Web animation with CSS3 and jQuery (Part 1)

When all you have a hammer everything looks like a nail. What happens when you have an entire bag at your disposal? Let's take a look at a case where a multitude of options exists for a simple task. That task is to animate a page element to bring an interactive experience to an otherwise static layout.

This is a comparison of two approaches to a simple animation problem - how do you draw attention to a section of the page? The first two methods rely on CSS3 techniques. The third leverages the power of an open source Javascript library to create a truly cross browser compatible experience at the expense of a little bit of processing power. Each way has its own benefits and drawbacks. Read on to learn more.

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Thoughts on a 'Digital Nation'

Recently I ran across a fantastic documentary called Digital Nation. An hour long look at the changes hat have occurred over the last ten to fifteen years it seeks to answer the question of what technology has done to our lives. Put under the lens of the user experience it raises some very thought provoking threads for designers of all interfaces. What are we actually creating through the explosion of desktop, web, and mobile bssed interfaces that surround us now on a daily basis?
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Adventures in typography

Have you ever seen the documentary Helvetica and been inspired to see what you can do with typography? Do you spend hours browsing sites like Font Squirrel? Is your computer bogged down with thousands of extra fonts besides the ones provided by default? If so take a look at this amazing collection of glyph based drawings. Created by students at the Cleveland Institute of Art these recreations of local landmarks are executed using only a single typeface, lots of creativity, and patience.
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Essential skills for the new UX designer (Part 1)

So you are bored of your current career. Having heard a little about this thing called "User Experience" you want to dig deeper and start building a skill set. Having done the same thing myself here are five areas that I believe are essential over the long term. The first part looks at how to get your idea out of your head. The second will delve more into realizing it as a working system. This piece looks at sketching and wireframing. Good starting points are provided for diving deeper into the world of design deliverables for people with all sorts of budgets. If you are serious about getting into the world of user experience there is no excuse for waiting any longer.
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