Mark Boulton on the challenges we face when incorporating traditional ad spaces into responsive layouts:

The Paragraph in Web Typography & Design by Jon Tan 陳

How standards documentation puts UX at the core of mobile application development.

Web magazine about user experience matters, providing insights and inspiration for the user experience community

Web magazine about user experience matters, providing insights and inspiration for the user experience community

To design responsive websites effectively and responsibly, I had to completely redefine the way I view the web. It pains me to admit it, but I wasn’t too keen on responsive web design right out of the box. Weeks after Ethan’s ALA article, I even briefly entertained the idea of writing a post haranguing the practice, nit-picking concerns on how using media queries to relocate elements on a page could disorient users, but I knew deep down I was full of it. My short-lived adverse reaction wasn’t rooted in any specific limitation of the responsive approach itself, but in my inclination to cling to the way I had always perceived (and built for) the web. That perception had solidified over 10 years of making websites in a particular way. Pages were wire-framed, then fleshed out in Photoshop, which was where, for the most part, design ended. HTML & CSS were merely used to execute the prescribed layout. I took comfort in that approach, particularly in the control I had with a rigid grid and a perfectly pressed pixel-based structure. What you saw in the comp was what you got on the web. Bada Bing. To think about the web responsively is to think in proportions, not pixels. That approach, however, only works for a single view, a concept quickly becoming a thing of the past. Mobile browsing has exploded, and tablets (along with a slew of other devices of varying size) have confirmed the web’s status as a moving target. The choice was before me: retain the control in my original approach but accept that I’d be designing three or five or ten layouts, or redefine the way I think about the web. I found that to think about the web responsively is to think in proportions, not pixels. I traded the control I had in Photoshop for a new kind of control—using flexible grids, flexible images, and media queries to build not a page, but a network of content that can be rearranged at any screen size to best convey a message. Web pages (not that the term ever fit perfectly) aren’t really what we’re building anymore. *** Did I forsake Photoshop? No. Reagan and I still start designing with a wide, desktop-sized view, but it means something very different to our process. It’s a starting place, and once we’re going, Photoshop is ultimately used for asset building (textures, photos, etc.). The largest and most exciting part of the design process now happens in the browser. Did I dismiss hierarchy? No, but “squishy” was the unflattering term I initially used to describe responsive sites.  For me, websites take on an increasingly familiar skeletal form as I mentally map content in proportion to specific areas. When working with clients that’s how we address content. Elements are sized & placed purposefully to create order. I was worried that fluid content would have no visual impact and spinelessly reflow, breaking the established hierarchy. However, I soon found that didn’t have to be the case. While working on our first few responsive projects at Paravel, we used fluid-width images, videos, and even text headlines when appropriate, along with proper planning (content choreography) to maintain strong visual presence. The hierarchy, and thus the message, can be preserved at any view. *** In the process I discovered, to my great relief, that I didn’t have to throw away my design sensibilities to ‘go responsive’; instead, I could develop techniques to incorporate design elements I gravitate towards (like interesting typographic arrangements or full-width images) in a responsive way. My stubborn unwillingness to abandon those sensibilities has made these initial steps into responsive web design worthwhile. It’s gratifying to use the things that might have kept me from adopting a responsive approach as inspiration to innovate.  If there’s anything I’ve had to learn the hard way through all of this, it’s that responsive web design isn’t bolt-on. Whereas progressive enhancements (like border-radius), or web fonts can easily be added and removed from a site, responsive (for me at least) has required a complete redefinition of how I approach my craft down to the pixel. The more I learn & adapt, the more certain I am that this is the best way to build for the web. The process of adopting a responsive approach has made me better at my job, and I’m thankful for that.

With a mobile-first responsive design approach, if any part of the process breaks down, your user can still receive a representative image and avoid an unnecessarily large request on a device that …

We might not realize it, but as developers, we build inaccessible websites all the time. It's not for the lack of care or talent though — it's a matter of doing things the wrong way. In our new book, Inclusive Design Patterns, Heydon Pickering explains how we can craft accessible interfaces without extra effort — and what front-end design patterns we can use to create inclusive experiences. Quality hardcover, 312 pages.

Mac, iPhone & iPad interface design consulting, writing and speaking featuring tutorials, interviews, techniques and thoughts on crafting & building beautiful software. By Mike Rundle.

I think it’s safe to say that I’m somewhat obsessed with themes that help you get your WordPress projects started quickly. Most likely because I’ve been there, staring at an empty…

Jon Bolt explores how changing the discussion from "functionality" to "complexity" helps product owners and designers better evaluate the real impact new features have on a product.

Print stylesheets can be a pain if you don’t know what you’re doing. Before you even approach one you need to make sure to do some solid research into how to go about it. Today we’re going to help you along by first discussing the conceptual considerations that you need t...

User-friendliness is the inevitable result of a smart design approach, not the starting point. Here are three criteria to help you develop a useful design brief that will ultimately yield a great product.

When, why, and how should you go about designing a responsive website? Equator web designer and UX Booth contributor Elaine Simpson breaks down the basics of responsive web design.

In flow, the experience is rich and deep, and helps users be productive and highly creative.

In flow, the experience is rich and deep, and helps users be productive and highly creative.

“The effective use of color and graphics in children’s media is one of the most important aspects of design to ensure that you deliver optimal content and a memorable user experience to young users.”

Web magazine about user experience matters, providing insights and inspiration for the user experience community

Developers can have profound impacts on the UX of the products they’re working on.

Keep signup forms simple and fast, and delegate as much as possible.

Translating Susan Weinschenk's UX psychology facts into usability heuristics.

Apps that are simple, intuitive, and have few features are well suited for enterprise tablet use.