Breaking Out of the Framework
Credit to Codyhouse.co
Creating web designs that are responsive and working seamlessly with any device can be a challenge. From working on sites in my own time and then taking courses and reading textbooks, I’ve learned that I don’t know everything about the subject of web design. I am not one who understands or loves math, so as a designer when mathematical problems arise such as calculating inches and height or how to change a percentage of an element on a webpage, I usually look the other way or try my best to avoid it, until it works.
In a 2019 article by Kevin Powell entitled, “How to think responsively: a responsive web design tutorial”, he explains that, “But, what is that 80% of? It's of it's parent. When we use percentage for width, margin, or padding it is always looking at the width of it's parent (yes, even for margin and padding on the top and bottom). We'll often use percentage to define the width's of elements, as it let's them be more flexible, which is essential when putting together a responsive design.” I never fully realized that math skills or simple equations were apart of designing, but I now know that they are crucial if you wish to create a functioning webpage that looks sleek on every device. As a consumer of technology, I have always been somewhat aware of the constant changes made in the years for websites and virtual technology as well as wireless capabilities, but I never thought about it in a specific way from my perspective as a designer.
In chapter 1 of Responsive Design: Patterns and Principles, it discusses, “But with sub-3G connections comprising the overwhelming majority of mobile data subscriptions, that network is also far slower, more volatile, and less reliable than we might like to think...How can responsive design possibly keep up with all of this? More to the point: as responsive designers, how do we?” With technology companies like Apple, their marketing teams are always in need of the next big thing, especially from graphic designers to make their products pop. As a designer, I must be constantly in the know about the ever-changing world of the technology around me, so I am able to create designs that work with it, not against it. Learning the new technological aspects to coding your designs isn’t a simple feat either. Programmers are creating new versions of HTML and CSS to keep up with the newer computers and phones, so that nothing slows them down, not even basic websites.
In chapter 17 of HTML & CSS, it goes over the topics of the new models of code a bit more, “HTML5 introduces a new set of elements that allow you to divide up the parts of a page. The names of these elements indicate the kind of content you will find in them. They are still subject to change, but that has not stopped many web page authors using them already”. If there is an easier way to accomplish something, no one would choose the harder way, so many designers and companies have decided to incorporate HTML5 as part of their websites and online services. I never was aware that there were different versions of HTML, I thought the reasons behind the way sites look completely different from each other was because of the code that was used in writing them, not because of the program differences. I look forward to exploring and gaining more knowledge so that I can take advantage of HTML5 and create beautiful sites and webpages.
Later in the chapter, it goes further in depth with the specific aspects of HTML5 and what can be done with it, including, “At the time of writing, some of the developers that were already using HTML5 decided to use the element for the links that appear at the bottom of every page (links to things like privacy policy, terms and conditions and accessibility information). Whether this will be widely adopted is still yet to be seen”. I was unaware that these aspects were within my capabilities, but I want to try and explore more avenues to strengthen my skills with coding, so that I feel confident with anything a client asks of me.
In an article titled, “Frameworks” for A List Apart.com written by Ethan Marcotte, he elaborated on the topic of change in the coding and design community. “If each part of your responsive interface is more or less self-contained—with its own layout rules, content needs, and breakpoints—then the code behind each element’s design is far less important than thinking carefully about how and why an element should adapt. In other words, how do we move beyond thinking in terms of columns and rows, and start talking about the quality of our responsive designs? And what would frameworks to support that look like?” We, as designers, should not let our designs be confined by columns and rows, there is so much more to a webpage that can be done beyond that. The changes in the industry are allowing us to use our skills and break away from the mold that has kept us bound for so many years.