According to an article on WebDesignLedger (and the article it references over at Ars Technica), as of September 1, 2015, Google’s Chrome browser now blocks auto-playing Flash ads from displaying. These problematic ads annoy users, as they usually start playing on page load at full-volume, leaving the user scrambling to find where the offending ad is coming from and make it stop. This is good news for Chrome users, but will Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Microsoft Edge follow suit?
Author Archives: Brian Lancaster-Mayzure
Using cutting edge web features: Warning users with outdated browsers
There are new innovations in web design all the time, but the biggest problem with being able to use them is the variety of browsers and versions of those browsers out there. There are times when you have to design for the lowest common denominator (which, currently, is Internet Explorer 8), but if you don’t have that constraint put upon you by a client, and want to design with current browsers in mind, then you should look at Browser-Update.org’s solution.
CSSGram: Bringing Instagram-like photo filters to the web
Despite currently being a Photography minor, where I am assured that I should only like pure photography without any filters, I do love my Instagram filters. I’ve secretly wished there was a way to bring those filters with me to the desktop or the web. Well, it’s here. Now.
CSSGram brings Instagram-like filters to the web, applying those filters to photos using only CSS! It’s a testament, really, to the power of CSS.
Using the default OS font in CSS
If you’ve ever wanted to use the default font of the user’s operating system on your page, it could be a confusing mess for your font stack, or worse, having to use JavaScript to detect the user’s OS and select the right font to display. But I found this little snippet on css-tricks that makes it easier!
How-to: Full-page background photos
In my last post, we took a look at transparency applied to the main element over a large background photo. But I realized that I hadn’t touched on how to make that background photo work!
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Transparency
CSS3 has enabled us to use a lot of effects to design on the web. One that I want to look at today is transparency. Look at the image on the right. In this example, the main content section is white, with a 60% transparency effect added. This is particularly useful when using a full page cover image for your background.
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404? 4-Oh-Wow!
It’s happened to all of us. You’re poking around the web, and follow a link to a different site, and — WHAM! 404 Not Found. Some are plain, usually generated by the server, but some companies and sites take it to the next level and turn the plain 404 Not Found page into an experience all itself. Some are humourous, some are informative, and some are just great design. But the folks at Woltbit.com have compiled a list of cool and creative 404 pages. Pay attention to #2. Blue Fountain Media has turned their 404 page into a playable Pac Man maze!
Top ten overused fonts on the web
I recently read an article on Fast Company Design blog about a new site called FontReach that shows the most used fonts on the web. Fontreach was created by Jason Chen and Jesse Chase of Digital Ocean after they started looking for a new typeface for their website. They thought the font they chose was overused, but they needed data. No tool like FontReach existed, so they created it.
End the Echo: A new kind of inspirational site
We’ve all gone to sites like siteinspire.com, awwwards.com, and even behance.net to look for ideas and inspiration when planning a new site. Or perhaps we’re looking at new emerging trends in web design. And that’s all fine and good, but it does tend to create a bit of an echo chamber. When we’re only looking to other websites for inspiration, we’re only seeing what other designers are doing, and in turn, emulating those designs.
A point of style: ‘Chicago Manual of Style’ Headlines or ‘AP Stylebook’ headlines?
I know this isn’t directly related to web design, but rather, this is about the most important part of a website — content. I find it hard to decide on what style I want to use for my article headlines. On the one hand, many sites are using Chicago Manual of Style type headlines — a headline where the first letter of every word, except for articles like of, in, and, with, for, etc., are capitalized. But on the other hand, having worked at a newspaper that used AP style, I am partial to AP Style Guide type headlines, where only the initial word in the headline, and any proper nouns, are capitalized. I’ve been pretty inconsistent so far, but I want to stick with one style, and maybe even retroactively correct older articles.
I want to hear from you. Which style do you think works better? First, let’s look at a test headline in Chicago style:
Cool Drop Shadows with CSS
Here’s the same headline in AP style:
Cool drop shadows with CSS
Let me know what you think in the comments section below!