Issue 275January 06, 2009
Return of the Mobile Style Sheet
by Dominique Hazaël-Massieux
What can be done for mobile browsers that do not read handheld style sheets, or parse CSS Media Queries? Short of ignoring them, there are two options.
Semantics in HTML 5
by John Allsopp
We don’t need to add specific terms to the vocabulary of HTML, we need to add a mechanism that allows semantic richness to be added to a document as required. In technical terms, we need to make HTML extensible. HTML 5 proposes no mechanism for extensibility.
Issue 274December 16, 2008
Content-tious Strategy
by Jeffrey MacIntyre
There’s no existential put-down to compare with a righteous Wikipedian’s. Now I know how information architects felt in 1995. Content strategy needs to get past its “dark continent” reputation, or live forevermore as the here-be-dragons squiggle on the edge of the user experience design map.
The Discipline of Content Strategy
by Kristina Halvorson
If our community fails to recognize, divide, and conquer the multiple roles associated with planning for, creating, publishing, and governing content, we’ll keep underestimating the time, budget, and expertise it takes to do content right. We won’t clearly define and defend the process to our companies and clients. We’ll keep getting stuck with 11th-hour directives, fix-it-later copy drafts—and we’ll keep on publishing crap.
Issue 273December 02, 2008
Flexible Fuel: Educating the Client on IA
by Keith LaFerriere
Educating the client on standard processes and deliverables is tantamount to the success of a project. By using these standards, IA can more easily help manage both the decision-making process and the overall cost.
Getting Real About Agile Design
by Cennydd Bowles
Now is the time to get real, and prove design can adapt, if we want to stay relevant in these increasingly unreal times.
Issue 272November 18, 2008
This is How the Web Gets Regulated
by Joe Clark
The only effective method of increasing the quantity of captioning is actually on the horizon. That method is to bring the force of law to bear to actually require it. Nothing else has worked.
A More Useful 404
by Dean Frickey
For a custom 404 page to be truly useful, it should not only provide relevant information to the user, but should also provide immediate feedback to the developer so that, when possible, the problem can be fixed.
Issue 271November 04, 2008
Writing Content that Works for a Living
by Erin Kissane
There’s a time for professional jargon: when you know you’re speaking to an audience that understands you, and you need the extra specificity and precision that jargon can provide. If you’re using it outside of that situation, you’re probably not communicating clearly, honestly, or effectively.
Progressive Enhancement with JavaScript
by Aaron Gustafson
For too long JavaScript was a corruptive force on the web. It threw up road blocks, error messages, and way too many pop-up windows. Maintenance was a nightmare. Beneath the surface, a twisted rat’s nest of code caused all but the most determined to run screaming.
