Here's a variety of inspiring articles, interesting content, and general links to websites that have interested me over the last couple of months. This collection includes features on Black Mirror, design handoff, and Natural History Museum branding.
Design handoff
This article articulates some of the reasons for overlapping design with development and why there should be no handoff.
Many companies choose the route of extensive design documentation almost to the last pixel. This isn’t enough though. Design decisions have to be informed by technical implementations and its limitations
https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/articles/design-handoff/
Accessibility and Design Systems: The Deep-Dive Q&A
Interesting Q&A session on design systems and accessibility…
If design and engineering are really in sync, then the product and users benefit.
https://www.supernova.io/blog/accessibility-and-design-systems-the-deep-dive-q-and-a
SVG currentColor
I tend not to apply colour inline within the svg anymore, instead I’ll just apply the colour to the containing div or let it inherit the colour automatically. Gone are the days when you would create a sprite with all the different svg variants. This article explains how it’s done.
https://gomakethings.com/currentcolor-and-svgs/
Solving the CSS layout and source order disconnect
Have you ever wondered if changing the source order using CSS affects accessibility, well the CSS boys are on it…
https://developer.chrome.com/blog/reading-order/
The Math Behind Nesting Rounded Corners
Paul Hebert creates some useful CSS custom properties for nesting rounded corners. If you are like me and design in code you might find this article useful.
https://cloudfour.com/thinks/the-math-behind-nesting-rounded-corners/
The Media Show: Charlie Brooker on Black Mirror, the threat of AI and avoiding the news
Black Mirror has been scaring me with AI related stories for some time now but one recent episode 'Joan is Awful' has been scaring film stars into striking.
“I love the BBC for instance, and I owe a lot to the BBC. I hope the license fee stays but it's easy for me to say that.”
No Handoff: close the gap between product and engineering
I'm not a fan of the waterfall process or fake agile (mini waterfalls) when building large digital products that (should) evolve over time. Siloed teams may work for print or small one-off projects.
Ahh… Project handoff. That universally hated period of inefficiency and frustration, throwing your work over the fence hoping there is someone on the other side to catch it.
https://nohandoff.org/no-handoff-between-product-and-engineering/
Natural History Museum branding
Tasty branding for the Natural History Museum but will it stand the test of time...
https://www.pentagram.com/work/natural-history-museum
Should you be coding your prototypes?
Is Figma enough or should you really be coding your prototypes? https://adactio.com/journal/20386