Will code for software
I had Dunstan Orchard over to my house recently to help me with some design problems. After watching him decimate my XHTML+CSS code and reconstruct it into a thing of pristine beauty, I realized to the degree I have been doing things incorrectly with regard to web standards.
There were so many minor details that I had not realized I was executing incorrectly. So many that I’m almost ashamed to admit it. But hey, I’m not one to stand in silence while I continue to remain ignorant on certain issues. I’m the guy in class who had no problem asking stupid questions. I’m also the guy willing to ask those questions even if it also helps others who may not want to question aloud.
I tend to learn best by doing. I retain more about what I have learned that way. That’s what this website has been for me: an exercise in learning. But I have hit a wall in my education with regard to web standards. I know that Design by Fire is — by web standards coding practices — a mess. The problem is, I’ve looked at the code so long that I’ve lost where or how to fix it.
That’s where you come in.
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Fanning the flames (or: the latest comments made on DxF)
- KevinMichael Hamm on Will code for software:
Wow! I know that my own coding is somewhere between Apple IIe and the old Commode (not to be confused with the vaunted Commodore64, which was a dandy machine I never owned) and I’m really looking forward to seeing the results. I’m enjoyi…
- David Locke on Fool me once, shame on me…:
You point out that Sadam told the truth. How long will it be before we remember that OLB said he didn’t do it? Go back in history and what do we find? Iraq was given the green light by the U.S. ambasador to go into Kuwait. The Gulf of Tomki…
- David Locke on The origins of poor design?:
Poor design comes from a lack of constraints. Budget being a constraint means that Nielson is wrong here. The notion that offshoring will reduce cost is the point behind offshoring. Outsourcing is supposed to conserve managerial focus, not reduce…
- David Locke on Interface Design Issues #05: A plethora of design problems:
On the scan as we shop idea, someone mentioned that it is already being done. What is the device like? How is it charged? How hardened is it? Is it a part of the cart or separate? I read something in Progressive Grocer a while back that mentioned…
- Derek Doar on Santorini in black & white:
The Technique is ok but if you want to be able to change actual tones in a B&W image from colour and make that B&W image really stand out, see my Photoshop Tutorial 9 on my website. This tutorial will show you how to change the position of a given to…
Still smoldering (or: the most recent DxF design articles)
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Please make me think! Potential dangers in usability culture
I’m not entirely sure how serious I am about this article. On the one hand, I find myself agreeing with my more cynical side on uglier, more demanding work days. On the other, I think I’m overreacting and way off base with this train of t…
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When I grow up, I want to be an interface designer
I may not be old enough to offer sage wisdom to budding young designers (at least, I prefer to think I’m not old enough), but I do have the required experience in this field that my advice might be worth something to some of you out there. P…
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Rebranding the W3C
Last week, I got an email from Dean Jackson asking me if I would be interested in potentially helping the W3C for a small job. We also discussed a potential rebranding of the W3C logo, although just for fun - not for real use. Dean even suggested I …
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For the greater good of Design, p.2
I just purchased BBEdit 8.0 a few hours ago. The new tab and windowing management was enough to get me to upgrade. I’ve long hated the window management issues with BBEdit ever since I had to stop using Homesite when I switched back over to a M…
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You say toe - may - toe, I say [expletive] that
This product manager has a requirements document in his hand. Damn business requirements document to Hell. “Hey there, you got a second?” “Sure. I guess.” “Can I talk to you about this feature? When we went over this …
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I get by with a little help from my friends
Well, one way to work through a problem is to live with it for far too long. Such was the case with my last design of DxF. I had many good intentions, but they just weren’t working out. The “em” based layout was creating many layou…
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Making the case for Interface Design
[Editor’s Note: I originally published this article on December 31, 2003, as the first thing I had ever written for Design by Fire. I’m bringing it back in the hopes that with a larger audience, I might be able to discuss the issues withi…
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re:Design by Fire 2.0 (or how I learned to stop sleeping and hack simple PHP code)
Ok, so I’m no Dunstan Orchard or Shaun Inman, but when I create something coded in PHP all by my lonesome — no matter how simplistic or basic — I feel damn proud. Nay! I feel like I’m king of the world. Just in case some of…
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re:Design by Fire 2.0 (or how I learned to feel the burn... a deep burn... deep)
If I were running for President of the United States, the GOP would have a field day with how I’ve flipped and flopped on the placements of comments in this redesign. I have put the Comments back to the right side of the articles. Will they st…
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re:Design by Fire 2.0 (or how I learned to stop worrying and love CSS)
Well, it’s not entirely finished, but what the heck. I’m making this live. There’s a good chance the old stylesheet will screw up your presentation, so be sure to reset it with this link or clear your cookie cache. Welcome to the…
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Requiem for an elastic dream
One of the first entries I posted on Design by Fire that got some traction was my take on Liquid versus Fixed. I still stand by that article, and feel it best exemplifies the pros and cons of each approach. Overall, I prefer a fixed layout for the re…
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The real reason you should care about web standards
IMPORTANT NOTE: The following article is my own personal opinion, and does not represent the position or opinion of my employer. I have no idea if this has been said before, but from my reading on the subject of web standards, I haven’t seen…
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Gurus v. Bloggers, Round 2
You begged. You pleaded. You tried to bribe me to pimp your work in this next post. (Ok… so no one tried to bribe me, but I can be bought. Hint hint.) So I’ve toiled away to bring you an all new round of the world’s leading expert…
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Yes, Design matters
There’s a great set of articles in the June 2004 edition of Fast Company on the new design revolution, its importance to businesses everywhere, and on some of the business leaders who are proving just how important design is for companies. You…
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Design Eye for the Usability Guy
Last Monday, to much fanfare, Nielsen published the second part to his guidelines on the display of links. I was as shocked as anyone by it. He actually made sense! Well, color me paranoid. I’m at loss. Beyond the awkward language, beyond the …
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