Blogging and all that Malarkey

I sometimes work with other designers helping them to translate their design atmosphere and wide screen layouts into responsive designs. Breaking down their designs into systems is big part of what I do. In practical terms that means working through what are sometimes dozens of static visuals to identify patterns of typography, use of colour and layouts, both smaller modules and whole page compositions. From these patterns I classify and identify elements and compose stylesheets based on them.

I cannot pass up this opportunity to link to this week’s fabulous Happy Monday interview with Seth Godin.

I’m generally bored of interview shows, that’s why we have guest co-hosts instead of guests and this week on Unfinished Business, my CSS hero Harry Roberts steps in while I’m on holiday. Anna asks him about his sudden decision to leave his full-time job, the events that led up to it, and what he plans to do next. Harry shares his advice for people struggling to balance work and personal projects. They also have a sneaky chat about object oriented CSS at the end even though it’s not really business related but something had to replace the usual ten minutes of banter about soap and apes.

It seemed apt to post these lyrics today. My person favourite version of this song is on Billy Bragg’s Tooth & Nail album. Listen on Spotify.

In the final chapter of the contract episode trilogy, Anna asks me about writing a contract for working with agencies, we discuss which browsers and devices we should mention, termination fees, and who owns the content at the end of the project.

It’s episode 29 of Unfinished Business and part two in a series about contracts and the Contract Killer. Anna and I talk about how a good contract sets the tone and lays the foundations for a mutually good business relationship. We get down to the nitty gritty of the first few Contract Killer clauses including specifying deliverables, price and payment terms. Oh. And I mentioned ze Chermans but I think I got avay viz it.

Matt Stow has been documented device viewport sizes and the result is a handy, searchable reference of platforms and device dimensions. If you have a device that’s not listed, you can check it’s sizes and add it here.

Finally, yes finally, Anna and I get around to the first of two, maybe three, episodes about contacts. We talk about the ‘ Contract Killer,’ why we think it’s important to always use a contract and why some people think otherwise. We discuss the essential elements that should go into every contract and why, on top of any legal benefits, how a good contract says a lot about how you do business and why writing yours should be a creative challenge you should relish. (Don’t miss the gag wheel and ice-cream banter after the show. It’s a scorcher.)

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species. That banner says everything that makes The Planet Of The Apes special to me.

Contracts seem to be the topic of this month and I, for one, couldn’t be happier about that. Anna and I are covering contracts in detail over the next two or three episodes of Unfinished Business, starting with episode 28 out on Monday. Not only will we be talking about ‘ Contract Killer,’ we’ll be explaining why writing your contract should be a creative activity and how that says a lot about how you do business. I know it likely won’t ever happen, but if you get fed up of hearing our voices, Contract Killer also got plenty of mentions on that other podcast Liz and Sean’s The Freelance Web podcast this week too in an excellent episode about contracts.