Emotions are arguably the most powerful of human motivators and yet most design projects lack an explicit strategy to use or target them as part of the overall experience design. A truly fulfilling experience is one that balances our logical and emotional needs and wants. When an experience only satisfies the logical side of our […]
Author Archives: Mike Donahue
In this presentation I talk about the importance of balancing the useful, usable and desirable qualities of a web site to create a great user experience. Through a content out, mobile first, progressive enhancement approach you can reach the greatest number of potential viewers while ensuring the most appropriate experience for each in the process. […]
What Internet retailers should know about responsive web design: InternetReatiler.com I was asked to write this article in response to a particularly inaccurate article that InternetRetailer.com had run that contain several misleading and just plain incorrect comments about responsive web design. In all fairness, the author of the original article was not a front-end developer and simply […]
Seems there are some folks out there that find designers difficult to work with. An old Quora discussion resurfaced recently that asked the question, “Why are designers harder to work with than engineers?” Speaking as a long-time designer, I don’t know what they’re talking about. I do just fine working with designers. What gives? I […]
In typical Karen McGrane fashion she makes a clear case for dealing with content first. Not just for responsive sites, but for any site. Seems like a lot of people are laboring under the mistaken impression that using responsive design means they can make a mobile website without dealing with their content problem. Where’d they get […]
Given the pace at which things change in the realm of web, when is something a true best practice, merely a current or common convention, or are we all suffering from a “consensual hallucination” as Jeremy Keith says? What was a best practice yesterday may not be tomorrow, or even today for that matter. Are […]
A great post on how to “think” about web development. Everyone should read this if they plan for their site to be seen beyond the desktop display. Maybe even more so if don’t think about your site being seen beyond the desktop display.
There’s a myth: progressive enhancement means ‘designing for the lowest common denominator.’ No: it means STARTING there. Jeremy Keith
There is more than a little written about mobile first design. The problem is that most of what’s written is focused on designing for devices and not the people that use them. Here are 7 common mistakes, or misconceptions, I hear people making when approaching web design from a mobile first perspective. No. 7: Thinking […]
A couple years ago I had the good fortune to hear Jeremy Keith give a talk at An Event Apart. During his talk he spoke about three important factors that make up our work – Goals, Principles and Patterns. Unfortunately it seems that all too often many of us only tend to the Goals and […]