A quick update on our Web Directions Code 17 conference taking place in Melbourne on 3-4 August. The response so far has been incredible, our thanks to those who’ve already registered. Please do note that we are limited in how many tickets we can sell by the size of the venue – so it is possible we […]
If there was a theme which guided my thinking about the focus of Web Directions, and the Web, in 2015, it was “performance is everyone’s problem” (I captured some of my thoughts for The Fetch earlier this year as well). At all our events, Respond (for Web designers), Code (for Front End Engineers) or Web […]
I’ll talk about some alternative definitions of success that are more achievable (and more fun!) than the Silicon Valley casino. It turns out that staying small offers some surprising advantages, not just in the day-to-day experience of work, but in marketing and getting customers to love your project. Best of all, there’s plenty more room […]
In this keynote from Web Directions South 2013, Rachel Binx argues for a more human-centric approach to designing web experiences. She explores the ways in which people invest themselves online, the obligations companies should feel towards those investments, and offers solutions for treating users a bit more like people
Network connectivity is reaching more and more into the physical world. This is potentially transformative – allowing every object and service in the world to talk to one other—and to their users—through any networked interface. Like what you see? Want a piece of the action next time around? Then get along to Web Directions South […]
Startups are really all about personal timing. How do you know when the time is right for you? And which idea is the one to pursue? Derek Powazek take us through his personal startup history. Like what you see? Want a piece of the action next time around? Then get along to Web Directions South […]
Many of us have been wringing our hands and gnashing our teeth at PRISM, the NSA, the seemingly inexorable encroachment of state surveillance into our lives and the end of privacy as we have come to know it. I read somewhere that sales of George Orwell’s 1984 have increased by 200% since Edward Snowden’s exposure […]
How to design a playful experience that is truly meaningful to users – instead of just creating shallow novelty effects? Which lessons do games really hold for other products and services? What criticism is valid? And how can designers interested in “gameifying” an application steer clear of the worst pitfalls?
This keynote will focus on the unique potential offered to web developers — the ability to use the web platform to build compelling applications that reach across different devices, scenarios and environments. In discussing the approaches necessary to deliver great experiences across all these spaces, we will also uncover unique opportunities in a platform that reaches from mobile phones to the biggest display screen in your house.
No one who advocates for the mobile web wants to admit it, but it is true. Native is easier. It’s easier to sell to stakeholders. Easier to monetize. And most importantly, easier to implement. So how do we sell mobile web projects? How do we work with the systems we currently have to build compelling mobile web experiences?
Many of us create and work with data that lives on the web. This kind of data has similar characteristics that makes it possible to learn successful techniques and avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’ for analysis.
During this brisk discussion we’ll separate fads from the future, debate native apps versus the mobile web, take an honest look at the hype behind geo-location, then take a step back to ask ourselves where the web—and we ourselves—are going. Hold on, it’s going to be a wild ride!