[Hidden-tech] calling all designers

Mel Choyce mel at choycedesign.com
Thu Sep 29 23:04:42 EDT 2011


Currently, <1% of internet users are working on 800x600
screens<http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_display.asp>.
About 14% of users have 1024x768, which is why any designer with a modern
focus on web design will do one of two things: use a grid system such as
http://960.gs/ or http://978.gs/, which are optimal on 1024x768 or higher
screens, or create responsive designs.

Let's look at the first option. Using a 960 or 978 grid system, well over
97% of internet users will see the design as intended. Here comes the
ideological debate -- should, then, designers cater to the <3% of users who
use smaller browsers? Let's say there are a few people like you and I, who
never maximize their browser windows. As I am on a higher screen resolution,
this is rarely, if ever, an issue for me personally. However, should this be
an issue for you? Should web designers be forced to constrain their designs
to cater to a tiny minority, or should the minority be jolted into the
present, where screen resolutions are almost always higher by default? One
could argue that people using smaller screen resolutions, unless they are on
mobile devices, etc., need to either evolve and adapt with the rest of the
internet or get left behind.

One also might insist that by not designing for users on smaller screen
resolutions, designers are catering to the tyranny of the majority. There is
some validity in this. The ideal designer would be able to design for all
users, regardless of screen resolutions. This leads into the second method
modern web designers can use: responsive design. Responsive design has been
gaining serious ground lately due to the expansion of mobile platforms. Why
create a second site for mobile when you can use media queries to adapt?
(For a good look at media queries, look here: http://mediaqueri.es/)

Using media queries, web builders can create sites that adapt to whatever
screen resolution a user has. You can target within specific ranges -- under
1024x768, for instance, or between 800x600 and 1024x768. It's pretty
excellent. However, how often does a web designer have the resources to be
able to create responsive designs? Not all web designers are developers.
Many designers just design. Many developers, front- and back-end, do not
design at all. Many designers just are not given the time/budget to create
upwards of four separate sets of mockups for various screen sizes. Many are
not included, at all, in the development of the sites they design. When this
is the case, how, then, can designers create responsive designs? Currently,
the vast majority of people creating responsive designs are either web
designer/developer hybrids (such as WordPress designer/developer Sara
Cannon<http://sara-cannon.com/>and web guru and writer Ethan
Marcotte <http://unstoppablerobotninja.com/>) or designers working at large
firms with the resources to be able to pursue the extra time that goes into
designing responsively. This is not necessarily something a freelance web
designer, some of which have very little, if any development skills, can
realistically pursue. While responsive design, I believe, is the future, it
is not something that the vast majority of web designers currently have the
resources to create.

As for dialup, well, that is rather unfortunate. However, as web
technologies advance, the need for giant, uncompressed images is growing
smaller. Sites are becoming faster as more people start looking into
advanced caching methods, compression and minifying, and use web fonts
instead of images of text. Google is now counting slow loading speeds
against websites. Flash, a major slow-loader, is becoming ancient
technology: a thing of the past. Even Adobe sees this -- just look at
Wallaby <http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/wallaby/>.  And really, it is
not *just* the job of the designer to make sure a site loads quickly; it is
also the job of the developer coding the site.

Of course, the web also has plenty of
hacks<http://dot5.drawar.com/posts/artist-designer-or-hack>who create
sub-par work.

I believe that while your arguments are valid, in that in the ideal world,
all web design would be quick and responsive, I think you are in a minority,
falling behind the times and refusing to adapt while the web evolves around
you. I would encourage you to explore new web technologies and reevaluate
your opinions.

To answer the original question, I run either a 13" Macbook or, more
recently, a 15" Macbook Pro. A second monitor would be great, but currently
I have neither the resources to buy one nor the steady working space in
which to house a big, awesome monitor. A laptop is a must for my jobs.

Respectfully,
Mel Choyce
http://choycedesign.com

Message: 9
> Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:36:30 -0400
> From: Robert Heller <heller at deepsoft.com>
> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] calling all designers
> To: schlegel wilcox <gnansense at gmail.com>
> Cc: hidden-discuss at mm01.tnrnet.com
> Message-ID: <201109292236.p8TMaUhM030412 at sharky.deepsoft.com>
>
> At Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:53:15 -0400 schlegel wilcox <gnansense at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> > MIME-Version: 1.0
> >
> >    ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's
> area.
> >    ** If you did, we all thank you.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Wondering what designers think about screen size. Do you have a laptop or
> > desktop? Do you hook either up to a larger monitor? What are the screen
> > sizes of those items? How small do you go on laptop screen size?
> > Thanks,
> > NancyA
>
> I have a desktop with a 17" monitor and a screen resolution of 1024x768.
>
> I also have a laptop, a Thinkpad X31, with a 12" (I think) screen and a
> screen screen resolution of 1024x768.
>
> I am not a *web designer*.  I am a computer programmer.  I am also an
> old-school UNIX user and until recently *never* maximized program
> windows.  Now I *needed* to maximize my Firefox window, since almost all
> web sites just do not work properly with a 600x800 window.
>
> *I* think:
>
> 1) Web Designers need to have a 'low-bandwidth' Friday, where their
> bandwidth is cut back to dialup speeds one day a month, to give them a
> 'feel' for how the web sites they design (don't) work for dial up users.
>
> 2) Web Designers need to have a 'small screen' Monday where they are
> forced to use smaller screens or run at a lower resolution, so they can
> see how their web sites look and feel on smaller screens.
>
> --
> Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933 / heller at deepsoft.com
> Deepwoods Software        -- http://www.deepsoft.com/
> ()  ascii ribbon campaign -- against html e-mail
> /\  www.asciiribbon.org   -- against proprietary attachments
>
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