web design and production

Web design trends of 2016: free ebook bundle

On 12/09/2015, in design, mobile learning, mobile technologies, tablets, trends, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

Web design trends of 2016: free ebook bundle — from creativebloq.com

Excerpt:

The first book, UX Design 2015 & 2016, explains the six most useful UX design trends of the past year, like advanced personalization, device-agnosticism, microinteractions, and the rebirth of gamification.
The second book, Web Design Book of Trends 2015 & 2016, explores the ten UI trends that gained traction this year including the cards layout, fluid animations, minimalism, and the new possibilities of typography.
Last, Mobile Design Book of Trends 2015 & 2016 gives the same treatment exclusively to mobile design, dissecting the best practices for gesture controls, layered interfaces, and how to apply the web trends for a smaller screen.

Also see:

Top web design trends for 2016 [Hampton-Smith]

On 12/09/2015, in design, internet, user interface design, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

Top web design trends for 2016 — from creativebloq.com by Sam Hampton-Smith

Excerpt:

Just like any other field of design, web design trends come and go with the passing of time. Unlike many other fields, however, web design has a relentless driver to change: technology. Because the basis of the platform is ever changing, some of the trends in design for the web are as a result of improvements to what’s possible as much as a reflection on changing taste.

2015 has been an interesting year in terms of web design. The visual landscape for web designers has remained largely as it was in 2014, with only a refinement of the minimalist approach that has become popular over the past few years. Underneath the aesthetic treatment of pages, however, the web has been quietly progressing.

WordPress now powers 25% of the Web [Protalinski]

On 11/11/2015, in blogs / blogging / vlogging, communications, internet, open courseware and systems, platforms, tools, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

WordPress now powers 25% of the Web — from by Emil Protalinski

Excerpt:

One in four websites is now powered by WordPress.

Today is a big day for the free and open-source content management system (CMS). To be perfectly clear, the milestone figure doesn’t represent a fraction of all websites that have a CMS: WordPress now powers 25 percent of the Web.

The 50 Most Popular MOOCs of All Time — from onlinecoursereport.com, via Jordan Hall

Excerpt:

MOOCs – or Massive Open Online Courses – are picking up momentum in popularity – at least in terms of initial enrollment.

Unlike regular college/ university courses, MOOCs can attract many thousands of enrollees around the world. They can come in the form of active course sessions with participant interaction, or as archived content for self-paced study. MOOCs can be free, or there can be a charge – either on a subscription basis or a one-time charge. Free MOOCs sometimes have a paid “verified certificate” option. There are now thousands of MOOCs available worldwide from several hundred colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning. For your convenience, we’ve compiled a list of 50 of the most popular MOOCs, based on enrollment figures for all sessions of a course. The ranking is based on filtering enrollment data for 185 free MOOCs on various elearning platforms.

What’s next? GM predicts jobs of the future — from media.gm.com; with thanks to Norma Owen for the resource
Top 10 jobs of the future that will drive exciting technologies

Excerpt:

Electrical engineers
Analytics expert
Interaction designers
Web programmer
Autonomous driving engineer
Customer care experts
Sustainability integration expert
Industrial engineer
3D Printing engineer
Alternative propulsion engineer

What work will look like in 2025 — from fastcompany.com by Gwen Moran
The experts weigh in on the future of work a decade from now.

Excerpt (emphasis):

Seismic Shift In Jobs
The jobs picture either delivers on technology’s promise or plunges us into a dystopian future. The same interconnected technology that will change how goods and services are delivered will “hollow out” a number of skilled jobs, Brynjolfsson says. Clerical work, bookkeeping, basic paralegal work, and even some types of reporting will be increasingly automated, contracting the number of jobs available and causing a drop in wages. And while more technology might create new and different types of jobs, so far we’ve seen more job loss than creation in these areas, he says.

…

Who wins? Specialists, the creative class, and people who have jobs that require emotional intelligence like salespeople, coaches, customer-service specialists, and people who create everything from writing and art to new products, platforms and services, Brynjolfsson says. Jobs in health care, personal services, and other areas that are tough to automate will also remain in demand, as will trade skills and science, technology and mathematics (STEM) skills, says Mark J. Schmit, PhD, executive director of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia.

However, this winner/loser scenario predicts a widening wealth gap, Schmit says. Workers will need to engage in lifelong education to remain on top of how job and career trends are shifting to remain viable in an ever-changing workplace, he says.

From DSC:
Tell me this…do today’s standardized tests produce these “specialists, the creative class, and people who have jobs that require emotional intelligence like salespeople, coaches, customer-service specialists, and people who create everything from writing and art to new products, platforms and services?”

Nope…I don’t think so either.

Given that…what changes do we need to make in order to better prepare our kids for the future they will inherit? For the skills and mindsets that they will need?

———-

Addendum on 5/22/15:

Here is what my work day will look like in 2025 — from blog.hrtecheurope.com by Saida Ayupova

7 powerful reminders to finally adopt HTML5 in corporate eLearning [Leone]

On 04/24/2015, in corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, elearning, human-computer interaction (HCI), mobile learning, mobile technologies, multimedia, training / L&D, web design and production, workplace, by Daniel Christian

7 powerful reminders to finally adopt HTML5 in corporate eLearning — from elearningindustry.com by Alfredo Leone

Excerpt:

Mobility, ubiquity and portability are key requirements for any type of learning as the market fully embraces to the demand of learners to access knowledge when and where is needed. Learners today expect access to relevant and useful information on various types of mobile devices connected via networks of ever cheaper and faster bandwidth.

This trend toward multi-device and multi-access learning is solidifying day after day, making responsive content design one of the most critical components of any production process for online training material. The premise today is for learning to “follow” the person and not the other way around.

In this dynamic online learning scenario, HTML5 is finally going mainstream as the leading technology to structure and present learning content online. Here are some powerful reasons to adopt HTML5 today even when legacy constrains seem to favor a “wait and see” approach:

———–

Also see:

2015 Business eLearning Trends Infographic — from elearninginfographics.com

Addendum on 4/28/15:

How soon is now for the mobile web? — from visionmobile.com by Matt Asay

Excerpt:

That’s one primary takeaway from VisionMobile’s “How Can HTML5 Compete With Native?” report. As report author Dimitris Michalakos concludes, “The question is no longer *whether* HTML5 can produce quality apps, but *how* easy it is to create quality web apps.” Given that “HTML5 is like driving a car without a dashboard,” the key is to deliver better dashboards, or tools, to make it easier to build great web apps.

Trends and resources re: mobile learning

On 04/14/2015, in Augmented Reality (AR), educational games / serious games, future, mobile learning, mobile technologies, second screen apps, social media, trends, wearables, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

New eBook: Mobile Learning in Context — from learningsolutionsmag.com, Janet Clarey, & others; with thanks to Mayra Aixa Villar for this item

Excerpt:

Mobile learning is here to stay: Why be tied to a computer when you can spend the day where you want and learn at the same time? But mLearning isn’t just eLearning on a smaller screen. It has specific demands and offers unique opportunities. Are you making the most of your mLearning? The eLearning Guild’s free eBook, Mobile Learning in Context, might inspire you to rethink your approach.

Rethink your approach
For Mobile Learning in Context, contributing editor Janet Clarey assembled a group of mobile learning thought leaders and asked for their take on the range of mLearning topics. Each of the essays will make you consider the possibilities of mobile learning in a whole new light. Among the eBook’s highlights:

Watch out for these trends in mobile learning: 2015 and beyond — from blog.originlearning.com

Excerpt:

Global mobile data traffic grew 69 percent in 2014 and was nearly 30 times the size of the entire global Internet in 2000
Mobile video traffic exceeded 50 percent of total mobile data traffic for the first time in 2012
Mobile network (cellular) connection speeds grew 20 percent in 2014
In 2014, on an average, a smart device generated 22 times more traffic than a non-smart device.

These are just some excerpts from Cisco’s Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update for 2014 to 2019, but they clearly prove a point. That, the usage of mobiles is growing faster than ever before, backed by the rolling out of quicker internet speeds and smarter phones at affordable prices.

The research has also made important forecasts for the next 5 years, such as:
The number of mobile-connected devices exceeded the world’s population in 2014.
4G traffic will be more than half of the total mobile traffic by 2017.
Because of increased usage on smartphones, smartphones will reach three-quarters of mobile data traffic by 2019.

Now against the backdrop of such information, it is interesting to explore what role mobiles are playing in shaping up the workplace learning scenario. These trends with mobile learning are evidence to the fact that we are on the brink of a new era of learning – through the mobile device.

Learning in a Multi-device World (Infographic) — from upsidelearning.com by Pranjalee Thanekar; with thanks to Mayra Aixa Villar for this item

Excerpt:

According to the Verto Analytics’ Device Ecosystem US 2014 report, the average number of smartphones, tablets and computers used by an average US adult is 2.8 devices. Further, consumers show an increasingly polarised preference towards a particular device and platform as technology evolves. This indicates the increasing dependency on devices, generated by the ease in switching between tasks and the leverage it provides.

Why Millennials understand the future of work better than anyone else [Horowitz]

On 04/01/2015, in career development, corporate / business world, digital learning, digital video, entrepreneurship, future, generational differences, multimedia, new media literacies, web design and production, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Why Millennials understand the future of work better than anyone else — from fastcompany.com by Sara Horowitz
We can learn a lot about the future of work from how Millennials are approaching and redefining their careers.

From DSC:
Note the digital media literacies mentioned in the excerpt below — as well as how many times the topic of freelancing comes up:

Excerpt:

I call that traditional view, “Big Work,” and millennials intuitively understand that’s not where the future is. They are, in a sense, the first generation of freelance natives. They’re embracing freelancing in a way no other generation has. And now, they’re the majority of the workforce.

They are generation with markedly diverse interests––they’re into design, tech, activism, the arts, everything. They’ve been told their whole lives that they can and should pursue as many of those interests as they want. The Internet has opened more doors to this generation than any other.

That’s why the idea of a portfolio of work comes naturally to them. They’re doing web design for their mom’s coworkers after they’re done studying. They’re teaching themselves FinalCut and picking up video editing gigs to complement their shift at the bookstore. They’re aiming for a more meaningful work-life, not necessarily what their parents would call a “traditional career.”

That natural flexibility positions millennials to take advantage of this new economy without fear. They are the most likely age group to freelance––38% of millennials are freelancing, compared to 32% of all others, according to a national survey conducted last year by Freelancers Union and Elance-oDesk.

Millennials also expressed by far the most confidence about this new way of working, with 82% of young freelancers saying they’re optimistic about the future of freelancing.

From DSC:
We need to help students out by offering more courses on entrepreneurship, owning one’s own business, freelancing, basic accounting, basic marketing, social networking, etc.

Also see:

The 5 Most Common Mistakes New Freelancers Make — from 99u.com by Brennan Dunn

Why you now need a team to create and deliver learning [Christian & Grush]

On 02/26/2015, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, adjunct faculty, adult learning, analytics, animation, attention, blended learning, changing business models, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, copyright/ownership/NFTs, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-books, education reform, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, expectations, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, graphics, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, online media, programming, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, traditional / tradition, trends, universities, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, web design and production, writing, by Daniel Christian

My thanks to Mary Grush at Campus Technology for her continued work in bringing relevant topics and discussions to light — so that our institutions of higher education will continue delivering on their missions well into the future. By doing so, learners will be able to continue to partake of the benefits of attending such institutions. But in order to do so, we must adapt, be responsive, and be willing to experiment. Towards that end, this Q&A with Mary relays some of my thoughts on the need to move more towards a team-based approach.

When you think about it, we need teams whether we’re talking about online learning, hybrid learning or face-to-face learning. In fact, I just came back from an excellent Next Generation Learning Space Conference and it was never so evident to me that you need a team of specialists to design the Next Generation Learning Space and to design/implement pedagogies that take advantage of the new affordances being offered by active learning environments.

2015 trends — for designers & web designers

On 02/09/2015, in design, digital photography, digital video, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), photography, user experience (UX), user interface design, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

The Big Web Design Trends for 2015 — from sitepoint.com by Joanna Krenz Kurowska; with thanks to Mr. Tim Pixley for this resource

Excerpt:

When thinking about web design, you must consider the full spectrum of possibilities that the internet presents. Done boldly, designers can push the current limits of human interaction and imagination on a global scale – as is often seen with edgier industries, such as creative agency websites.

In this article, we’ll boil down some of the most prominent web design trends emerging in 2015. It is here that we can find true innovation and new opportunities – a few of which may completely change our understanding of a “modern website”.

8 design trends for 2015 — from istockphoto.com by Rebecca Swift

Web design trends that will rule 2015 — from designmodo.com by Tomas Laurinavicius

Excerpt:

Web design is a vibrant and diverse industry that is changing and evolving quickly. Website design is, however, not an end product; it’s an asset in the presentation of a product, connecting people with other people, providing a tool or service.

After reviewing over 500 websites in weekly series of “Inspiring Sites of the Week” on Despreneur I’ve got a sense of where web design is and where it is going for the next year. In this post I will try to review the current status of web design and predict some trends for 2015.

These are my assumptions and guesses based on my research and experience designing in 2014. Some of these may be right some may be not. If you think there should be something more in this article I’d love to have a discussion with you.

The trends in web design for 2015 [infographic] — from techinfographics.com by by Josipa Štrok

Excerpt:

The way we use the web is changing in line with the growth of technology. Smartphones and tablets have become a major factor which influencing the design of the web. What are the trends in web design for 2015?

If content is king, then the design is the crown. Home page should be more comprehensive. Visitors must get a sense of intuitive and dynamic interaction. Responsive design of website remains still imperative. Every owner who cares for his visitors should have designed a website that includes technology to automatically adjust the content to the devices where they are read. In the future responsive design will adapt to smart TVs and smart watches, not only monitors, smart phones or tablets. Moving page should be vertical because it contributes to an interactive style stories. After all this way scrolling through content is much easier to use on smartphones / tablets than clicking on the navigation from page to page. Forget the shadows, patterns and textures. Style with simple lines and white space is recommended for the coming year.

Web design trends to look out for in 2015 — from by Nathan B. Weller

Does Studying Fine Art = Unemployment? Introducing LinkedIn’s Field of Study Explorer [Hwang]

On 08/14/2014, in art, Augmented Reality (AR), biology, business, career development, chemistry, computer science, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, design, drama/theater, engineering, entrepreneurship, geography / geology, higher education, history, instructional design, interaction design, interface design, K-12 related, leadership, liberal arts, library / librarians, marketing/social marketing, marketplaces, mathematics, MBA, media/film, music, new media literacies, organizational change, photography, political science, professional development, programming, psychology, publishing, reinvent, staying relevant, student-related, tools, user interface design, web design and production, workplace, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

Does Studying Fine Art = Unemployment? Introducing LinkedIn’s Field of Study Explorer — from LinkedIn.com by Kathy Hwang

Excerpt:

[On July 28, 2014], we are pleased to announce a new product – Field of Study Explorer – designed to help students like Candice explore the wide range of careers LinkedIn members have pursued based on what they studied in school.

So let’s explore the validity of this assumption: studying fine art = unemployment by looking at the careers of members who studied Fine & Studio Arts at Universities around the world. Are they all starving artists who live in their parents’ basements?

Also see:

The New Rankings? — from insidehighered.com by Charlie Tyson

Excerpt:

Who majored in Slovak language and literature? At least 14 IBM employees, according to LinkedIn.

Late last month LinkedIn unveiled a “field of study explorer.” Enter a field of study – even one as obscure in the U.S. as Slovak – and you’ll see which companies Slovak majors on LinkedIn work for, which fields they work in and where they went to college. You can also search by college, by industry and by location. You can winnow down, if you desire, to find the employee who majored in Slovak at the Open University and worked in Britain after graduation.

Interested in web design? Here are some resources for you.

On 03/31/2014, in career development, creativity, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), multimedia, new media literacies, online learning, online media, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

W3C: Web Design & Applications

Lynda.com

Web Design Groups on LinkedIn.com

Relevant hashtags on Twitter:

Top Designer Google+ Communities You Should Follow — from hongkiat.com by Charnita Fance. Filed in Web Design.

Excerpt:

If you are active on Google+ there are a lot of communities for web designers or UI designers to join. Google+ Communities are like online groups or forums where people can come together to talk about a common hobby, interest or career (such as Design). Only members of a given community can see your posts in their stream. As a designer, this is great because you can share your work and get feedback from thousands of other designers, for free.

In the design communities below, you’ll find lots of great information, freebies, tips and tricks, and personal design work from members. Plus, you can ask for help or offer help to others. Let’s find the perfect Google+ design community for you.

Fresh Resources for Designers and Developers — March 2014 — from hongkiat.com

Infographic: HTML5 vs. native mobile app development [updated] — from kony.com by Dipesh Mukerji — also see his posting: Developing apps with HTML5: benefits and challenges

Responsive e-learning in a Multi-Device World — from elearning-reviews.traineasy.com

Excerpt:

“Day by day, the number of devices, platforms, and browsers that need to work with your site grows. Responsive web design represents a fundamental shift in how we’ll build websites for the decade to come,” says Jeffrey Veen, CEO & Cofounder of Typekit.

New ebook all about web design for Google Glass — from glassalmanac.com by Christian Bullock

Excerpt:

Well that was fast.

As someone who didn’t really know too many people were currently all about ensuring a site’s web design was fit for Google Glass browsing, there’s now an eBook by author Joe Casabona (known for his blog People Reacting to Glass) that’s a guide to web design for Glass.

Pretty cool idea and something I could see as being crucial when Glass launches publicly. I’m sure Glass adoption won’t be as high as tablet or smartphone adoption rates, but as we’re seeing now, it’s necessary for web designers to think of other ways people are interacting with websites aside from normal desktop or laptop computers.

Webmonkey.com

WebDesignerDepot.com

WebDesign.Tutsplus.com

Addendums on 4/1/14:

The importance of psychology in web design — from creativebloq.com
Ethan Marcotte on how responsive web design came about — from creativebloq.com

Web Development 101: Top Web Development Languages in 2014 [Shiotsu]

On 03/20/2014, in web design and production, by Daniel Christian

Web Development 101: Top Web Development Languages in 2014 — from odesk.com by Yoshitaka Shiotsu

Excerpt:

When it comes to choosing the best web development language for your website, it’s important to remember that there is no single best language.

Instead, a web developer will choose the option that best suits your project, based on the specific functionality or features you want. Which programming languages are most likely to come up in conversation?

An earlier post in this series, “What is Web Development,” described the three parts of web development: client-side scripting, which is a program that runs in a user’s web browser; server-side scripting, which runs on the web server; and database technology, which manages all the information on the server that supports a website.

While there are a couple of basic languages in common use, other languages are used specifically for client-side scripting or server-side scripting. Here is an overview of the more popular web development languages in use by the industry today.

…

This is only a fraction of the web development languages used by the industry today, but they are the ones you are most likely to discuss with a web developer.

Addendum on 3/21/14:

5 key principles for better web development — from by creativebloq.com by David Taylor

How could the new site pairing technology from Rapt Media be used in educationally-related apps?

On 02/13/2014, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, communications, convergence, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, interactivity, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, marketing/social marketing, transmedia, trends, vendors, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Today, we’re thrilled to announce that our patent-pending Site Pairing technology is officially out of beta and into the hands of creatives, marketers, brands, and agencies. Our new Site Pairing technology, which creates a link between your video and your website, allows your creative or content team to quickly and easily build a scalable Interactive Video (IV) framework that enables communication between your videos and your website.

“Online Videos have traditionally been dead ends to brands and marketers,” said Erika Trautman, CEO and co-founder of Rapt Media. “Viewers can’t navigate from them, and often leave a site altogether if the content isn’t exactly what they’re looking for.”

…

Taking a step back, we see that the website and its embedded media are having a true conversation. “There is nothing that you’ve come to expect on a website, that we can’t duplicate in a video,” said Trautman. “And now the two are talking.”

The 6 simplest web accessibility tests anyone can do [Groves]

On 09/17/2013, in accessibility / UDL, web design and production, by Daniel Christian

The 6 simplest web accessibility tests anyone can do — from KarlGroves.com

Excerpt:

To truly understand accessibility and accessible web development requires extensive knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, the DOM & BOM, accessibility APIs, assistive technologies, and how people with disabilities use computers. I’ve dedicated my career to it and find out the more I know the less I understand.

What about those for whom accessibility isn’t their career choice? What about those who don’t want to know things like the complicated interplay between markup, DOM interfaces, and accessibility API role mappings? What about people who want to know: “How does my website perform for people with people with disabilities?” Here you go. 6 tests that anyone can do without any development knowledge.

Learning Ecosystems

Web design trends of 2016: free ebook bundle

Top web design trends for 2016 [Hampton-Smith]

WordPress now powers 25% of the Web [Protalinski]

7 powerful reminders to finally adopt HTML5 in corporate eLearning [Leone]

Why Millennials understand the future of work better than anyone else [Horowitz]

2015 trends — for designers & web designers

Interested in web design? Here are some resources for you.

Web Development 101: Top Web Development Languages in 2014 [Shiotsu]

How could the new site pairing technology from Rapt Media be used in educationally-related apps?

The 6 simplest web accessibility tests anyone can do [Groves]

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