zomigi.com » Announcements http://zomigi.com The professional blog of Zoe Mickley Gillenwater Thu, 10 May 2012 16:30:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Where I’ve been, where I’m going http://zomigi.com/blog/where-ive-been-where-im-going/ http://zomigi.com/blog/where-ive-been-where-im-going/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 16:30:37 +0000 Zoe Gillenwater http://zomigi.com/?p=631 I’ve been very quiet on Twitter and email lately because I had jury duty from April 3 to May 8. (It was a murder and kidnapping trial. Not fun!) I was supposed to speak at Future Insights Live (FILive) the first week of May but was forced to cancel due to my jury service, and since you’re not supposed to talk about being on a jury while you’re on it, I couldn’t even let people know this to apologize in advance! (Other than the conference organizers—I did notify them and tell them how sorry and disappointed I was.) So now that I can talk about it, let me apologize after the fact: If you were expecting to see me at FILive, I’m very sorry I couldn’t be there. I’ve never had to cancel a speaking engagement before and wouldn’t have done so this time if I weren’t forced to.

Hopefully, you’ll be able to come see me speak at Future of Web Design (FOWD) this fall instead. I don’t have many details right now, but the plan is to give the same presentation on “The Future of CSS Layout” at FOWD, since the Carsonified folks graciously agreed to let me switch from FILive to FOWD. I’ll share more details when I have them!

In the meantime, I’ll be speaking in just a couple weeks (May 23, to be exact) at the Society for Technical Communication Summit in my home city of Chicago. The presentation is on one of my favorite topics: media queries and responsive design.

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]]> http://zomigi.com/blog/where-ive-been-where-im-going/feed/ 0 There’s already a book on responsive web design. Want to win it? http://zomigi.com/blog/theres-already-a-book-on-responsive-web-design-want-to-win-it/ http://zomigi.com/blog/theres-already-a-book-on-responsive-web-design-want-to-win-it/#comments Tue, 22 Feb 2011 13:49:59 +0000 Zoe Gillenwater http://zomigi.com/?p=522 Since Ethan Marcotte wrote his seminal article on responsive web design less than a year ago, the concept of creating liquid/fluid designs that make use of media queries to adapt to the user’s screen has taken off. I’m ecstatic about this. I’ve been designing and building primarily liquid sites for several years now, and I want others to do the same. Responsive web designs can offer tremendous usability and accessibility benefits, while still looking beautiful, not dumbed down.

From a technical standpoint, creating liquid designs with media queries is not that complicated, in theory. But doing so requires a sometimes huge shift in mindset and design process, and this is where brief online articles on the topic fall a little short, simply due to the nature of their publication medium. What we really need is a whole book on responsive web design, covering all its intricacies. Ethan Marcotte is working on one, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it when it comes out later this year.

But it turns out that there’s already a book on responsive web design. OK, technically, it’s more like 1.2 books. My first book, Flexible Web Design: Creating Liquid and Elastic Layouts with CSS, is the only book out there that’s entirely devoted to designing and building robust and attractive web sites that adapt to the user’s viewing preferences. It includes not only detailed instructions on how to create the CSS for the layouts, but also how to make the images within them flexible and how to design them from the comp stage with flexibility baked in. All you need to add to any of the layouts you learn about in Flexible Web Design to make them “responsive” is media queries—and I cover those fully in chapter 6 of my new book Stunning CSS3: A Project-based Guide to the Latest in CSS. Put them together, and you have a detailed, comprehensive guide on how to create awesome responsive web designs.

I want everyone to start making responsive web designs, so I want to give away a bundle of both my books. Actually, I want to give away two bundles. So two people will get a copy each of Flexible Web Design and Stunning CSS3.

To win, I’m not going to ask you to follow me on Twitter (though I would really like it if you would) and retweet some canned message about this giveaway (though you’re certainly welcome to tweet about this). All you have to do to win my books is leave a comment on this post. Any comment will do, though I’d love to hear your thoughts on flexible design, media queries, CSS3, or anything relevant to the work we all do.

I’ll pick two commenters at random on Saturday, February 26, at 8am Eastern US time. Good luck!

In the meantime, you can learn more about my books and download free samples at their respective web sites: Flexible Web Design: Creating Liquid and Elastic Layouts with CSS and Stunning CSS3: A Project-based Guide to the Latest in CSS.

Update 2/28/11:

The winners, picked with a random number generator, are Chris Hawkins (comment 16) and Todd C (comment 33). Congrats guys! I’ll be in touch about sending your books.

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]]> http://zomigi.com/blog/theres-already-a-book-on-responsive-web-design-want-to-win-it/feed/ 46 CSS3 book launch event http://zomigi.com/blog/css3-book-launch-event/ http://zomigi.com/blog/css3-book-launch-event/#comments Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:39:18 +0000 Zoe Gillenwater http://zomigi.com/?p=492

In a few hours I’ll be speaking at the online CSS3 Book Launch on “Real-world CSS3.” I’ll be talking about ways CSS3 can reduce your development times, decrease page loading times, improve usability, and increase the adaptability of your pages to different devices (including iPads, iPhones, and Android smart phones). I include a case study of a real site’s loading time and appearance before and after CSS3. I also talk in-depth about the example site from Stunning CSS3 that uses media queries to improve its appearance and usability at different screen sizes.

You can view the slides on SlideShare, or download the slides here:

Real-world CSS3 (PDF, 2.3 mb)

Slides always make more sense with the person talking over them, so I hope you’ll register for the free event and come see me live! Jason Cranford Teague will also be speaking about a variety of cool CSS3 stuff related to his book CSS3 Visual Quickstart Guide. Finally, Peachpit is giving away a bunch of copies of our books. It’s a great chance to get your questions about CSS3 answered and possibly score a new book as well. It’s today from 3 pm to 5 pm Eastern time, but if you can’t make it then you can still register and watch the recording later.

Here are several links to related resources that I couldn’t put in the slides but which you might find useful.

Beginner CSS3 Articles

Benefits of CSS3

Media Queries

Flexible Layouts

Performance

Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about my book, Stunning CSS3: A Project-based Guide to the Latest in CSS, head on over to www.stunningcss3.com. That’s where the example files for the media query bakery site I show during my presentation are hosted, as well as a sample excerpt from chapter 6 that explains how to build the media queries for that site.

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]]> http://zomigi.com/blog/css3-book-launch-event/feed/ 2 Free samples of Stunning CSS3 http://zomigi.com/blog/free-samples-of-stunning-css3/ http://zomigi.com/blog/free-samples-of-stunning-css3/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:45:23 +0000 Zoe Gillenwater http://zomigi.com/?p=472 Stunning CSS3: A Project-based Guide to the Latest in CSS, by downloading extensive excerpts from Chapter 2 and Chapter 6.]]> Have you checked out the companion site for my new book Stunning CSS3: A Project-based Guide to the Latest in CSS? There’s a new addition there: two free sample PDFs with extensive excerpts from Chapter 2 and Chapter 6.

Chapter 2 is titled “Speech Bubbles” and it teaches you exactly that: how to make speech bubbles with pure CSS and no images. The excerpt covers word-wrap, generated content, border-radius, and HSLA/RGBA for semi-transparent backgrounds. The rest of the chapter covers linear-gradient, box-shadow, text-shadow, and transform.

Around the same time I was writing this chapter, Nicolas Gallagher posted an excellent demo on creating speech bubbles with CSS3 too, which I saw later. It’s definitely worth checking out as well. Great inspiration.

Chapter 6 is titled “Different Screen Size, Different Design” and teaches you how to restyle an entire page layout to work with different screen sizes using media queries and multi-columns. You can see the example site used in chapter 6, as well as other real web sites using responsive layouts, at my blog post “Examples of flexible layouts with CSS3 media queries.”

If these samples whet your appetite, you can also see a brief table of contents, images of some of the book’s pages, and links to related resources. And of course, if you’d like to buy the book, there are links to a number of sources in the sidebar of the Stunning CSS3 site.

Learn away!

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]]> http://zomigi.com/blog/free-samples-of-stunning-css3/feed/ 1 Adobe MAX slides and resources http://zomigi.com/blog/adobe-max/ http://zomigi.com/blog/adobe-max/#comments Tue, 26 Oct 2010 22:40:26 +0000 Zoe Gillenwater http://zomigi.com/?p=427 I just finished speaking at Adobe MAX on “Designing with CSS3 Effectively & Efficiently,” the latest iteration of the talk I gave at Web Directions USA, the CSS Summit, and ConvergeSE. I talked about how CSS3 is about more than making things look pretty (though it’s really good at that too). Many CSS3 techniques can reduce your development times, decrease page loading times, improve usability, and increase the adaptability of your pages to different devices (including iPads, iPhones, and Android smart phones). I showed examples of the pieces of CSS3 you can add to your web sites right now and how they might benefit your projects in tangible ways. I included a case study of a real site’s loading time and appearance before and after CSS3, plus an example page built using media queries to improve its appearance and usability at different screen sizes.

You can view the slides on SlideShare, or download the slides here:

Designing with CSS3 Effectively & Efficiently (PDF, 3.3 mb)

Here are several links to related resources that I couldn’t put in the slides but which you might find useful.

Beginner CSS3 Articles

Benefits of CSS3

Media Queries

Flexible Layouts

Performance

Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about my book, Stunning CSS3: A Project-based Guide to the Latest in CSS, head on over to www.stunningcss3.com. That’s where the example files for the media query site I showed during my presentation will eventually be hosted. For now, check out the CSS used on the site to see a wide variety of CSS3 techniques in use.

Related Posts:

]]> http://zomigi.com/blog/adobe-max/feed/ 5 Web Directions USA slides and resources http://zomigi.com/blog/web-directions-usa/ http://zomigi.com/blog/web-directions-usa/#comments Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:43:35 +0000 Zoe Gillenwater http://zomigi.com/?p=409 I just finished speaking at Web Directions USA on “Effective & Efficient Design with CSS3,” the latest iteration of an the talk I gave at the CSS Summit and ConvergeSE. I talked about how CSS3 is about more than making things look pretty (though it’s really good at that too). Many CSS3 techniques can reduce your development times, decrease page loading times, improve usability, and increase the adaptability of your pages to different devices (including iPads and iPhones). I showed examples of the pieces of CSS3 you can add to your web sites right now and how they might benefit your projects in tangible ways. I included a case study of a real site before and after CSS3, plus an example page built using media queries to improve its appearance and usability at different screen sizes.

You can view the slides on SlideShare, or download the slides here:

Effective & Efficient Design with CSS3 (PDF, 2.9 mb)

Here are several links to related resources that I couldn’t put in the slides but which you might find useful.

Beginner CSS3 Articles

Benefits of CSS3

Media Queries

Flexible Layouts

Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about my book, Stunning CSS3: A Project-based Guide to the Latest in CSS, head on over to www.stunningcss3.com. That’s where the example files for the media query site I showed during my presentation will eventually be hosted. For now, check out the CSS used on the site to see a wide variety of CSS3 techniques in use.

Related Posts:

]]> http://zomigi.com/blog/web-directions-usa/feed/ 3 Highly Maintainable, Efficient, and Optimized CSS http://zomigi.com/blog/maintainable-efficient-css/ http://zomigi.com/blog/maintainable-efficient-css/#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:44:32 +0000 Zoe Gillenwater http://zomigi.com/?p=394 Earlier today, I gave a presentation at Think Vitamin’s HTML & CSS Online Conference entitled “Highly Maintainable, Efficient, and Optimized CSS.” I tried to squeeze as many tips as I could in to cover how to create CSS that is well organized and readable for teams to work on together as well as you to maintain later, while still keeping efficiency in mind. The slides are up on Slideshare, but you can also download them in their full glory here:

Highly Maintainable, Efficient, and Optimized CSS (PDF, 1 mb)

Here are links to just a few of the hundreds of related resources I could link to!

Maintainability

Resets

Sprites

Performance

CSS compression

Related Posts:

]]> http://zomigi.com/blog/maintainable-efficient-css/feed/ 27 CSS Summit 2010 slides and resources http://zomigi.com/blog/css-summit-2010/ http://zomigi.com/blog/css-summit-2010/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:30:42 +0000 Zoe Gillenwater http://zomigi.com/?p=384 I just finished speaking at the CSS Summit online conference. Well, technically, I’m writing this before I spoke, so that the post can be up as soon as my talk is done. Sneaky, huh? Anyway, my presentation was titled “Effective & Efficient Design with CSS3,” an extension of the talk I gave at ConvergeSE.

If you’d like to check out the slides, here they are:

Effective & Efficient Design with CSS3 (PDF, 1.7 mb)

Here are several links to related resources that I couldn’t put in the slides but which you might find useful.

Beginner CSS3 Articles

Benefits of CSS3

Media Queries

Flexible Layouts

Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about my book, Stunning CSS3: A Project-based Guide to the Latest in CSS, head on over to www.stunningcss3.com. That’s where the example files for the media query site I showed during my presentation will eventually be hosted. For now, check out the CSS used on the site to see a wide variety of CSS3 techniques in use.

Related Posts:

]]> http://zomigi.com/blog/css-summit-2010/feed/ 4 The CSS Summit is near http://zomigi.com/blog/the-css-summit-is-near/ http://zomigi.com/blog/the-css-summit-is-near/#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:53:03 +0000 Zoe Gillenwater http://zomigi.com/?p=379 Only a few days left until the 2nd annual CSS Summit online conference on July 28. I’m excited about the lineup, which includes:

  • My great friend Stephanie (Sullivan) Rewis speaking about great tools to make CSS3 development easier and how to make many CSS3 effects work in a wider variety of browsers and devices.
  • Nicole Sullivan explaining how she optimized Facebook’s massive CSS file. (I’m so curious to hear about this!)
  • Estelle Weyl teaching how to develop CSS3 and HTML5 for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. (It’s awesome how many new techniques you can use.)

Plus five more sessions (including my own on ways to improve efficiency and usability with CSS3). Want to “attend”? I have a couple options for you.

One, you can still buy a ticket for $179, plus get 10% off by using discount code CSSGILLENWATER when you sign up.

Two, you can win a ticket! To enter the contest, tweet “I want to go to the #CSSsummit on July 28. Follow @zomigi and retweet to win. Learn more at http://bit.ly/csZgT9.” Do this by this Sunday morning at 8 am Eastern US time. I’ll pick the winner immediately afterward and notify him or her through Twitter (which is why I need you to follow me).

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]]> http://zomigi.com/blog/the-css-summit-is-near/feed/ 1 ConvergeSE 2010 and upcoming conferences http://zomigi.com/blog/convergese-2010-and-upcoming-conferences/ http://zomigi.com/blog/convergese-2010-and-upcoming-conferences/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:39:12 +0000 Zoe Gillenwater http://zomigi.com/?p=369 On June 26 I spoke at ConvergeSE in Columbia, SC. It was a small conference, but had some really wonderful speakers. Unfortunately, I was sick with a bad cold, so I missed a few talks and didn’t get to hang out with everyone afterward. But the talks I did hear were quite inspiring. I just love going to presentations that get you all excited about the work that you do. Go to the ConvergeSE site to view speakers’ slides and, eventually, video of the actual presentations.

My presentation was titled “Improving Efficiency and Usability with CSS3.” I talked about how CSS3 is about more than making things look pretty (though it’s really good at that too). Many CSS3 techniques can reduce your development times, decrease page loading times, improve usability, and increase the adaptability of your pages to different devices (including iPads and iPhones). I talked about which pieces of CSS3 you can add to your web sites right now and how they might benefit your projects in tangible ways.

If you’d like to check out the slides, here they are:

Improving Efficiency and Usability with CSS3 (PDF, 1.4 mb)

Here are just a few links to related resources that I couldn’t put in the slides but which you might find useful:

I’ll be giving an expanded version of this presentation at both the 2nd Annual CSS Summit online conference on July 28 and at Web Directions USA in Atlanta on September 24.

Registration for the CSS Summit is only $149, but you can get 10% off by using the discount code CSSGILLENWATER when you sign up.

Related Posts:

]]> http://zomigi.com/blog/convergese-2010-and-upcoming-conferences/feed/ 5