It’s been a cold, rainy week here in Manhattan, Kansas. I don’t really like cold weather at all, and I’m somewhat dreading this winter with everything indoors still being somewhat risky. I think this week was especially bad because the temperature dropped so drastically so quickly. Luckily it looks like we have more warm weather ahead.
Tag: CSS
Weeknotes 2020.09.04
Much of the first part of the week was spent testing the K-State Admissions Representatives app (my first Vue app!), which is still not quite ready to go. Hopefully, it will launch early next week.
Weeknotes 2020.08.14
Highlights from my week.
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An Event Apart: “Variable Fonts and the Future of Typography”
Jason Pamental speaking at An Event Apart Seattle 2018 on April 4, 2018.
For centuries, typography has shaped the way we ‘hear’ what we read. In our web work, though, we’ve have to balance our typographic desires with user experience and performance, knowing that every weight, width, or style of a typeface required a different file download. Variable fonts change that, as they include every width, weight, slant, and other permutation of a typeface, all in a single file not much bigger than a regular font file. Now, beautiful web typography can be crafted to respond to screen size, language setting, even ambient light. In a detail-packed hour, Jason will show you not just how far the new capabilities can take us, but how to make use of them right away.
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An Event Apart: “Inclusive UX: Techniques for Everyone”
Derek Featherstone speaking at An Event Apart Seattle 2018 on April 4, 2018.
You and your teams are doing the things that need to be done to create inclusive designs. You’ve been using meaningful, semantic markup from the get-go. You stopped using light grey on slightly darker grey text years ago. Designing and building your apps and sites in an accessible way is just how you work now—you have to try really hard to make things that don’t work with a keyboard. So, what’s next for you? How can you make sure that you’re delivering on the promise of the web by delivering an inclusive design that can be easily used by people with disabilities? In this talk, Derek will tackle the tougher problems through design approaches and practical development techniques that you need to create accessible, modern web sites.
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An Event Apart: “Performance as User Experience”
Aaron Gustafson speaking at An Event Apart Seattle 2018 on April 3, 2018.
Design is problem solving. Each and every day, we are tasked with finding ways to reduce the friction our users experience on the Web. That means streamlining flows, reducing cognitive load, and writing more appropriate copy, but user experience goes far beyond the interface. Our users’ experiences begin with their first request to our servers. In this intensely practical session, Aaron will explore the ins and outs of page load performance by showing how he made the web site of the 10K Apart meet its own contest rules, by having a site that was functional and attractive even without JavaScript, and was less than ten kilobytes at initial load. You’ll walk away with a better understanding of the page load process as well as numerous ways you can improve the projects you are working on right now.
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An Event Apart: “The Way Of The Web”
Jeremy Keith speaking at An Event Apart Seattle 2018 on April 3, 2018.
Do you ever get overwhelmed by the ever-changing nature of web design and development? Exhausting, isn’t it? How are you supposed to know which technologies and tools you should invest your time in? Will they stick around or will you just have to relearn everything in another few months? Join Jeremy as he takes a tour of the past, present, and future of working on the web. From the building blocks of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript through to frameworks and libraries right up to the latest and greatest Progressive Web Apps, this talk will examine our collective assumptions with a critical eye. By learning from the past, we can make sensible design decisions today to build the web of tomorrow.
An Event Apart: “Everything You Know About Web Design Just Changed”
Jen Simmons speaking at An Event Apart Seattle 2018 on April 2, 2018.
2017 saw a sea change in web layout, one that few of us have truly come to grips with. We’re standing at the threshold of an entirely new era in digital design—one in which, rather than hacking layouts together, we can actually describe layouts directly. The benefits will touch everything from prototyping to custom art direction to responsive design. In this visionary talk, rooted in years of practical experience, Jen will show you how to understand what’s different, learn to think through multiple stages of flexibility, and let go of pixel constraints forever.
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An Event Apart: “Fit For Purpose: Making Sense of the New CSS”
Eric Meyer speaking at An Event Apart Seattle 2018 on April 2, 2018.
The past year has seen an incredible explosion in what we can do with CSS—from stable flexbox to the dawn of Grid, there are more powerful tools in our toolbox than ever before. Each system is, in its own way, simple, but the multitude of choices can make your head spin. What are the pros and cons? Where are the strengths and weaknesses? How does a committed craftsperson choose? In this detailed talk, Eric will compare and contrast CSS features in a series of real-world design scenarios, illuminating not only what he chose in each situation, but more importantly, why, always with an eye on what trade-offs were made at what cost. You’ll come away with a better sense of how to put all these new CSS features to work for you right away.
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An Event Apart: “Graduating to Grid”
Rachel Andrew speaking at An Event Apart Seattle 2018 on April 2, 2018.
When CSS Grid Layout shipped into multiple browsers in the Spring of 2017 it heralded the dawn of a new way to do layout on the web. Now that the excitement of launch has passed, Rachel Andrew will take a look at what went right or wrong in these first few months, and offer help to those struggling to transition away from legacy methods. In a practical, example-packed hour, Rachel will help give you the confidence and practical skills to fully embrace Grid layout. We’ll compare common framework patterns to new Grid code, and learn how to create a workflow that is right up to date—a workflow grounded in new CSS, yet able to care for old browsers and ensure a good experience for their users.