The document discusses responsive web design and the importance of aligning it with user needs rather than solely focusing on mobile compatibility. It emphasizes that a purpose-driven web philosophy should consider various approaches like predictive development, which optimizes performance for different user scenarios. The text advocates for incorporating multiple design strategies to create effective and user-friendly websites.

1. Is Your Responsive Design
Responsive Enough?
James Zetlen • Software Architect • Mozu
Dane Downer • Cofounder/Vice-President • Brand Labs

2. The “One Size Fits All” Philosophy!
Plato focused on perfect “forms”, meaning:
Physical objects only resemble the ideal
The simplest definition is the correct one
To Plato, humans were “featherless bipeds”
Then…Diogenes threw a plucked chicken at
him!
Chicken Thrower

3. Responsive Development!
Problems!
Responsive development should be
about responding to users’ needs
Not simply “mobile readiness”
Responsive is a specific style
Your project / users might require a
different approach

5. Purpose-Driven Web Philosophy!
What are your goals? Assess. Then adopt.
Responsive is only ONE tool. Consider:
Progressive Enhancement
Graceful Degradation
Adaptive Design
Predictive Development: using a build process,
one set of assets becomes many

6. What is Predictive!
Development?!
Avoids the poor performance of carelessly
developed responsive sites
Provides faster load times to billions of
people with slow broadband access
It’s developer-friendly!
Just as convenient, quick and "
elegant as responsive

7. When Responsive Works Best!
Content is more important than interactions
Interactions present, but secondary
Spatial relationships are few and consistent
Client begins with a mobile vision
Long-form writing, presentations, galleries, portfolios

8. Content First means Responsive!

9. When Predictive Works Better!
“Web app”, not web site!
Complex interactions!
Spatial relationships are important!
!
Image-focused site, or site with other heavy assets !
Large navigation hierarchy!

10. Interactions First means Predictive!

11. Different Strokes!
The Future-Friendly Web needs all we’ve got
Even powerful techniques don’t work for all
Opposing philosophies can work together
Purpose-driven Web philosophy
uses many schools of thought,
just like us.
“All the good are friends of one another.”
– Zeno of Citium

12. THANK YOU!