Presented by Jeffrey Zeldman.
- This presentation is about ways to find your edge. What makes you great?
I. Though Shalt Entertain
- Panic establishes tone with their logo and simple, friendly language.
- A List Apart uses illustration to add illustration that complements the article and sets tone.
John Lennon went to art school which is why he can’t draw.
- rdio neither entertains nor informs on their 404 page.
- New York Daily News’ 404 page is entertaining and informative.
- Gnu Foods uses wordplay to entertain.
II. Test Everything
Different screen size is only the beginning.
- Remote Preview responsive testing tool.
- Testing assumptions: Jeffrey’s ALA blog post, On Alt Text.
- Sometimes genius design might be the best approach. Related: Looking Beyond User-Centered Design
III. Thou Shalt Iterate
“I move things around until they look right.” — Milton Glaser
- Iteration makes for great design. This will set your site apart from others.
- As an agency, you should have in your contracts an iteration phase after launching a product.
IV. Thou Shalt Ship
If you can’t delegate at the pixel level, you’ll never ship.
- Suggestion: double your rates every time a client refuses to ship because something isn’t perfect.
V. Engage The Community
- Instagram’s Terms of Service change hurt them in the short term. Flickr gained from this misstep with the launch of their iOS app around the same time.
Redesigns should never be simply putting a new skin on something.
- A List Apart’s Embeddable Comments
VI. Love Thy User As Thyself
- Meet them where they are. Design appropriately for each kind of device.
- Never assume there’s a mobile use case that’s different.
VII. Remember Thy Content And Keep It Holy
If you design around breakpoints, it’s breakpointless.
- Mark Boulton’s A Richer Canvas
- Content first: Getting the right content to the right user at the right time.
- Zeldman.com redesign stripped away everything but the content. Jeffrey wanted to make a webpage with a good lean-back reading experience. 37signal’s blog did a similar thing shortly after.
VIII. Thou Shalt Make Magic
Make magic, not perfection.
- Instagram’s behind-the-scenes processing makes the app feel faster.
IX. Thou Shalt Prioritize
X. To Thine Own Self Be True
This is design, not religion.