Hi Nathan,
Sorry for the multiple emails, but I'm trying to keep the responses shorter and sorted out for discussion.
Part of the appeal of your site is that it encapsulates a meaningful
message and a cohesive theme. Layout and navigation are simple
and nothing detracts from the site's subject matter. Overuse of
images, animations, and effects may detract, for example.
I am a big fan of the minimalist style of web design.
However, whatever design styles web developers are using, I think they should be familiar with the elements and principles of artistic composition. A web page is essentially an electronic drawing or electronic painting. Artists have long realized that certain elements and principles play an important role in the visual appeal of drawings and paintings. Here's a site that briefly defines the main elements and principles:
http://virellesartroom.pbworks.com/w/page/71402659/Elements%20and%20Principles%20of%20Design
My first responsive web site was inspired by the Fork CMS web site:
http://www.fork-cms.com/. You can see the obvious similarities. However, I did not copy their design pixel-for-pixel. I made a number of changes (especially with layouts for smaller tablets and phones). I used my understanding of the elements and principles of composition when making these changes.
I realize that businesses often hire professional graphic designers to take care of all this. And I realize that businesses often use standard designs for employee-facing web pages (which is a good thing), so this also limits the amount of graphic design a developer has to do. Still, IMHO, any developer who affects how web pages appear to users should have a basic understanding of the elements and principles of composition.
Thanks,
Kelly
-----Original Message-----
From: WEB400 [mailto:web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Nathan Andelin
Sent: Saturday, July 04, 2015 4:45 PM
To: Web Enabling the IBM i (AS/400 and iSeries)
Subject: Re: [WEB400] 7 lessons from my first responsive web site
Kelly,
Thanks for sharing. Part of the appeal of your site is that it encapsulates a meaningful message and a cohesive theme. Layout and navigation are simple and nothing detracts from the site's subject matter. Overuse of images, animations, and effects may detract, for example.
I visited first from my cell phone, then my iPad, then my laptop.
Adaptations from small to medium to large screen sizes do not disappoint.
Responsive design is one of my current interests and it's nice to see some convergence of our parallel tracks.
Regarding device emulators, I have gained some benefit from the one included with Chrome developer tools, which are part of the browser.
I have reservations about using something like Meyers CSS reset. People get accustomed to their browser's default styles for input elements and such, which seems to appeal to them.
Perhaps the next step in your site's evolution may be to fit it into a single page paradigm. That would eliminate the need to embed common CSS, JavaScript, and navigational elements in every page, and make the transitions from page to page more fluid.
HTH,
Nathan.
--
This is the Web Enabling the IBM i (AS/400 and iSeries) (WEB400) mailing list To post a message email: WEB400@xxxxxxxxxxxx To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
visit:
http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/web400
or email: WEB400-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives at
http://archive.midrange.com/web400.
midrange.com
