Writing

Two years ago I joined Clearleft. Now with the responsive design movement in full swing, I look back over the last two years to see how much my approach to web design has changed.

Much of the excitement has come in the form of web conferences, and looking back, I find it surprising just how many I’ve attended this year already.

Whilst I no longer want to tactically vote or have my MP hold on to a safe seat, I’d much rather see continued reform towards fairer representation across all parts of government.

For anyone coming to Brasília for its modernist architecture, no visit would be complete without a stay at this hotel. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 1958, it hosted dignitaries such as Queen Elizabeth and Che Guevara before being devastated by fire in 1978. After facing decades of abandonment and neglect, it was modernised and reopened in 2006.

As I walked the streets of San Francisco, buoyed by their comfortable familiarity and unique soundtrack, I knew that this was still a city I could never call home.

This years SXSW Interactive saw 1,041 sessions presented by 1,648 speakers, growing to such extent that its size now rivals that of the more popular music festival. Yet bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.

Following the latest trends is fun but can also encourage laziness; you should think about design in terms of a particular brief rather than the particular fashion of the day. Yet it can be useful to focus on underlying trends: how we work, how we communicate with clients and how we’re now starting to appreciate the web as a medium in its own right.

Last weekend I took part in the Brighton Half Marathon. With an official chip time of 2:31:27, had I not stopped twice to relieve myself, I would have completed it in under two and a half hours. That I ran the entire distance is what I’m most proud of however — although the same can’t be said of my non-existant training schedule prior to the event.

The King’s Speech is undoubtedly one of the most successful independent British films ever made, yet some see this popularity as problematic given the artistic licence given to the events it portrays.

Last year was notable for a running theme on sustainability; both in the topics I was writing about and my decision not to make any flights as part of a 10:10 pledge to reduce my carbon emissions by 10%. This meant travel was based around the British Isles, and for the first time I visited all four constituent countries of the United Kingdom in one year.

I’ve been thinking about redesigning this website for the last six months, but haven’t been able to find a strategy for making these changes happen. To keep this project on course, I’ve defined a set of design principles.

Clearly communicating the fundamental aspects of your design at the different stages of a project can help you better communicate with clients, developers and your peers, ensuring your vision doesn’t get lost in the transformation from static comp to dynamic ever changing website.

I’ve recently felt frustrated and annoyed as once again friends and colleagues open their wallets and buy the latest product unveiled by Steve Jobs.

I’ve decided to attend next years SXSW Interactive festival followed by a tour of North America. The details of where I’ll be visiting and for how long remain undecided, but I imagine my itinerary will be varied and involve much travelling by train.

A number of half-written posts have remained on my hard drive for so long that their incompleteness only serves to annoy me. So I’ve salvaged the pertinent bits and published them here.

A few months ago I wrote about not upgrading to the iPhone 4, regardless of the fact I’m eligible for a free upgrade. This turned out to be something of a radical position but I enjoyed the debate that followed.

There is often talk of there being no landmark design on the web, but I suggest it won’t be long before BBC News is considered one of the greatest design icons online today.

dConstruct has long combined its conference programme with the name badge, a simple yet cost-effective design. This year we hope to go one better.

Earlier this week, Simon Collison revealed the first fruits of his newly established private entrepreneurship. New Adventures In Web Design is an affordable one-day conference landing in Nottingham on 20th January 2011.

Architecture has never been kind to Birmingham, but then Birmingham has never been kind to its architecture.

I can wait another year before upgrading my iPhone.

Much like the wider economy, football in this country is an overinflated bubble ready to burst. Two years after failing to qualify for the European Championships, let us see further embarrassment with an early exit from the World Cup. Then let us seize this opportunity to properly scrutinise the national game and its failings, rather than single out the manger or individual members of the squad.

As the masses on Twitter congratulate themselves on their latest technology purchase, I feel strangely removed from all the excitement.

With Dave Gray speaking at this year’s UX London, Andy asked if he would then visit Brighton and run a sketching workshop for everyone at Clearleft.