Tags: tools

“The Post-PSD Era: A problem of expectations,” an article by Dan Mall

I really like Dan’s take on using Photoshop (or Fireworks) as part of today’s web design process. The problem is not with the tool; the problem is with the expectations set by showing comps to clients.

By default, presenting a full comp says to your client, “This is how everyone will see your site.” In our multi-device world, we’re quickly moving towards, “This is how some people will see your site,” but we’re not doing a great job of communicating that.

Blame the implementation, not the technique | TimKadlec.com

It might seem like an obvious point, but what Tim is talking about here happens over and over again: a technique is dismissed based on bad implementation.

Stories and Tools - Anil Dash

This post is ten years old, but I think it might still be the best attempt to demarcate a difference between web “sites” and web “apps”: think of them as stories and tools.

It’s also remarkably prescient about the need for an effort exactly like HTML5:

A widely-distributed, standards-compliant, browser and platform-independent library of functions that would perform the basic user interface functions for a web-based tool, relying on the server side only for the logic and data sourcing.

Modern Web Development Part 1 – The Webkit Inspector

This is a very in-depth look at how to become a power user of the Web Inspector in Webkit browsers. I’m sitting down with a nice cup of tea to go through all of this.

Mocking Up Is Hard To Do

This seems like an eminently sensible thing to do when building responsive sites: ditch mock-ups entirely. The reasons and the workflow outlined here make a lot of sense.

Throw away Photoshop and be true to your medium | Government Digital Service

How designing in the browser works for rapid iteration.

Responsive Summit: The One Tool | Mark Boulton

Mark talks about the tools web designers use and the tools web designers want. The upshot: use whatever you’re most comfortable with.

The developer’s guide to mobile frameworks | Feature | .net magazine

Jonathan gives a thorough overview of the various tools and frameworks out there to help build native, hybrid and mobile web apps. He also shares his decision-making process on when to build what.

Samantha Warren’s Web Design Blog | Design ~ Web Typography ~ Inspiration

An excellent design technique from Samantha that allows you to nail down a visual vocabulary without using something as wishy-washy as a mood board or as rigid as a fully-blown comp. Brilliant!

The style tile is not a literal translation of what the website is going to be, but a starting point for the designer and the client to have a conversation and establish a common visual language.

Service Design Tools | Communication methods supporting design processes

A nice collection of design tools and methodologies.

The Technium: Technophilia

Kevin Kelly on mankind's love/hate relationship with technology.

jQuery vs MooTools: Choosing Between Two Great JavaScript Frameworks

A detailed comparison of jQuery and MooTools.

Official Google Blog: Introducing Measurement Lab

Vint Cerf announces M-Lab: an excellent resource which will allow people to find out if and how their internet access is being throttled. Viva l'internet!

Cleverest crows opt for two tools

Crows is smart. And yes, I am using the "Bookmark this..." link at the end of the article.