Slides from my presentation at the Bristol leg of the 2008 FOWD Tour.

2. What are we worried about?

3. What are we worried about?
Some users see ‘broken’ sites.

4. What are we worried about?
Some users see ‘broken’ sites.
Don’t build broken sites: basic support can be
offered as long as it doesn’t look broken. If it’s a real
problem for older browsers, use universalie6.css, a
warning message, or something similar

5. What are we worried about?
Some users see ‘broken’ sites.
Don’t build broken sites: basic support can be
offered as long as it doesn’t look broken. If it’s a real
problem for older browsers, use universalie6.css, a
warning message, or something similar
But this visual treatment is integral to the brand!

6. What are we worried about?
Some users see ‘broken’ sites.
Don’t build broken sites: basic support can be
offered as long as it doesn’t look broken. If it’s a real
problem for older browsers, use universalie6.css, a
warning message, or something similar
But this visual treatment is integral to the brand!
Then include it (if not, don’t worry)

7. What are we worried about?
Some users see ‘broken’ sites.
Don’t build broken sites: basic support can be
offered as long as it doesn’t look broken. If it’s a real
problem for older browsers, use universalie6.css, a
warning message, or something similar
But this visual treatment is integral to the brand!
Then include it (if not, don’t worry)
Missing rounded corners don’t matter!

8. Take Your Design To The Next Level With CSS3 j.mp/smashingcss3

9. Fearful forabeautifulweb.com/s/598

10. “ ”
Great article, thanks but I think to wait that
the most of browsers support CSS3 totally to
develop websites for my clients.
Comments from Smashing Magazine readers on j.mp/smashingcss3

11. “ ”
I hope CSS3 will be a standard in the near
future, right now you cant really use anything
of it ’cause not every browser supports it.
Comments from Smashing Magazine readers on j.mp/smashingcss3

12. “
CSS 3 rocks. Unfortunately we need to stay at
”
least 5 more years with CSS 2.1 if we want to
offer the same design to each user (what in
most ‘commercial’ projects is necessary).
Comments from Smashing Magazine readers on j.mp/smashingcss3

13. “
I can’t wait to use CSS3 in a real project.
Unfortunately I’m going to be stuck with
”
things as they are for the time being as I wait
for my clients to catch up. I expect this will be
the case for most designers for the time being.
Comments from Smashing Magazine readers on j.mp/smashingcss3

14. “ ”
CSS3 looks really good however because of IE
it will be long time before I start using it.
Comments from Smashing Magazine readers on j.mp/smashingcss3

15. These arguments are
complete and utter bullshit

16. If 98% of the users can’t see a
text-shadow, it doesn’t matter,
but it’ll be a nice enrichment
for the 2% of users who can

17. Tap Tap Tap taptaptap.com

18. Tweet CC tweetcc.com

19. Fusion Ads fusionads.net

20. Fusion Ads fusionads.net

21. Progressive means progressive

22. Progressive means progressive
Fall-back solutions (JS on and off?)

23. Barclaycard online admin barclaycard.co.uk

24. Progressive means progressive
Fall-back solutions (JS on and off?)
Enhancements only become features when the
majority of users are experiencing them

25. Progressive means progressive
Fall-back solutions (JS on and off?)
Enhancements only become features when the
majority of users are experiencing them
Use progressive enrichment in your dull, corporate sites
— the sexy stuff is an add-on, so it’s fine!

26. Do websites need to look
exactly the same in
every browser?

27. dowebsitesneedtolookexactlythesameineverybrowser.com

28. Do websites need to look
exactly the same in
every browser?
Websites will never look consistent across all browsers

29. Do websites need to look
exactly the same in
every browser?
Websites will never look consistent across all browsers
Rendering engines, operating systems, and user-specific
variables like screen settings and resolution will always
stand in the way

30. Jon Tan:
“
Designers will use [technologies like Flash, PDF,
and hacks like embedding type in images] [...]
because they won’t have to deal with painful
inconsistencies between user agents; the bane
”
of the browser wars, and in this instance, the
bane of web typography in what seems like
the age of the raster wars.
Display Type & the Raster Wars j.mp/jontan

31. Bookmark these URLs
Jon Tan: Web Typography tag jontangerine.com/log/tag/web-typography
Web Typography (Richard Rutter) webtypography.net

32. Do websites need to look
exactly the same in
every browser?
Websites will never look consistent across all browsers
Rendering engines, operating systems, and user-specific
variables like screen settings and resolution will always
stand in the way
So stop trying to reach the unreachable!
Embrace the differences

33. Usability vs. aesthetics
Usability / accessibility / functionality
= very important

34. Usability vs. aesthetics
Usability / accessibility / functionality
= very important
But don’t underestimate the importance of beauty!

35. The experience

36. The experience
Beauty is the experience’s visual layer

37. The experience
Beauty is the experience’s visual layer
Visually pleasing layer = more fulfilling user experience

38. The experience
Beauty is the experience’s visual layer
Visually pleasing layer = more fulfilling user experience
Functionality leads to usage; aesthetics lead to emotion

39. The experience
Beauty is the experience’s visual layer
Visually pleasing layer = more fulfilling user experience
Functionality leads to usage; aesthetics lead to emotion
The experience layer

40. The experience
Beauty is the experience’s visual layer
Visually pleasing layer = more fulfilling user experience
Functionality leads to usage; aesthetics lead to emotion
The experience layer
(See Dan Mall’s FOWD presentation:
events.carsonified.com/fowd/2008/newyork/videos/dan-mall/)

41. The experience layer
“
Our emotions change the way we think
”
and serve as constant guides to appropriate
behaviour, steering us away from the bad
and guiding us towards the good.
Donald Norman, Emotional Design

42. Variety in web design.
I can haz it?

44. BORING

45. BORING

46. BORING

47. BORING

48. BORING

49. BORING

50. BORING

51. BORING

52. BORING

54. Who’s pushing things forward?

55. Who’s pushing things forward?
Tim Van Damme, Made By Elephant
Mike Kus, Carsonified
Miguel Ripoll, Cesser Digital
Jason Santa Maria
Matthew Smith, Squared Eye

56. Who’s pushing things forward?
Tim Van Damme, Made By Elephant
Mike Kus, Carsonified
Miguel Ripoll, Cesser Digital
Jason Santa Maria
Matthew Smith, Squared Eye

57. Made By Elephant madebyelephant.com

58. Atebits atebits.com

59. Atebits atebits.com/tweetie-mac/

60. 24 Ways 24ways.org

61. Who’s pushing things forward?
Tim Van Damme, Made By Elephant
Mike Kus, Carsonified
Miguel Ripoll, Cesser Digital
Jason Santa Maria
Matthew Smith, Squared Eye

62. Stack Overflow stackoverflow.carsonified.com

63. Carsonified Events events.carsonified.com

64. Who’s pushing things forward?
Tim Van Damme, Made By Elephant
Mike Kus, Carsonified
Miguel Ripoll, Cesser Digital
Jason Santa Maria
Matthew Smith, Squared Eye

65. Born Living bornliving.com

66. Who’s pushing things forward?
Tim Van Damme, Made By Elephant
Mike Kus, Carsonified
Miguel Ripoll, Cesser Digital
Jason Santa Maria
Matthew Smith, Squared Eye

67. Jason Santa Maria jasonsantamaria.com

68. Who’s pushing things forward?
Tim Van Damme, Made By Elephant
Mike Kus, Carsonified
Miguel Ripoll, Cesser Digital
Jason Santa Maria
Matthew Smith, Squared Eye

69. Squared Eye squaredeye.com/work/featured/family-life-network/

70. Squared Eye squaredeye.com/work/featured/family-life-network/

71. Squared Eye squaredeye.com/work/featured/family-life-network/

72. Squared Eye squaredeye.com/work/featured/family-life-network/

73. Squared Eye squaredeye.com/work/featured/family-life-network/

74. Squared Eye squaredeye.com/work/featured/family-life-network/

75. The nicer your site looks...

76. The nicer your site looks...
... the longer your visitors will look at it...

77. The nicer your site looks...
... the longer your visitors will look at it...
... the longer your visitors look at it, the longer they’ll
spend on your website...

78. The nicer your site looks...
... the longer your visitors will look at it...
... the longer your visitors look at it, the longer they’ll
spend on your website...
... and the longer they spend on your website, the easier
it will be for you to sell them your product or service

79. Web design, for me, is
predominantly full of boring,
unimaginative work.
Let’s change that.

81. N G
IN l :
A R
W oversia
con tr t
at en !
em ing
st ch
ap p r oa

82. Validation is irrelevant

83. Yes, yes. Bear with me...

84. Yes, yes. Bear with me...
New techniques won’t validate...

85. Validator suggestions css3.info/the-big-css3-validation-debate/

86. The CSS3 Validator could offer the option to ignore
vendor specific extensions
Validator suggestions css3.info/the-big-css3-validation-debate/

87. The CSS3 Validator could offer the option to ignore
vendor specific extensions
The CSS3 Validator could highlight vendor specific
extensions with a warning, rather than an error
Validator suggestions css3.info/the-big-css3-validation-debate/

88. The CSS3 Validator could offer the option to ignore
vendor specific extensions
The CSS3 Validator could highlight vendor specific
extensions with a warning, rather than an error
The validator could mark such code as
‘experimental’ rather than an error or warning
Validator suggestions css3.info/the-big-css3-validation-debate/

89. Yes, yes. Bear with me...
New techniques won’t validate...
... and it doesn’t matter!

90. Yes, yes. Bear with me...
New techniques won’t validate...
... and it doesn’t matter!
Recognise the value of intentional invalidation

91. Jon Hicks hicksdesign.co.uk/journal

92. Jon Hicks hicksdesign.co.uk/journal

93. <b>

94. #tops b {
display:block;
float:right;
width:333px;
height:15px;
background:url(/images/paulsmith.gif) no-repeat;
}
Intentional invalidation in hicksdesign.co.uk/css/layout-9.css

95. Yes, yes. Bear with me...
New techniques won’t validate...
... and it doesn’t matter!
Recognise the value of intentional invalidation
Validation does not equal conformity to Web Standards:
you can build a site with tables and a complete lack of
semantics yet still have it validate

97. Validation

98. does

99. not

100. equal

101. conformity

102. to

103. Web

104. Standards

106. We’re looking at it in
the wrong way

107. We’re looking at it in
the wrong way
“We can’t ensure that all users get the same experience.”
// negative

108. We’re looking at it in
the wrong way
“We can’t ensure that all users get the same experience.”
// negative
“We can add further enhancements above the norm.”
// positive

109. We’re looking at it in
the wrong way
“We can’t ensure that all users get the same experience.”
// negative
“We can add further enhancements above the norm.”
// positive
The flexibility the web offers is a blessing, not a curse

110. We’re looking at it in
the wrong way
“We can’t ensure that all users get the same experience.”
// negative
“We can add further enhancements above the norm.”
// positive
The flexibility the web offers is a blessing, not a curse
Ensure a good experience for most; a great one for some

111. It’s not just about
making things look pretty.
Forward-thinking code means
a future-proof website.

112. 10%

113. 10% of users today will be
100% of users tomorrow

114. 10% of users today will be
100% of users tomorrow
The amount of people who see your enrichments
might seem small right now, but that number
will only grow, not decline

116. My site before Firefox 3.5 (no @font-face support) elliotjaystocks.com

117. My site after Firefox 3.5 (with @font-face support) elliotjaystocks.com

118. 10% of users today will be
100% of users tomorrow
The amount of people who see your enrichments
might seem small right now, but that number
will only grow, not decline
It’s our duty to push forward-thinking development;
to make the most of the tools made available to us
and our users

119. 10% of users today will be
100% of users tomorrow
The amount of people who see your enrichments
might seem small right now, but that number
will only grow, not decline
It’s our duty to push forward-thinking development;
to make the most of the tools made available to us
and our users
New CSS techniques will never become mainstream
if we designers aren’t using them

120. All the small things

121. All the small things
CSS2.1 / CSS3 etc. allows you to write less code, speeds
up development time, and generally makes life easier

122. All the small things
CSS2.1 / CSS3 etc. allows you to write less code, speeds
up development time, and generally makes life easier
Consider attribute selectors

123. <ul class="blogroll">
<li>
<a href="http://shauninman.com">Shaun Inman</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://mezzoblue.com">Dave Shea</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://hicksdesign.co.uk">Jon Hicks</a>
</li>
</ul>
HTML with no need for class names on each <li>

124. ul.blogroll li a[href="http://shauninman.com"]{
background:url(http://shauninman.com/favicon.ico);
}
Attribute selectors

125. All the small things
CSS2.1 / CSS3 etc. allows you to write less code, speeds
up development time, and generally makes life easier
Consider attribute selectors
Consider nth-child selectors

126. Fusion Ads fusionads.net/blog/

127. All the small things
CSS2.1 / CSS3 etc. allows you to write less code, speeds
up development time, and generally makes life easier
Consider attribute selectors
Consider nth-child selectors
And if a browser doesn’t support these things...
... so what?

129. Slides will be available online at
elliotjaystocks.com/speaking/

132. Thank you!
elliotjaystocks.com | twitter.com/elliotjaystocks
Pin-ups image by Mauren Veras - flickr.com/photos/mauren/2298724158/
Paint textures from The Stock Exchange - sxc.hu
Set in FS Clerkenwell - fontsmith.com/font_details.php?font_num=251

134. Shameless plug!
Sexy Web Design
by Elliot Jay Stocks
Expert reviewers: Jina Bolton & Dan Rubin
Published by SitePoint