Understanding Web Design

Jeffrey Zeldman

We’ll have better web design when we stop asking it to be something it’s not, and start appreciating it for what it is. It’s not print, not video, not a poster—and that’s not a problem. Learn how to explain to clients and bosses what it is you do, and why they should stand back and let you do it.

Debug / Reboot

Eric Meyer

With judicious use of CSS, you can visually call out problems in your markup, as well as wipe out a great deal of browser inconsistency. This exploration of how (and why) will illuminate some of the dustier, darker corners of CSS in the service of gaining a deeper understanding of CSS and browser behavior.

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The Lessons of CSS Frameworks

Eric Meyer

Wouldn’t it be great if your toughest layout challenges were pre-solved for you, with code you could use over and over no matter what the design looks like? Sure, but is it possible, or even wise? Find out as we study popular CSS frameworks to help you better understand CSS as a design tool.

Comps and Code: Couples’ Therapy

Ethan Marcotte

High-end design. Standards-compliant code. Doesn’t exactly sound like a match made in heaven. We’ll look at high-profile brands, and discuss the intersection of quality code with top-notch art direction. Developers will learn strategies to achieve that extra level of “bulletproofing” in their templates; designers will pick up tips on how to better convey creative requirements to coders.

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Good Design Ain’t Easy

Jason Santa Maria

Successful design strikes the balance between form and message. When that balance is threatened by generic templates and design sameness, even the most thoughtful messages can come off as generic and insincere. Learn how design can be a supportive storyteller (not just a passive bystander).

Principles of Unobtrusive JavaScript

Peter-Paul Koch

Three principles make JavaScript unobtrusive: 1. It must not impose on users (the site must work with or without JavaScript). 2. Scripts must keep their nose out of your markup. 3. Scripts should be easy to understand and update. Real-world examples aplenty will make these three principles crystal clear.

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Web Application Hierarchy

Luke Wroblewski

When a potential customer makes it to one of your pages, what will they do? Do you want them to sign up, share knowledge, buy something, or dive deeper into your content? Don’t leave these decisions to chance. Learn how people scan web pages and how to guide users through key content and actions using visual hierarchy to construct meaningful, prioritized page layouts. Multiple before and after examples will be shown.

Standards in the Enterprise

Kimberly Blessing

Standards neither happen magically nor maintain themselves in any environment, but in the enterprise arena, extra work is needed to make standards efforts successful. Getting the code written is only the first step! Learn how to promote standards in the enterprise and manage success long-term.

Lunch

Design to Scale

Doug Bowman

How do you design a site for 100 users? How about ten thousand? Or ten million? Can a design adapt for audiences that vary in size and interest? How do you scale upward and outward, welcoming throngs of new users as the web grows? Looking at examples of scale and design from the real world, we’ll draw parallels with the web, and spot practical lessons to be learned.

Designing the User Experience Curve

Andy Budd

People expect more from a website than a handy set of tools and a pretty interface—they want an experience. As soon as somebody starts using your site they’ll be judging you on everything from the way it looks to the tone of your error messages. Learn nine key factors that go into designing the perfect customer experience. See how to turn utilitarian experiences into something wonderful.

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When Style Is The Idea

Christopher Fahey

In great interactive design, form always follows function...or does it? Of course usability and efficiency are critical, but what about the more intangible sensibilities that infuse great designs, those qualities inspired by fashion, culture, and taste? What about art direction? What about style? Learn how the history of design encompasses style and problem solving, and see how great designers think about form and function, style and efficiency, at the same time—whether they know it or not.

Designing the Next Generation of Web Apps

Jeff Veen

The hype around Web 2.0 continues to increase to the point of absurdity. What can we learn from these trends to actually apply to our designs? Take a tour through the web’s past, present, and future to answer these questions and more:

• What can we learn from the rich history of data visualization to inform our designs today?
• How can we do amazing work while battle the constant constraints we find ourselves up against?
• How do we really incorporate users into our practice of user experience?

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The Scent of a Web Page: Five Types of Navigation Pages

Jared Spool

You work hard providing top-notch content on your site. Will your users find it? If they don’t, all that effort is for nothing. What can you do to guarantee that users find the content they’ve come looking for? You’ll come away with the most up-to-the-minute research on how people actually navigate sites, learning secrets behind successful designs including Lands’ End, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, CNN, and the BBC.

A Critique Apart

Jeffrey Zeldman

Wrap up An Event Apart Boston with critiques of your favorite website—yours—live, on-the-fly, and on-the-spot. Join the world’s “oldest living web designer” for a rollicking and insightful exploration of design, content, and usability.