Who's driving?

I've been to a few Microsoft events recently featuring WPF, Expression tools and Silverlight which have really had me questioning approaches to projects. Its kind of irritating and fantastic at the same time when new methods and technologies come up. I remember how my confidence blossomed when I finally mastered HTML tables. There wasn't any layout I couldn't attempt. If faced with a third party site, I could be confident that Id work out how the site had been built. Then along came improved browser support for CSS 2. Suddenly my world was turned upside down. It took me ages to build a site using CSS for the layout. So often I wanted to throw it all in, knowing I could achieve a result in no time using tables. The font re-sizing, liquid, elastic sites came to the fore. Suddenly I had to pour hours into a site that wouldn't completely break if the visitor increased the font size from the browsers. It seems as if I've had to change technique and approach a gazillion times in the last few years and the rules are more ambiguous than ever.

So where does design stand with all these changes occurring? I sometimes question my role - do I design sites or do I build pages? If course I do both, but so often I find myself falling for that dangerous pitfall - designing for the medium rather than designing for the solution. When I was at University, our tutors adamantly used to tell us not to be constrained by the process used to realise a design solution. I could totally see where they were coming from. I struggled back then to get to grips with Quark on the Mac and consequently my designs did suffer. I did much of my work by hand but knew that the results would suffer against the polished results other students could achieve from the Mac. So I would play safe and design something I felt confident I could produce. This often strikes me when I design websites today. Now obviously we are all constrained by time and budget and rarely have the luxury of having hours to pour over a design - we have to get things out of the door. This also contributes to the 'playing safe' strategy. We stick to the tried and tested but don't always question whether its the most effective, user friendly solution.

So now WPF and Silverlight are looming closer and rules could change again. Potentially these technologies could offer more design flexibility, more opportunities. Of course, this can mean more ways to go off the rails(!) but it would seem that it could give web application design another kick. Perhaps we can start approaching problems in inventive ways that could aid usability and experience rather than constraining ourselves to tried and tested methods.

@media 2007 - part two

How to be a creative sponge
Jon Hicks
This was another inspirational presentation. Again, always interesting to learn which processes different designers follow and where they get ideas, how they work through thoughts and how they build a product from a blank canvas. Jon spoke of how he looks to design outside the web to keep his creative juices flowing. He talked of being a collector - of leaflets, magazine clippings, t-shirt design colour schemes and online sources of photo galleries and collections eg. flickr. He also spoke of the importance to him of using a sketckbook - of how things from your mind can escape in all kinds of ways. Taking photographs of signs, objects, scapes, colours etc and cataloguing them really help to provide instant resources when faced with a blank page. Another interesting thought was the use of mood boards for clients. Not only can this be a useful method of getting the ball rolling, but it also helps clients to feel involved in the process which can be valuable indeed. Lastly, following on from an audience question, Jon introduced the idea of an online 'shed' where you can tinker with things non-client to keep playing with ideas. I'm off to find a flatpack version.

For example...
Hannah Donovan and Simon Willison
This session, presented by key team members, introduced design, implementation and work flow issues faced in real-life situations. Hannah Donovan, Head of Creative at Last.fm was first to the floor. She came up with some really interesting points and seemed to take a down to earth, realistic approach to issues. She spoke of how she came to Last.fm after the site had been developed which was the wrong way round to approach the development of a web application. However, the bottom line was that it was imperative to launch the site so as to be ahead of the competition. With this in mind, there was no time for perfectionism. From this approach came another piece of advice - don't get involved in 'skinning' or 'styling'. I could relate to that as I have done a fair bit of this over the years. I've had a sense of achievement seeing things coming to life when I've applied styles to applications, but have also seen underlying issues with usability and have grappled with the idea that there must be a better way. This said, often the fact that skinning is a necessary evil is, going back to Hannah's first point, because time and budget allows for only that. It can also be the result of Hannah's other main point - lack of interaction between designer and developer. Hannah related to difficulties she had with bringing design and development together and how 'scrum' meetings helped to overcome this. So overall, Hannah's message was that development is often an iterative process - you start with 'broad brush strokes' and fill in the detail later as time permits. Another tip that stuck in my head was not to release new visuals unless they are accompanied by a feature. I guess people like to feel some added value and receive a sense of reason behind a visual change.
Simon Willison followed, talking about the project, Lawrence.com. Simon explained the challenges faced by a small team developing a local directory site and how the site stoood out against other local directory listings.

Advancing web accessibility
Shawn Lawton Henry
I actually kept up with Shawn's presentation - I usually struggle with accessibility presentations because they can be dry and smattered with acronym-riddled document names and organisations. Shawn's session described how WCAG 2 would work, how it was based on success criteria rather than the priorties of WCAG 1. There is also emphasis on the 'informative' where techniques are introduced that are adaptible and flexible with examples. Scripting techniques that enhance accessibility have also been accepted. Shawn spoke at length about WCAG 2 supporting materials, which will probably turn out to be explored and used more than the document itself. These come in the form of 'informative' techniques and 'understanding' (reference). A 'quick reference' sits somewhere between the two. This supplies 'sufficient techniques' and 'advisable techniques'. Shawn went on to discuss the importance of CMS systems adopting accessibity concepts in order to generate accessible code and how pressure needs to be applied in some way to ensure this is the case. Overall, Shawn conveyed her desire for an accessible web, regardless of responsibility. We can argue the responsibility issue all we like, in the meantime there are people out there unable to access information. Another viewpoint to consider.

Royale with cheese
Andy Clarke
As the title suggest, a look at how globalisation has affected websites. In the same way that many high streets in many towns all over the world feature the same shops, the same global brands, so there is the capacity for the web to follow suit. However, as with Macdonalds in Amsterdam compared with Macdonalds in the States, there are little differences that remain. Andy Clarke investigated the question, do websites from certain localities have a similarity? He asked designers of many nationalities their opinions and these seemed to be divided. Is there such a thing as a quitessentially british website design? If yes or no, is that good or bad?! He also suggested that large corporates/brands often approached multi-national sites with an air of arrogance, by simply providing translations in the same format as the home language. Is this a correct approach? Are we qualified to make assumptions as to how another nationality might use a website? Should multi-national brands offer individual countries the opportunity to create their own local site to ensure something is produced that most relates to that culture? Quite a thought-provoking presentation. I certainly have started to look out for 'the little differences' when I browse the web.

@media 2007 - part one

Last week I attended the @media 2007 conference in Islington - my third @media in a row. What did I think of it? Well, the first @media in 2005 was a real career-changing experience in many ways. I was new to using CSS for page layout and so I found those two days completely inspiring. I have found the subsequent conferences have given me a refreshed buzzy attitude to work, but I can't expect to get the same feeling as I did from the first. Something I have taken from all three, has been a renewal of enthusiasm for design, a desire to work harder (tinged with guilt that I don't, seeing these people talk and work tirelessly for their art!) and a comforting feeling that these speakers/experts/gurus/web stars, don't know all the answers and struggle over many of the things that us mere mortals do! I sometimes feel a twang of envy towards some of the more acamedic speakers when it seems that rules and high standards are so hard to apply in the real world when you're on the front line, so to speak.

SO - @media 2007. Well, venue was good, food was good (although trying to eat lunch standing up, whilst carrying bags & notepads, always a nightmare). I find it hard to decide on which presentations to attend when they run along parallel tracks - its impossible for me to make a decision at the best of times. I think I chose wrong on a couple of occasions, but was lucky enough to attend with a colleague who complimented my choices so we could share the jists of each one. A few themes seemed to permeate through:

• The importance of user experience
• Globalisation/localisation - website design across different cultures
• The continual debate over responsibility for accessibility issues - designer, browser/device and the role of standards
• Aspirations towards a partnership between design and implementation

I'm not great at getting details from these kind of events - I usually come away with impressions or messages with a few detailed technical tips here and there. I'm sure others will cover the sessions much more efficiently, but for what its worth, here are the presentations I attended on day one:

Beyond Ajax
Jesse James Garrett
I thoroughly enjoyed this session, discussing the importance of user experience (also liked the term 'ecosystem' for the web!). Jesse, from Adaptive Path, discussed the relationship between new technologies and existing human behaviour, how we should consider the terms 'applications, not sites' and 'interfaces, not pages'. He exemplified views on simplicity in design through the story of the kodak camera. He encouraged us to consider the highest compliment an application could receive - the idea that a consumer couldn't live without a product. He also conveyed the point that people interact with technology as they would interact with another person and how this can be exploited. Traditionally, its been data that has driven applications but this doesn't always result in a great product. A great product has a clear function - 'knows who it is', has personality and integrity and has been designed from the 'outside in'.

The Broken World: Solving the browser problem once and for all
Molly Holzschlag
This was probably a poor choice for me really as I felt a bit at a loss part way through. I plumped for this session as I thought I might pick up some useful philospophies or at least tips for cross-browser development, but think it was probably aimed at the more technical than me! However, it was interesting and I guess I came away with the message that there are always reasons for browser differences and that there is no quick and easy solution to getting all to conform to a single behaviour. Standards compliance aside, I often bizarely find myself sympathising with browsers. I swear and curse at them for making my life hell sometimes - the fact that their different or similar features are presented or behave in different ways, but then you think, well, they are products at the end of the day. Its business. Its competition. You don't buy a pair of trainers to look like every other pair of trainers, you buy a pair that suits your purpose, looks appealing to you and offers a brand that presents you in the way you want to be presented. Browsers are no different and if people use 'em, then why on earth should they change? That's a weird, overly simple view, but I do sometimes think we lose sight of these things.

High-noon shoot-out: design vs implementation
Drew McLellan and Simon Collison
An entertaining mock debate between designer and developer. Very well done and an opportunity to voice everyone's rants on the issues designers, developers and indeed, designer/developers have to face daily. Really found Drew's references to 'pencil twirlers' and 'turtleneck wearers' very amusing! Completely empathised with Simon's points about the designer's lot in the web world: how designers are 'stifled', 'restricted', 'limited' by the demands of browser conformity and accessibility issues. One part that did particularly interest me as I had been discussing just that on the train during my journey to London, was how print designers don't seem to have the weight of accessibility responsibility pressed on their shoulders. As Simon mentioned, the closest they get to the subject, is to print a large phone number at the bottom of a publication with a suggestion that you ring it for large print versions. So why on earth do designers of websites have to be experts in disabilities?! Do book designers consider how someone with Parkinsons Disease might struggle to hold their product in order to read its contents? No - its accepted that not everyone can hold a book. Again, this is a hard-line argument and I'm not suggesting its right, but that in other fields of design, there is less pressure to conform to issues of accessibility. It does seem that often the web designer has to be jack of all trades, expert in everything (or master of none?) and where it will all lead.
Drew's argument was really on how designers want to control the uncontrollable and I guess how often they don't get the true nature of the web and try to enforce their own ego and principles from a bygone age on to an inappropriate medium. True indeed. His final slide said it all - an image of the London Olympics logo!

Interface design juggling
Dan Cederholm
An interesting presentation with some nice tips. I enjoy listening to designers share their thought processes. Good to see how Dan recycles background images throughout his work to add a coherence to the page and of course to be green! Also nice to hear that a limited font set doesn't necessarily have to be restrictive. I do get a little tired of hearing how bored everyone is of verdana etc and yes its true, we do have to endure system fonts, but I don't think its the be all and end all of typography. Typography is as much about the control of type and you don't really need a library of typefaces to make something beautifully functional or functionally beautiful. Dan also raised the profile of the humble favicon so we're all scuttling off to beaver away at 16x16 icons. Not sure whether I zoned out or quite how Microformats were introduced, but Dan spent some time presenting their advantages.

Five simple steps to better typography
Mark Boulton
I struggled a little with this presentation. It was certainly well-presented and raised some good points, but a little too much maths involvement for my liking! Mark gave a really interesting, formulaic principle to maximising type colour on screen - summising the right line height in relation to font size for maximum legibility. I admire this level of commitment, but have always found that, within reason, the more you try and control with the web, the more it can fall apart. However, I can't possibly back this up without trying it so won't knock it. Someone did question how this approach is affected by the user enlarging the type etc (that old accessibility responsibility issue raises its head!) and his answer, I believe, was that it can be done so proportionally. I'm not sure its as simple as that as if you're going to be really picky and perfectionist, I think you would need to intervene and adjust when a font size is increased, rather than rely on formula. However, I was a poor typography student so really am not qualified to comment! Oh and can people please leave Comic Sans alone?! The poor old thing gets dragged out for every typography presentation to convey the appropriateness of type selection. Its great for that, but let's pick on some other poor font next time!

When web accessibility is not your problem
Joe Clark
Loved the title of this as the lazy, irresponsible and downright bad side of me longs to know, and then go work in that area! I'm also so confused by what are good and bad practices, that if I hear the merest whisper that something isn't my responsiblity, I'm there! However, I found myself struggling with Joe's controversial suggestion that responsibility for equal access to the web lies with the browser suppliers. Its great to think that should be the case - that if a browser doesn't include a feature to enlarge text size, then that's not the designer's problem. I appreciate that unless a stand is taken and that people go elsewhere and use another browser that DOES include that feature, then browsers are never going to strive to improve. Part of me is behind this. The more we get things to work in browsers that don't support standards, the less the incentive to change. Its all about applying pressure. However, to the average browser user, there is no problem with their browser. If they visit a site that is broken to them, yet its standards-complient, presented by a non-compliant browser, what is the average visitor going to think? This site doesn't work - I'll go elsewhere. They are not going to know the reasons behind it and therefore change browsers - how do you get round that? Do we all sport logos on our site that say this won't work in this because the browser is non-complient? Its a difficult scenario but one that really strikes up a debate.

Day two to follow...