THE PENDING DRAFT

One common misconception of the modern freelance designer — especially in the world of the web — is the idea of some kid sitting in their pyjamas, playing in Photoshop and bending over for clients. Forget about that. This is a business. The best business in the world. We, as designers, are shaping the world for each other and for our children. We get to leave something amazing in the world. Strap on a suit. Or at least fill those pyjamas with confidence.

Very good and inspiring read by Daniel Eden about some (unfortunately) very familiar misconceptions of freelance designers or design in general. It’s in our hands to change it for the better. Thank’s Daniel. (Proudly written in my pyjamas)

You’re Good. Get Better. / Daniel Eden.

To provide a leading browser on Android and iOS, this year Opera will make a gradual transition to the WebKit engine, as well as Chromium, for most of its upcoming versions of browsers for smartphones and computers.

Opera will switch to WebKit.

Opera gears up at 300 million users.

If there’s a market for premium channels like HBO, why wouldn’t there be a market for premium social networks like App.net?

The majority of users will always prefer the free option, so don’t expect a mass exodus from Twitter or Facebook for paid options like App.net. There will always be a contingent whose main concern is privacy or stability, however. As the only service intentionally catering to those users, App.net has a chance to become a heavyweight in its niche.

App.net is going to provide a new File API to developers. I agree with Jordan Koschei that there’s room for a premium social network. I for my part just signed up for my first year, and you should, too.

App.net is Building Out – The Industry.

Flat aesthetic is great. Skeuomorphism is fine too. It’s even okay to gush over sexy UI on Dribbble and explore aesthetic fads in your own work. Just don’t forget the other 90% of what makes a design comprehensively great.

Despite all the buzz about flat design we shouldn’t forget that aesthetics and the style of our designs are just one (small) part of a design.

Less Aesthetic, More Design | Wells Riley.

When you want a click to change something on your page, you usually reach for Javascript. Adhering to principles of modularity and separating structure, presentation, and behavior we’re supposed to use Javascript for behavior layer. However, methods exist for generating click events using only html and css. What are they and should we use them?

An interesting article about using CSS Click events instead of JavaScript. Steven Bradley walks through different ways of adding CSS click events, from pseudo-selectors like :target/:active to other more “hacky” things you can do with checkboxes or radio input fields. Personally i think the best way to add click events remains Javascript, but CSS is certainly moving more and more in a direction where we can use stuff like this without any hacks. And that is a good thing.

How To Generate CSS Click Events And Thoughts About Whether You Should – Vanseo Design.

As explained by Wikipedia, the Ouroboros is “an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail.” That seemed like an appropriate name. Figured it had to be better than calling it “ui-spinner”.

An interesting Sass/CSS Loading Spinner technique by Tom Genoni.

Ouroboros Sass/CSS Spinner : Atomeye.

Ultimately performance is about respect. Respect your users’ time and they will be more likely to walk away with a positive experience. Good performance is good design. It’s time we treat it as such.

Couldn’t agree more. Think about performance on an early stage of a project and make it a primary goal of your design.

Performance As Design.

I am an optimist, and I believe that people are inherently good and that if you give everyone a voice and freedom of expression, the truth and the good will outweigh the bad. So, on the whole, I think the power that online distribution confers is a positive thing for society. Online we can act as a fifth estate.

Matt Mullenweg attended this years WEF in Davos and spoke about how the web has changed our society on many different levels. Very interesting read.

Online we can act as a fifth estate | Forum:Blog | The World Economic Forum.