zeldman
@zeldman
Followers
298K
Following
80K
Media
5K
Statuses
63K
OG blogger/web designer. Automattician. @alistapart. Designing With Web Standards. https://t.co/C8acojDiml
Joined December 2006
Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it's decoration.
66
2K
2K
3rd week in bed with Coronavirus. Diagnosed last week. 3rd day in a row without fever. Knock wood. But still sick, still sleeping 18+ hours/day. Still same tickle in lungs. Getting better. But long way to go. Cats help.
207
39
2K
Tap, tap. Is this thing on? . I’ve signed on as Creative Director of a Special Projects team at @automattic that helps showcase @WordPress at its best. I’ll share first impressions soon. Currently I'm too busy learning.
112
111
1K
The internet company as an old, ruined, brick-and-mortar storefront. An art project by Andrei Lacatusu. Hat tip: @PaulMMCooper. c/o @Behance.
14
505
1K
Q. How many designers does it take to change a lightbulb?. A. Does it have to be a lightbulb?.
20
195
849
@Death_Bow @lucykemnitzer Your folks were unusual, then. Most of us moved out at 18 and made our way, struggling to pay rent, and taking pride in our cinder block shelving and found art.
24
16
766
@isadwatson No wonder people call him a business genius. Just not paying your bills! Why didn’t I think of that?.
4
7
790
The longer I work in design, the more confident I become in my certainty that I know almost nothing.
31
127
754
“Web making has lately become something of a dick measuring competition.” . Our addiction to complicated toolchains and overbuilt frameworks is out of control. Read “The Cult of the Complex” by Jeffrey @Zeldman (that’s me!) in today’s @alistapart.
41
306
652
30 years ago my life changed forever, and I didn’t even know it at the time. The web is 30 years old today. Happy birthday, WWW.
5
112
604
When you are kind, you can help some people and it is good. And also when you are kind, some people will take ruthless advantage of you. But I don’t know how to stop being kind. And I think, in spite of everything, it is the better choice.
26
100
546
“Hi Jeffrey, I noticed your skills, and was hoping you’d be interested in this Junior Front End Web Developer position in New York City, NY”.
37
51
509
The title of this @jefftiedrich piece does not prepare you for the gut punch it delivers. The tale of a 16yo Bronx boy who spent 3 years in Rikers after being accused of stealing a backpack says everything you need to know today.
13
117
426
Sigh. So much beautiful work, tossed aside. Read the story and take a moment to honor the creators.
Today we say goodbye to this great blue bird. This logo was designed in 2012 by a team of three. @toddwaterbury, @angyche and myself,. The logo was designed to be simple, balanced, and legible at very small sizes, almost like a lowercase "e", a 🧵
13
96
446
All my life I’ve known I was “creative” and “different.” Only recently have I realized that I’m both neurodivergent and bisexual.
52
14
424
What it feels like to watch users test your website, ℅ @mathowie #UX #aeachi . http://t.co/jI7cxeiOI0.
13
386
442
“Ohio Republicans want you to bury or cremate your zygote, but your grandma, well, she’s on her own.”.
6
64
340
Free, open-source, web-based design tool generates beautiful, accessible color combinations. Hat tip: @nyiriland #a11y
4
86
426
♛ studio.zeldman is open for business! Here is the story behind the launch.
79
91
404
I’m definitely worse this week, and it sucks. Folks, if you’re stuck at home but still healthy, be grateful—you’re lucky.
55
13
383
@joncoopertweets I was in 3rd grade when JFK got shot. My classmates saw it as a day off school, but I was depressed and solemn. §. I was working a shit job at a phone company when my girlfriend called from NY to say word on the street was that John Lennon had been killed. That crushed me too.
14
1
361
Terribly sad news. Farewell to a tireless advocate for a kinder, more accessible, more open web. Your pain is over, now you may rest. #webstandards
29
54
378
Disabled people aren’t the edge case. Tech people are the edge case. We represent a small portion of the population and we’re in charge of designing and building. Too often we design for people exactly like us. @feather #a11y #InclusiveDesign #aeasea.
7
184
350
Today my daughter’s 7th grade class was given the MLA style guide as a reference for how to cite works used in research. The example the MLA cited was an article from A List Apart.
12
18
341
Lists is a gallery of real content to populate your mockups. Produce your best work by making informed decisions.
4
113
350
#Wordpress was the first standards-compliant CMS. I hand-coded my blog starting in 1995, and would still be doing it if Wordpress had not come along. Next year, after exhausting a half dozen other platforms, @AListApart will come home to Wordpress.
19
83
319
Let’s stop drawing a distinction between “designers” and “design thinkers.” Design thinkers *are* designers. Anyone who works to create or improve customer experience is a designer. You’re welcome.
17
57
315
My writing is unimpaired but my speech has been subtly affected; I struggle for words, commit verbal grammatical errors, etc. The worst part is the hostile impatience of some people when I struggle—as if I’m stupid or not worth the bother.
“Just the flu”????? . Brain damage in 55%. Which maps to what me & my friends are experiencing. Wear a mask!!.
25
66
282
Free, open-source INTER is a beautifully utilitarian type family crafted & designed for computer screens. Comes in 9 weights, each with italic counterparts—18 styles in all. Also offered as a free Variable Font with animation (!) and infinite variations.
5
48
305
Spec = asking the world to have sex with you and promising dinner date to one lucky winner.
1
52
304
“HTML is accessible by default. It’s our job not to screw it up.” @MinaMarkham on why she begins in markup, creating a page that will work for everyone (even folks whose device does not support CSS or JavaScript). #a11y #AEASF.
5
94
296
As of November 1, I was named Executive Creative Director at @automattic, where I’ll continue my work in Employer Brand while tackling the many layers of the emerging Automattic Operating System. More will be revealed.
28
8
305
Gmail rolls out a new design that’s both harder to use and uglier. Mystery navigation, invisible borders (the wrong lessons from iOS)—every visual change that slightly impedes usability is here. But, hey, cartoonishly rounded corners! (Welcome back, 2004.)
44
77
266
Fellow Americans, be sure you are registered to vote.
It's National Voter Registration Day! . Many states are tightening Voter ID laws, and if you or someone you know needs help getting the right legal identification to cast a ballot in your state, @VoteRiders can help you get it!.
5
83
237
President Obama’s life was threatened every day he was in office and he never put a fence around the White House.
3
29
231
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. White text on white background. Missing alt text. Spans as paragraphs.”
9
59
250
My dad is 91. This is his naval discharge card. He enlisted at 17 to fight Nazis. My gratitude to him and all veterans for their courage, service, and sacrifice.
6
14
245
Study: The value of genderless pronouns is not in mere political correctness. They can give people new, more inclusive ways of seeing the world.
2
102
222
So long, frameworks. “CSS Grid *is* the layout framework. Baked right into the browser.” @jensimmons, cited by @chriscoyier. #AEACHI
7
99
242
@joncoopertweets More recently, part of me died with Bowie and Prince, and I refused to believe that MF DOOM had passed. It’s a prank, an art statement, I told myself for days.
3
1
218
I have 21 years sober today. My sobriety is old enough to drink.
37
39
245
Over the decades I’ve used computers, my drawing skill has all but vanished—along with my ability to do calligraphy or even write legibly. Which is why I’ve started forcing myself to sketch again every day. Practice is the best form of hope.
19
24
234
This seems like a nice idea. Google Developers Web Fundamentals.
5
148
250
Don’t tell anybody yet, but @AListApart has migrated to @WordPress. Tomorrow our producers begin playing with the “new” CMS. April 11 we relaunch. Shhh! Keep it under your <del>blue beanie</del> hat.
17
29
242
Which were your favorites?. Killed by Google - The Google Graveyard & Cemetery.
61
105
230
INTERVIEW TIP: If talking about your work makes you feel like you’re bragging, talk about your customer instead. What was their problem? How did your team solve it? Passion for the customer and appreciation of your team is not bragging! (But it is contagious.).
1
44
218
“We made our color lightness-to-darkness consistent across color hues, so that every color 0–50 is accessible (4.5:1) on black, and every color 60–100 is accessible (4.5:1) on white.”. Lyft Design: Re-approaching Color. #design #a11y ℅ @melchoyce.
2
56
220
Modern Font Stacks! . The fastest fonts available. No downloading, no layout shifts, no flashes—just instant renders. System font stack CSS organized by typeface classification for every modern OS. Copy and paste your worries away!. h/t @itsdavemartin.
2
57
214
“Anyone who claims that CSS is just some wild language lacking logical rules has not bothered learning CSS.” @rachelandrew #AEAOT.
5
44
203
The four pillars of modern layout:. - Flow & writing mode.- CSS Grid.- Flexbox.- Multicolumn. @JenSimmons #IntrinsicLayout #aeasf . Follow the demos at
5
51
210
@fred_guttenberg You and all the parents will be in our hearts. Your courage in the face of unfathomable horror inspires so many of us.
0
6
176
5
129
187
Look, it’s simple:. 1. Support your friends’ work. 2. Don’t support only your friends’ work.
2
42
190
A designer who doesn’t sometimes doubt her own abilities is a fool.
6
61
189
I’m temporarily immortal. The new Snapchat filter gives you a blue beanie, a beard, a wide sleepy face, and a big red honking schnoz.
13
10
184
The first level of design is to make sure you have the right semantic HTML (so your content works as audio, in Reader mode, in screen readers, highly constrained devices, search engines, and more). @jensimmons #AEACHI.
5
54
189
Front-end must be part of the design process, not dragged in after an ill-considered design has already been sold. @brad_frost #aeabos.
2
227
199
@espiekermann We all make mistakes. We can all be insensitive at times. Admitting a mistake shows humility. Doubling down is what Trump does. Be better.
6
6
177
“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure—which is Try to please everybody.” Herbert Bayard Swope . @lukew #aeadenver.
1
99
187
Canada unveils largest economic relief package since WW2. Intelligent and humane. Canada’s federal government will spend C$100bn ($77bn, £58bn) to kick-start the country's post-pandemic economy.
1
34
172
Zeldman weeps. The state of design and front-end in 2019. Revisiting the rendering tier.
16
35
190
Twitter: an online tool that enables bookish adults to simulate the popularity they did not experience in high school. See also: Internet.
0
44
181
I came down with COVID-19 in late February, and though I've recovered, I still struggle with debilitating fatigue, headaches, and bouts of verbal mental fog. So do more than half of us survivors. Stay safe.
4
69
165