My lack of posts as of late is largely due to my pet project, QuirkTools. It’s been much more successful than I had ever anticipated, and I’m excited to be working on some exciting new features that will be released in the coming days and weeks. If you’ve never seen QuirkTools, check out this video showcasing the flagship web app, Wires. Continue reading
The User is Never Wrong
In years past, as a wee adolescent first discovering the intimidating art of interaction with real people, I worked as a sales clerk in a local software store. At the store, we had a motto, something that you’ve probably heard many times before: the customer is always right. I will say now that I didn’t fully believe in our motto at the time. I was young, naive, and perhaps even a little cocky (weren’t we all?). Continue reading
SharePoint Fest Chicago
This week at SharePoint Fest Chicago, I was honored to be speaking alongside the likes of Marc Anderson and many other talented and intelligent thought leaders in the SharePoint community. Continue reading
Public SharePoint Websites
I had the pleasure of doing a great workshop with Paul Swider yesterday at SPTechCon. In this end-to-end workshop, we discussed strategy, processes, and implementation techniques for building a public-facing SharePoint publishing site. Paul had some great insight on architecture and strategy, while I detailed the journey from idea to Photoshop to SharePoint, with a few tips and tricks along the way. The end result was a fictitious digital bakery, built on the able shoulders of SharePoint 2010. Continue reading
Design Patterns in SharePoint
Last week, I was happy to present at SusQtech’s “30 on Thursdays” weekly webinar event. This is a great series of free webinars from some talented speakers, and the succinct format is a great opportunity to learn something new without a huge investment of your time. Continue reading
HTML5, CSS3, and Mobile Strategy
I had the pleasure of speaking at SharePoint Saturday Virginia Beach this weekend. Thanks for all who attended; I had a great time speaking on some exciting new topics, and sharing my passion for design in SharePoint. Continue reading
Join me for Advanced SharePoint Design
On January 23-26, 2012, I’ll be instructing a class that focuses on the more advanced strategies behind applying style and branding to a SharePoint 2010 website. This isn’t your average SharePoint training class: we’ll cover topics like improving the SharePoint user experience, creative design for the SharePoint platform, and implementation strategy for making your creative designs come to life. Continue reading
v5, the Responsive HTML5 Master Page for SharePoint 2010
“v5.master” is a simple HTML5 master page designed for SharePoint 2010. It makes good use of the amazing new features of both HTML5 and CSS3, including CSS3 media queries. The master page is extremely simplistic in nature, and is truly meant to serve as a framework for building your own SharePoint 2010 customizations. Continue reading
10 Things a Website Should Never, Ever Do
As a designer of the world wide web, you are armed with the power to amaze, enlighten, entice, and captivate. The web is an easel for your creative aspirations, and the content you design for is the foundation of your creativity. With so much power at the tips of your fingers, you also possess the ability to deter, annoy, anger, and infuriate. Your users are yours to command, their emotions yours to pluck like the strings of a harp. Continue reading
From “Developer” to “Designer”
It’s easy to forget how a website really works. I mean really works. I’ve had the pleasure of working with many brilliant and talented developers (programmers) who could bend the functionality of any application or server-side platform at the drop of a hat. They are problem-solvers, as is everyone in this industry of the online. Continue reading