Notes on "The Smashing Book"

[kelleyP]

8.25.2010 // The Smashing Book

Next book :: Designing for Interaction by Dan Saffer (Sept 22)
Next-next book :: Thoughts on Interaction Design (Oct 27)


THINGS WE LIKED
- Includes Ryan's pool pass
- good examples of code, good info on typography
- nice imagery & examples
- starts very designer-focused, gets more technical as you go
- most people could pick it up, and find something they need
- can pick up anywhere in the middle
- well-researched
- Smashing in general does a good job promoting a balance between
functionality & beauty


THINGS WE DIDN'T
- felt the optimiation chapter was too technical for a designer
- might feel disjointed to newbies, but good reminders for more
experienced
- great for designers to get more technical
- learning approaches varied based on section authors, some sections
lacked good examples
- learning from the experts material might have been better if
integrated into the earlier chapters
- didn't get into the "why" behind some content (usability statements)
- surprised that the 3-click concept is included


NOTES
Thoughts on opening external links in a new window
- people can control opening new window
- if login is required, should always open in a new window
- communicating the behavior with a little "new window" icon
- PDFs should open in new window b/c people will close the browser not
realizing they were viewing the PDF in the browser
- AJAX can open a PDF is a lightbox over the previous page

New CSS framework called BluePrint CSS (is a 960 grid system)
Highly recommend using a CSS framework for complex systems
Also recommends Zeldman's "Designing with Web Standards"
CSS for HTML5 - mixed reviews
CSS3 PIE makes CSS3 backwards compatible for (IE6-8)

This book straddles the web designer / interaction designer roles
(which is where the industry is too)

Design is problem-solving using the materials or resources you have.
The role of UX is to find the constraints

What problem did the book solve?
- it bridged the web designer / graphic designer
- book covered the "pulse" or heartbeat of the industry




ATTENDEES // What's your best on-boarding experience?
Ryan - gift with supplies, candy, ambassador to answer questions,
30-40 people at lunch & drinking
Sean - sat on a square wood desk in the middle of the room due to lack
of space with no computer
Matthew - currently working on on-boarding at Malenke
Jonathan - first account with difficult client, started during come
to jesus meeting
Michael - fire-fighter training; read the manual, leave, we'll call
you sometime, pick you up in a plane and drop you at the fire
SuAnne - weekly designer brainstorming meeting on first day followed
by lunch at the Med
Val - HR consulting firm, fancy lunch
Leslie - bakery started by commune if hippies, bought by a rancher,
designed flyers for poetry nights sponsored by local strip club
Jamie - company that made advertising inflatables; computer in the
middle of a room full of sewing machines, tip = "use enough parts, but
not too many"
Alison - agenda ahead of time with contact names, times, locations,
greeted by the president who knew who she was, new bag, 15" mac book &
a bottle of champagne, hand-written note from CEO
Travis - joined an all remote team, mac book, iPhone, tons of shirts
all mailed in a timely fashion >> later sucked back at time of
layoffs; gopher for construction company - learned how to drive a
standard the night before
Kelley - SUPER-friendly welcome, then walked through 7 HEAVY doors to
hidden office
Kristin - overdid an interview by wearing a power suit to the
interview at a sign company, had to pass by horse head, scratched
bosses desk w/ portfolio, people angry & smoking

[Kim Molinelli]

Great notes. Sorry I missed it, but needed a night off. By the way, those are some really bizarre stories at the bottom. Think I need to hear the whole thing.

See you next month,
Kim

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[Travis Stiles]

Kristin's was the best! Especially in Kelley's shorthand, luv it! "people angry and smoking" 

"overdid an interview by wearing a power suit to the
interview at a sign company, had to pass by horse head, scratched
bosses desk w/ portfolio, people angry & smoking"

Looking forward to a little Dan Saffer next month!

>t.