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Tutorial

Make a CSS TARDIS

by John Galantini

Feature

20 free data visualisation tools

by Brian Suda

Feature

Essential JavaScript: the top five graphical libraries

by Jack Franklin

Newsflash

Firefox integrates font inspector and WebRTC

Firefox brings in font inspector, WebRTC

New desktop beta also includes web notifications API

Latest articles

Feature

.net Awards 2011: top 10 young designers

We profile the top 10 young designers under 21 as nominated by you

25 Jul 2011

By Oliver Lindberg on July 25, 2011 | 3 comments

The voting stage of the .net Awards 2011 is kicking off today and to get things going we profile the top 10 young designers, who are all under 21 years of age. Here are the rising stars who’ll give the old hats a run for their money in the years to come
Blog

Too much JavaScript

How many design agencies consider users who can’t run JavaScript?

25 Jul 2011

By Alistair Burns on July 25, 2011 | 15 comments

Most design agencies use JavaScript for every project, says Line’s senior developer, Alistair Burns, and a lot of clients are perfectly happy with this. But how many consider users who can’t run it, such as government departments, public sector organisations and people with disabilities?
Feature

20 SVG uses that will make your jaw drop

Addy Osmani rounds up 20 excellent uses of SVG in the wild

22 Jul 2011

By Addy Osmani on July 22, 2011 | 1 comment

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), which are now supported by all modern browsers, enable developers and designers to create high quality, dynamic graphics and graphical applications with a great level of precision. JavaScript master Addy Osmani rounds up 20 excellent uses of SVG in the wild
Interview

Christopher Schmitt on web conferences

Christopher Schmitt gives us the lowdown on his web design conferences

22 Jul 2011

By Oliver Lindberg on July 22, 2011

Designer, developer and author of the CSS Cookbook Christopher Schmitt is the brains behind online web design conferences like next week's CSS Summit. He tells Oliver Lindberg what you can expect from the event, how it distinguishes itself from the competition and the importance of proper web design education
Tutorial

Use Backbone.js to speed up interactions

How ZURB used the lightweight JavaScript framework Backbone.js

21 Jul 2011

By Matt Kelly on July 21, 2011 | 1 comment

Client-side JavaScript frameworks are not just for building big fancy applications. Lead software engineer Matt Kelly explains how ZURB used the lightweight JavaScript framework Backbone.js to build FlickrBomb, a tool for loading Flickr photos into placeholder images
Tutorial

Optimise your website for Facebook

Mike Mackay explains how you can make your site more Facebook friendly

20 Jul 2011

By Mike Mackay on July 20, 2011 | 2 comments

Mike Mackay explains how you can make your site more Facebook friendly. He gives an introduction to the Open Graph protocol and how your external site can be represented and optimised in Facebook, so that it appears in the “Likes and Interests” section of the users’ profile, and you also have the ability to publish updates to the user
Blog

Digital marketing as preparation for your startup

Working in digital marketing can prepare you for the startup world

20 Jul 2011

By Keith Butters on July 20, 2011

Keith Butters, chief experience officer of The Barbarian Group, argues that the benefits of working in the digital marketing field, such as learning from success and failures as well as mentoring, can make you a better prepared designer or developer in the startup world
Feature

Storytelling conventions on the web

Robert Mills on storytelling conventions that help us design stories

19 Jul 2011

By Robert Mills on July 19, 2011

In this excerpt from A Practical Guide to Designing the Invisible, which goes on sale today, Robert Mills looks at storytelling conventions that help us design stories relevant to our target audience and explains how we can learn from other media to improve our online stories
Feature

Big question: how much do you value a formal web design education?

Do you even need a formal qualification to be successful?

19 Jul 2011

By Oliver Lindberg on July 19, 2011 | 7 comments

With an increase in tuition fees and more choice in web design degrees, deciding on a course can be tricky, but do you even need a formal qualification to be successful? We ask our panel of experts to tell us about their experience and thoughts...
Blog

Stop using Lorem Ipsum!

Copywriter John McGarvey on why Lorem Ipsum is destroying web design

18 Jul 2011

By John McGarvey on July 18, 2011 | 57 comments

Latin placeholder text aka Lorem Ipsum isn't just a nuisance. Web copywriter John McGarvey argues that it's a massive obstacle to building truly great online experiences, explains what kind of problems it causes and how you, too, can stop using it
Feature

Five killer ways to use background imagery

It's now possible to use background imagery to make your site sing

18 Jul 2011

By Matthew Smith on July 18, 2011 | 2 comments

Higher broadband speeds mean it's now possible to use full-scale background imagery that makes your site sing, says Matthew Smith. Find out how to use it to add an emotional punch and nuance to a design but be cautious when employing this style
Blog

Charlie Sheen transformed my agency

Carl Smith explains how Charlie Sheen led him to make some big changes

15 Jul 2011

By Carl Smith on July 15, 2011 | 10 comments

All this talk of "winning" and "losing" inspired Carl Smith to make some big changes at his agency. Here the chief keeper upper of nGen Works tells us how Charlie Sheen led him to come up with solutions to quit managing difficult clients, stressing about cash flow and company growth
Tutorial

Getting the most out of jQuery selectors

Jay Blanchard

15 Jul 2011

By Jay Blanchard on July 15, 2011 | 9 comments

A lot of developers who are new to jQuery get hung up by jQuery selectors. In this tutorial Jay Blanchard, author of the forthcoming book Applied jQuery, covers jQuery's selector syntax, how to optimise jQuery selectors and how to apply more advanced selector combinations to your markup elements
Feature

Find the perfect colour for your website

How to use colour to enhance the appeal and usability of your website

14 Jul 2011

By Cindy Li on July 14, 2011 | 5 comments

Colour communicates meaning and our own assumptions can often be wrong as colours have different meanings in different cultures. Cindy Li of Yahoo Applications explains how to use colour to enhance the appeal and usability of your website while ensuring it remains accessible
Blog

Sex sells: the effect of the .xxx domain

Abby Hardoon looks at the potential impact of the .xxx domain

13 Jul 2011

By Abby Hardoon on July 13, 2011 | 2 comments

As the long awaited pre-order launch of .xxx domain names is due to take place in the UK within the next few weeks, Abby Hardoon, founder and CEO of domain name registration and hosting company daily.co.uk, looks at its potential impact