LessFussDesign blog

Archive for April, 2009

18 Apr 2009

Twitterplan

Twitterplan logoWho’d have thought it, local government actually using social media for something really useful? Lichfield [external link] and Lincoln City [external link] councils have proved that you can use Web 2.0 for the good of the people by developing a new Twitter application called Twitterplan [external link]. The service Tweets alerts about new planning applications near where you live. Continue reading »

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15 Apr 2009

Skip links + tabindex = confusion

Adding features that help improve the accessibility of a website is a good thing. But sometimes accessibility features can conflict with each other when used inappropriately. Providing skip links while also setting the tab index on links is a good example of two common accessibility techniques which, if you’re not careful, can end up doing more harm than good. Continue reading »

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09 Apr 2009

Naked

No, not me you’ll be disappointed glad to hear, but this blog – it’s the fourth CSS Naked Day [external link] today, the annual event from the Gok Wan of web standards, Dustin Diaz [external link]. I’m de-robing this blog for the first time to show my support, and to demonstrate that while far from pretty, the site should still at least be usable.

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07 Apr 2009

Mock ups the old fashioned way

For a recent project I was asked to come up with some (very) rough design ideas for a site where the client wanted a ‘grungy’ look. Because the client was only after some rough layout ideas and nothing polished, I put aside Photoshop and for the first time in years took to paper, pencil crayon and felt tips. I’d forgotten how enjoyable – and liberating – working with the old traditional media is. But if hand drawing isn’t your thing, but you like the sketched-style wireframes for presenting layout ideas, there’s plenty of good – and reasonably priced – software packages out there. Continue reading »

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