Just exactly when do we choose to decide the Web began? Perhaps 1989 and publication of “Information Management: A Proposal” by Tim Berners-Lee, a proposal by for a distributed hypertext system (a document I’ve held in my hand, with it’s ‘vague but exciting’ annotation by Mike Sendall hand written in red pen at the top). […]
? What are the must-have skills of a great engineering leader?? How do you build a world class culture amongst engineers building digital products? That’s what Code Leaders is all about! Leading a team of engineers and product people can be daunting when it’s first thrust upon you. It’s not an easy thing to get […]
In recent weeks I’ve been posting on landmark years in the history of personal computing–today it’s, sadly, a landmark person. Sadly, because Molly Holzschlag passed away this week. People of a certain generation associated with the Web will have vivid memories of Molly, whether from her writing, speaking, or if really privileged, knowing her in […]
Typesetting and page layout had long been a laborious, physical process. ‘Cut and paste’ started life not as a metaphor but actual things type setters did. By the 1980s, the process was increasingly digital, with phototypesetters, but these were typically very expensive devices, and required expert operators. But just a year after the 1984 launch […]
Design has always been a core focus at Web Directions–and 2023 is no exception. Here’s what we’ve got lined up in the Product Design track of Web Directions Summit 2023! ✏️ Microaggressions and Microaffirmations in Product Design – Laura Kerrison? Dear Designer… Sincerely, the Development Team – Jo Minney?️ Annotating Designs for Accessibility – Sam Hobson and Claire Webber✏️ Conversational […]
Last time it was 1981, and the birth of the PC. Today, it’s not long after, 1984 and the birth of the Macintosh and the GUI. Apple had been a dominant player in the late 1970s early microcomputer days, with the Apple II first released in 1977 (the earlier Apple I was a strictly a […]
It might seem a little outside our usual area of focus, but let’s see how our brand new product and growth marketing track fits into the big picture of Web Directions Summit. When we started nearly 20 years ago, if you worked on the Web, you probably did just about everything yourself. From the code […]
I didn’t know it in my early teens, but something was shifting in the nature of computing, which would shape the coming decades in ways few if any could really imagine at the time. Computers had until relatively recently been large extremely expensive capital investments requiring teams of expert operators. They processed, even by today’s […]
Nearly 25 years ago now I published A Dao of Web Design. It was before social media, even before blogging had really gained any sort of traction. But it somehow found amn audience, and folks from all over the world emailed me in the weeks and months after. One I will never forget was from […]
In keeping with our goal of creating the most comprehensive, in-depth conference for product professionals in the world, there’s a brand new track at Web Directions Summit this year! Your own design system track Design Systems: 2 days of all things design systems, designops and design engineering, covering everything you need to build a the […]
Generative AI: we believe no-one on the product team can ignore this right now–Devs, content people, product managers, UX designers, growth team. So here’s how we’ll help you get up to speed, cut through the crap, and sort out what you need to do next. These 10 Web Directions Summit sessions (amongst dozens of other […]
Content is the heart of pretty much every user experience, every app or site. So last year we started a brand new content strategy and design focussed track at Web Directions Summit, and this year we’re taking it up a notch, with these incredible sessions. ?Best Practice AI Explainability for Content Strategists | Emily Meller & Aden Rolfe?Content […]
Before we start, this post was prompted by the design reboot we’ve just done of the site for our upcoming Web Directions Summit–and the launch of the full, and frankly amazing, 7 track conference program, with brand new track covering product and growth marketing and design systems, alongside product design, front end engineering (two tracks […]
Famed science fiction writer (and straight up visionary) Arthur C Clarke (author of 2001 a Space Odyssey among many many novels and short stories, as well the originator of the idea of geo stationary communications satellites and the lunar lander) postulated three ‘laws’ (or better put ‘adages’). The third you have almost certainly heard–’Any sufficiently […]
This week we announced our keynote speakers for Web Directions Summit–a truly stellar lineup, and of course with a strong focus on how AI will impact the Web, and practices like engineering and design. And with a week to go until our AI conference (full lineup here)–use the code ‘wdai’ to pay just $395, or […]
Web Directions South is the must-attend event of the year for anyone serious about web development
Phil Whitehouse General Manager, DT Sydney
