LessFuss Design blog

Welcome to the blog of freelance web designer Andy Bryant, publishing news and announcements on web projects I'm working on, and articles I have written on various web design-related subjects - with a focus on accessibility, web standards and good practice.

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11 Jun 2010

Browser wars: it’s all in the name

I’ve heard it said that the losers from Microsoft having to provide a choice of browsers on new installations of Windows 7 in Europe will most likely be Microsoft themselves. I’m not convinced. I think there’s a basic reason why Microsoft’s browser will continue to have significant market share – it’s browser’s name. Continue reading »

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31 Mar 2010

BBC Glow 2.0

I’m a big fan of the BBC Glow javascript library (as I may have mentioned earlier), so it’s good news that Version 2.0 of the library is available as an Alpha release (the current stable download is version 1.7.2), promising enhanced features, improved performance and even better accessibility. Continue reading »

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23 Mar 2010

Spring clean for Chequers Playgroup

Chequers Playgroup [external link] was one of the first sites I did when I started freelancing in 2007. At the time I was one of the Committee members, so I took care of the site content and kept everything up to date. Recently the Committee members asked me to update the site so they could look after it themselves now I’m no longer a member. And because I can’t help myself sometimes, I also tinkered with the design… Continue reading »

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02 Mar 2010

New site: Hempnall Trust

The second charity site I’ve worked on recently (the other being the Green Light Trust site) is a small website for the Hempnall Trust, a charity in my village that gives grants to those in the parish experiencing need, hardship or distress. Continue reading »

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17 Feb 2010

Talk Talk? If only I could

Last month I made the catastrophic decision to change my phone & broadband provider. I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to keep your marbles where they are. After several weeks of poor service and poorer communication from my new provider, it was as a result of venting my frustration on social media that I managed to get all the issues resolved, which leads me to one conculsion. If you’re getting poor service, vent on Twitter and someone from their Marketing team, fire-fighting in the name of brand protection, will probably come to your rescue. Continue reading »

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31 Jan 2010

Green light for new charity website

I’m pleased to say that after many hours of effort – mainly from Tom Haczewski [external link], but with a bit from myself and other colleagues at Virgin Money [external link] – the new brand identity and website for the Green Light Trust [external link] has been launched. Continue reading »

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31 Dec 2009

Review of freelancing year #3

On the freelancing side of things, 2009 will be filed under ‘Frustrating’. It’s been a year of interest but not commitment from potential clients, and the work I have taken on has been, at times, painfully slow to progress. Continue reading »

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02 Nov 2009

WebAIM screen reader users follow up survey

Last week the WebAIM team published the results of their latest Screen Reader User Survey [external link] (a follow up to the last one carried out at the end of 2008). As with the first WebAIM survey [external link], the results confirm that many of the things we have assumed are problematic for screen reader users (e.g. Flash – or rather how developers implement Flash – is a massive pain in the backside) are true. They also reinforce that just as there’s no typical web browser user, there’s also no typical screen reader user. Continue reading »

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25 Oct 2009

National Novel Writing Month

Seeing as I can barely muster more than two or three blog posts a month, it seems bonkers that I’ve signed up to ’30 days and nights of literary abandon’ with National Novel Writing Month [external link], in which the improbable target is to write a novel of at least 50,000 words during November. Continue reading »

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23 Oct 2009

My workstation setup

This morning I followed a Twitter link to a new website called Workstation Setups [external link] – a place where web/techie folks can show off their kick-ass office cribs. Because I already had a photo of my workspace to prove to a friend that I really did work on an ironing board, I sent mine in. Here’s the photo:

My home office

I know what you’re thinking. ‘How can he turn out the sites he does working on that?’. That, or you’re thinking ‘Now this explains a lot…’

The truth is the iBook is starting to crumble a bit. Everything on iPlayer is like a Ray Harryhausen stop motion film, Photoshop takes 10 minutes to start up, and when it’s running I can’t have more than two palettes open at once without completely covering up what I’m working on.

But the ironing board… well I quite like it. It’s adjustable. The whole thing’s ready made mouse mat. And right now, with most of the downstairs being renovated & redecorated – and simply no space in the house for the luxury of a desk – it’s the best I can do.

As for workstationsetups.com, I very much doubt they’ll add this to their showcase. But you never know. Maybe they’ll take pity on me. Maybe there’s a West Coast Office Furniture out there where they’ll send my ironing board to be pimped. Or maybe not.

Still, the fireplaces is coming on though, right?

—-

Update, 23 October: They published it straightaway [external link], and I got this from the site owner:

Of course that I will include it ! In fact, I already posted it before I replied to your email :) . WorkstationSetups.com is not just about the sickest workstations. It’s about ALL workstation setups.
Richard, workstationsetups.com

So I’m happy to be proved wrong. Though I think he might have meant slickest workstations…

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