strangeglobe save the WWWorld from a conspiracy to contaminate our precious liquid layouts? Erika Meyer takes a non-standard look at the W3C in this charming yet educational spoof of the Kubrick classic.
Usability experts are from Mars, graphic designers are from Venus
by Curt Cloninger
Issue 74July 28, 2000
Usability mavens like Jakob Nielsen think the web is an ill-used database. Graphic designers like Kioken think it is a fledgling multimedia platform. Could both groups be right? New ALA author Curt Cloninger explains why usability experts are from Mars, graphic designers are from Venus. This one's a hottie.
Fame Fatale
by Rich Robinson
Issue 72July 14, 2000
When did weblogs stop filtering the web and begin cluttering it instead? Rich Robinson on digital glut and creative solutions.
Why Are You Here?
by Scott Jason Cohen
Issue 72July 14, 2000
Whether we’re designing experimental sites or keeping an online diary, we go to the web in search of meaning. Will we find it? Or will we build it ourselves?
Rated XHTML
by Peter-Paul Koch
Issue 69June 23, 2000
The W3C’s XHTML language is intended to bridge the web’s past (HTML) and future (XML). Shall we cross this bridge, now that we’ve come to it? Or is XHTML more trouble than it’s worth? Peter-Paul Koch puts forth the pros and cons.
Bridging the Gap
by Robert Miller
Issue 66June 2, 2000
How can we work together if we don't understand each other? Systems administrator Robert Miller describes the view from his side of the cubicle, and attempts to break down the barriers between "creative" and systems professionals.
Digiglut.com
by Bob Jacobson
Issue 62May 5, 2000
There is just too much stuff out there. Web surfing has turned to web surfeit, as web users and independent content site authors are buried alive in a sea of ever-more-useless crap. Bob Jacobson sifts through the wreckage.
Time to Close the Web?
by Alan Herrell
Issue 61April 28, 2000
Focusing on presentation at the expense of content, and invasive money-making schemes at the expense of everything else, designers must take some of the blame for the trashing of the web. Herrell wonders if it’s time to call it a day and close up shop.
Why Gecko Matters: What Netscape’s Upcoming Browser Will Mean to the Web
by Jeffrey Zeldman
Issue 56March 24, 2000
Netscape is about to unleash its new browser, built around the Gecko rendering engine. Theoretically the first completely standards-compliant web browser, Gecko enters a world where most people use IE5 (which is not completely standards-compliant). Is Netscape’s effort too little, too late? Or is it the beginning of a new and better way to create websites? Zeldman articulates The Web Standards Project’s position and explains what Netscape’s browser will mean to the web.
Clickthru Is Evil II
by Alan Herrell
Issue 55February 25, 2000
Ten years ago, Tim Berners-Lee invented the web. Five years ago, advertisers started discovering it. Now they are poised to wreck it. Double-Click’s poison cookie has Alan Herrell foaming at the mouth as he explains why Clickthru is Evil.
Fear of Style Sheets
by Jeffrey Zeldman
Issue 8March 12, 1999
“No-fault CSS” can help you work around frightened clients, buggy software, and readers who still love last year’s browser. In Part One of a series, Zeldman walks you through the fear.
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