Device Detection, Decoded
I was recently reading a proposal, and a certain phrase caught my eye: “If the visitor is on…
Why We Design The Home Page Last
There’s no denying that the home page of a website is important. And it’s because of this importance…
Easing, Excessiveness, and Pace in Motion Design
As a motion designer, I pay more attention to animation than most people. Among the biggest issues I…
Exploring an Empty TMA
Late last year, Visual Designer Ben Morales was among a handful of the region's top mobile photographers to be invited to participate in The Toledo Museum of Art’s Exploring an #emptyTMA event, an opportunity to explore this world-class museum on a day that it was closed to the public. All of us at Hanson thought this was pretty cool because not only is the museum one of our client partners, but Ben is a very talented photographer. I recently talked to Ben about what he got out of this exclusive experience.
Design Systems: The Cure for the Responsively-Challenged Site
In my previous post, I reviewed some of the characteristics of responsively-challenged sites. I ended with this mantra: To move forward, we have to discard the idea of web pages and instead create design systems. Tomorrow’s web will be designed and built from collections of content modules, each optimized to provide the best experience for each type of viewing device. Today I’ll outline a new responsive process that we’re using at Hanson to create a better end product with fewer wasted steps.
Is Your Site Responsively-Challenged?
This year, the world wide web turns 25. It’s been a long, sometimes awkward journey to adulthood (a journey I recently summarized elsewhere). From simple beginnings (check out the first website ever published), the web has grown up to change the world. Recently we’ve seen the web transcend the computer and become ubiquitous. That ubiquity presents a problem for people who write, design, and build content.
The Internet Explorer Saga
I’m sometimes asked, “Dave, why do web developers hate Internet Explorer?” It’s true that IE is sometimes the bane of our existence, and always the butt of our jokes. But the history of Microsoft’s browser is a Darth Vader-esque tale of hope, betrayal, and redemption.
Adobe Generator: Best Thing Since Sliced GIFs
We don’t usually discuss specific products on the blog, but a new feature of Adobe Photoshop CC called Generator has our team talking. Starting with version 14.1, Photoshop allows developers to directly export layers as graphic assets without having to slice, hide, nudge, copy or paste.
On Mobile Forms and Homer Simpson Fingers
There’s an old episode of The Simpsons where Homer, working from home, tries to call the nuclear plant to warn about a meltdown. As he dials, he hears the following recording: “The fingers you have used to dial are too fat. To obtain a special dialing wand, please mash the keypad with your palm now.”
Toledo Web Professionals Explore the HTML5 Canvas Element
On March 13, Hanson was proud to host this month’s meeting of the Toledo Web Professionals. Forty-plus designers, developers and other creative professionals from the Toledo area crowded into our purple conference room to hear Jason Follas of Perficient, Inc. speak about designing interactive applications and games with the HTML5 canvas element.
The LTO Revolution for Video Storage
So you're a video professional. You've been in the biz for a while now when suddenly you realize your source media, motion graphics, compressions and dailies have eaten up your multi-terabyte drive. What to do?
Why We Love Integrated Help
Have you noticed all the friendly, integrated help popping up everywhere? YouTube, Google+, MySpace (you should check out the new MySpace), and tons of apps are all moving away from traditional help menus and stand-alone content to more intuitive introductions and in-the-moment assistance...