Re: Change UI layout

[Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn]

[X-Post comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc, comp.lang.javascript;
F'up2 ciwa.misc]

Christoph Michael Becker wrote in comp.lang.javascript:

> Joao Rodrigues wrote:
>> As Stefan Ram pointed out, it seems that "Responsive Design" is the way
>> to go nowadays, as more and more people are using smartphones everyday.
>
> Don't forget that there are other devices, such as smart TVs, which
> could benefit from responsive design.

*Everyone* benefits from Responsive Web Design. It does not matter how a
comparably small or comparably large or otherwise uncommonly-sized viewport
came about; it is there.

--
PointedEars
FAQ: <http://PointedEars.de/faq> | SVN: <http://PointedEars.de/wsvn/>
Twitter: @PointedEars2 | ES Matrix: <http://PointedEars.de/es-matrix>
Please do not Cc: me. / Bitte keine Kopien per E-Mail.

[Christoph Michael Becker]

Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:

> Christoph Michael Becker wrote in comp.lang.javascript:
>
>> Joao Rodrigues wrote:
>>> As Stefan Ram pointed out, it seems that "Responsive Design" is the way
>>> to go nowadays, as more and more people are using smartphones everyday.
>>
>> Don't forget that there are other devices, such as smart TVs, which
>> could benefit from responsive design.
>
> *Everyone* benefits from Responsive Web Design. It does not matter how a
> comparably small or comparably large or otherwise uncommonly-sized viewport
> came about; it is there.

I rather should have written "which could benefit from responsive
design, *too*." ISTM that many designers do mainly think about mobile
devices with small screens when doing responsive design, but they forget
large screens, and don't optimize for these. For instance, I don't want
to read lines with 100 characters and even more, but would rather see
the text separated into multiple columns.

--
Christoph M. Becker

[Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn]

Christoph Michael Becker wrote:

> […] ISTM that many designers do mainly think about mobile devices with

> small screens when doing responsive design, but they forget large screens,
> and don't optimize for these. For instance, I don't want to read lines
> with 100 characters and even more, but would rather see the text separated
> into multiple columns.

Multiple columns (newspaper layout) can make sense if the text is so
arranged that there is no vertical scrolling and column is not too high.
Otherwise I find that they make reading harder (instead of easier; consider
the ways the eye, and maybe the hand, would have to make from the bottom of
one column to the top of the next one), and I do not think that is a fitting
layout for a Web document.

It should also be noted that the corresponding “column-*” CSS properties are
not yet fully supported; you would need to use vendor prefixes like
“-webkit-” to achieve this, and a LESS/SASS(-like) solution to maintain it.

Shorter text lines, which can improve readability, do not necessitate
multiple columns, just a fixed width (in relative units of length, like
“ex”, if possible). See the paragraphs in <http://PointedEars.de/es-matrix>
for an example of that (I have not optimized this for mobile devices yet).

--
PointedEars

Twitter: @PointedEars2

[John W Kennedy]

On 2014-07-07 08:56:14 +0000, Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn said:

> Christoph Michael Becker wrote:
>
>> […] ISTM that many designers do mainly think about mobile devices with
>> small screens when doing responsive design, but they forget large screens,
>> and don't optimize for these. For instance, I don't want to read lines
>> with 100 characters and even more, but would rather see the text separated
>> into multiple columns.
>
> Multiple columns (newspaper layout) can make sense if the text is so
> arranged that there is no vertical scrolling and column is not too high.
> Otherwise I find that they make reading harder (instead of easier; consider
> the ways the eye, and maybe the hand, would have to make from the bottom of
> one column to the top of the next one), and I do not think that is a fitting
> layout for a Web document.

It's getting worse. Our local paper is now using some too-too precious
software that makes the web edition look /just/ /like/ the print
edition, not only with columns, but with "continued on page 27" and all
the rest (and, since they try to incorporate the content of all the
various county editions, the "continued on" page is usually wrong). And
it completely falls apart if Ctrl-+ is used on the browser or if I use
any way to scroll it except their own private widget.

--
John W Kennedy
"But now is a new thing which is very old--
that the rich make themselves richer and not poorer,
which is the true Gospel, for the poor's sake."
-- Charles Williams. "Judgement at Chelmsford"

[Dr J R Stockton]

In comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc message <53b9c4a0$0$6699$9b4e6d93
@newsspool2.arcor-online.net>, Sun, 6 Jul 2014 23:50:24, Christoph
Michael Becker <cmbec...@arcor.de> posted:

>
>I rather should have written "which could benefit from responsive
>design, *too*." ISTM that many designers do mainly think about mobile
>devices with small screens when doing responsive design, but they forget
>large screens, and don't optimize for these. For instance, I don't want
>to read lines with 100 characters and even more, but would rather see
>the text separated into multiple columns.

I'd prefer to use a non-full-screen window, and have a single column of
about 70 characters width - usually. Especially as I like to see other
things that the computer is doing.

--
(c) John Stockton, near London. Mail ?.?.Stoc...@physics.org
Web <http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/> - FAQish topics, acronyms, and links.
Correct <= 4-line sig. separator as above, a line precisely "-- " (RFC5536/7)
Do not Mail News to me. Before a reply, quote with ">" or "> " (RFC5536/7)

[Christoph Michael Becker]

Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:

> Christoph Michael Becker wrote:
>
>> […] ISTM that many designers do mainly think about mobile devices with
>> small screens when doing responsive design, but they forget large screens,
>> and don't optimize for these. For instance, I don't want to read lines
>> with 100 characters and even more, but would rather see the text separated
>> into multiple columns.
>
> Multiple columns (newspaper layout) can make sense if the text is so
> arranged that there is no vertical scrolling and column is not too high.
> Otherwise I find that they make reading harder (instead of easier; consider
> the ways the eye, and maybe the hand, would have to make from the bottom of
> one column to the top of the next one), and I do not think that is a fitting
> layout for a Web document.

I agree that multiple columns are no magic bullet, but a designer might
consider deploying these for large screens.

However, actually my point was not so much that a website should use a
newspaper layout for large screens, but rather that from my experience
responsive design is often understood as a tool to optimize user
experience on *mobile* devices, where it could be used to optimize for
*all* devices.

Another example might be some content that is placed *above* or *below*
the main content; if the viewport width (rather em, not px) allows, it
might be placed *besides* the main content. This technique is often used
to optimize for mobile devices vs. "classic desktop browsers" (viewport
width roughly 1000-1200 px), but it seems to be rarely deployed for
large screens.

--
Christoph M. Becker