Rungta’s Webmarks

Web Design’s Known Unknowns ∞

We’ve long known about and (gradually) come to accept the unpredictable nature of the web. User-agents, rendering engines, viewport dimensions, network bandwidth; the list goes on.

However, in designing solutions, we often commit fallacies of generalising devices based on the viewport—320px must mean a phone—or, bandwidth based on device—phone must be on a slow connection—etc., you get the drift. Jeremy Keith provides a good overview of three such unknowns while highlighting one crucial yet often ignored factor.

Typocentric: Bazaar ∞

Fantastic devanagari lettering from a workshop conducted by Meena Kadri at the recent UnBox festival. (Also on Flickr.)

Bombay Production ∞

Statutory Warning: Great music coupled with beautiful design can adversely effect your output.

The Sartorialist ∞

A short with Scott Schuman, the street fashion photographer behind The Sartorialist.

Restaurants: Showcasing Bad Web Design Since Forever ∞

New blog featuring highlights from the secret “best practises for restaurant web design” guide. Appears strikingly similar to the disregarded “worst practises in web design” guide.

URL Design ∞

URLs are for humans — not for search engines.

Amen. Baffling when elements as important as URLs and page titles are ignored, or worse, fall in the hands of SEO “experts”.

Another thing we learned was that… ∞

Jason Fried on writing, design and brevity.

A Cleaner YouTube ∞

Restores much needed sanity to YouTube’s desktop site. My favourite Safari extension.

Bingo Chips, now with 25% Extra ∞

Watch how Ogilvy brilliantly leverages the Indian Railways to advertise Bingo Chips’ new 25% Extra offering.

Track Walker – Yadaiah’s Story ∞

Just one amongst the 1.6 million wheels that keep one of the largest (most advanced?) train network in the world running as smoothly as it does.
(via Sumit)

Web Education, Academia and Relevance ∞

Eric Meyer stirs up a conversation on the usefulness of a Computer Science degree for (aspiring) web professionals.

Having recently wasted undergone four years of university education for a Software Engineering degree, this is something I’ve spent countless sleepy lectures pondering over. There is no doubt that most institutions fail miserably when it comes to imparting web technology skills, but it’s the unquantifiable value of a degree and formal education that makes this extremely hard to evaluate.

On the Safe Side of Wild ∞

“Dangers” may not be the right word here because nature is not in conflict with humans, its [sic] merely indifferent to our feelings. Wilderness is as unconcerned to our pleasures as it is to our miseries.

A good safety reminder for those venturing into places unspoilt by civilisation.
(via The Chennai Trekking Club)

Responsive Enhancement ∞

A lot has been written and said about responsive web design in the last few months. Apart from the control that it returns to the designers, responsive design has caught on so well because it’s one of those core traits that define the web. Like CSS itself. It feels right.

A good reminder of just how nascent this field still is, and how we shouldn’t forget the basics of this incredibly exciting medium that is the web.

-webkit-font-smoothing ∞

All those text-shadow and -webkit-text-stroke hacks for rendering light text on dark backgrounds can finally be put to rest. As always, use with care.

IBM ‘Outcomes’ Campaign ∞

Beautiful modern design posters by Noma Bar for IBM’s Smarter Planet print campaign.
(via Cameron Moll)

START Magazine ∞

Excellent new project by college student Priya Prakash. Can’t decide what I like more about this magazine – the initiative to showcase young India artists, the artists themselves, the contents of the magazine or the skill and care with which each of the two issues have been edited and designed.

Cleartrip ∞

Finally an India travel bookings site that I like love to use. They do trains so well that I had to literally figuratively pinch myself to ensure it was real. Everything about their experience has been top notch (including a geeky twitter account).

Don’t see myself using any other travel site for Indian bookings, price difference or premiums (if any) be damned!

The Movie Posters of Stephen Frankfurt ∞

I wasn’t aware of Frankfurt before Khoi linked to this article, but the more I look now, the more treasure I find. Stephen Frankfurt’s approach to movie design very strongly reminds me of Josef Müller-Brockmann’s approach to graphic design. No doubt he had just as strong an influence.

Staying Healthy and Sane [at a Startup] ∞

Sticking with the day’s theme, here’s Alex Payne detailing his lifestyle to offer sound advice on leading a balanced life.

Time Management ∞

Shawn Blanc’s quick roundup on time management.