Tag Archives: a list apart

The next challenge for Web designers, choosing font faces

November 20th, 2009

For years the Internet has challenged those that work on it.

At first it was all about how to get the bits from here to there. Then it was how to link them together and to navigate through them. Then it was about adding media. Next came display ports and fitting well-designed information on them using both text and rich media together. The next big challenge was bandwidth – using it efficiently, increasing it, and making it affordable. And on and on the challenges came and went.

The next challenge for Web designers, according to Jason Santa Maria‘s article on A List Apart titled On Web Typography, will be choosing font faces. Until somewhat recently a Web designer would have to go through some technical fire-circles to use font faces outside of the normal ‘system fonts’ that come standard on every computer in the world. Due to the limited choices, designers haven’t had too much of a challenge about what font to use where.

Not anymore.

Web designers, according to Jason, are going to have to dive into Typography like never before. They will need to learn what font faces go well together, how many to use, how to use weight and selection to invoke certain emotions, etc. He lays out some really great rules to follow in the article but even he admits that his rules are breakable. His point is, roll up your sleeves and be prepared to work hard at this.

Two things excite me about the future of Tyography on the Web. The first is that we’re going to see an explosion of Web sites that incorporate font faces that we haven’t really seen on our screens. You know that feeling you get when you see a really well designed poster, magazine, book, manual, or anything else that is printed thesedays? You’re about to have those same feelings when you look at Web sites. The second is that old school designers, those that got ink on their hands when they started their career, are now the guys that know more than the new guys. The technical hurdles for using non-standard font faces on Web sites have been removed and the creative juices can now begin to flow from even the most non-technical designers. The field is wide open.

In a word, the world of type on the Web is getting interesting.

Coaching a Community by Laura Brunow Miner

March 25th, 2009

Some of us in the “community” space think about these topics every single day. Seldom do we get a good soapbox to talk about them. Laura Brunow Miner, editor in chief at JPG Magazine, did on A List Apart in her brilliantly detailed yet simple piece entitled Coaching a Community.

“In the end, we’re talking about fundamental social principles of mutual respect, open communication, and effective incentives. People often want to feel like they’re part of something larger than themselves, and that their talents and skills are appreciated. So polish up the skills you learned in the dorms, the glee club, or the Elk’s Lodge, and lead your community online.”

In her article she actually scratches under the surface to reveal details that I believe have been talked much less about in recent years than the broad strokes of community building. When the idea of “community” really began to take stride we all talked about openness, communication, actively greeting your new members, and hand-holding. But Laura touches on things that go below that. She strips off the layers of community building to reveal the duties of the community builder to be much more refined and those that have longer-term affects than making your newest members feel at home.

Here is what she said regarding rewarding good work.

“It’s human nature that one negative comment affects us more than ten positive ones. So praise liberally, but keep in mind that different positive actions deserve different rewards. Keeping them separate is really important, or you risk deflating the value of all of them. Think of school: you wouldn’t get an “A” just for perfect attendance, but you might get a certificate.”

This is a very insightful thought put more succinctly than I could have pulled off. At Viddler, as an example, favorites and comments come in droves (for a good video). But how do you balance that out between good work and hard work? Some people publish great videos every single time. Do you react the very same way for each video? What about distinguishing hard work from just blind luck? In our business sometimes simple, unedited videos (like my Random 60 videos) get more attention than well thought out, highly refined, and fine tuned works of art. Such is life. But those are two very different examples of “good work” and each should be rewarded in their own way.

I think this part of “the job” is probably one of the hardest challenges faced by community managers. You always want to give kudos where due, but how can you keep the value of that praise at a high level? Food for thought.

She also makes some great points about incentives, looking for trends that match your community’s interests, and mentoring. Really a must-read for anyone trying to build and ultimately coach a community.

An excellent article by someone who truly gets community on the Web and off.