Darren Alawi http://darrenalawi.com Web & brand designer Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:49:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 A Detailed Look into Popular S… http://darrenalawi.com/a-detailed-look-into-popular-s http://darrenalawi.com/a-detailed-look-into-popular-s#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:49:01 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/a-detailed-look-into-popular-s A Detailed Look into Popular Styles in Web Design: http://j.mp/dpvSh8

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/a-detailed-look-into-popular-s/feed 0 45 Inspiring Design Agency Web… http://darrenalawi.com/45-inspiring-design-agency-web http://darrenalawi.com/45-inspiring-design-agency-web#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:54:07 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/45-inspiring-design-agency-web 45 Inspiring Design Agency Websites http://bit.ly/cls5hf

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/45-inspiring-design-agency-web/feed 0 Most Useful Mac Tools and Util… http://darrenalawi.com/most-useful-mac-tools-and-util http://darrenalawi.com/most-useful-mac-tools-and-util#comments Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:11:11 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/most-useful-mac-tools-and-util Most Useful Mac Tools and Utilities – http://bit.ly/9ULwlu

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/most-useful-mac-tools-and-util/feed 0 Inspiration From The Past – … http://darrenalawi.com/inspiration-from-the-past-%e2%80%93 http://darrenalawi.com/inspiration-from-the-past-%e2%80%93#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:59:07 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/inspiration-from-the-past-%e2%80%93 Inspiration From The Past – Vintage Airline Timetables: http://ow.ly/2vqT0

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/inspiration-from-the-past-%e2%80%93/feed 0 7 Interface Design Techniques … http://darrenalawi.com/7-interface-design-techniques http://darrenalawi.com/7-interface-design-techniques#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:58:03 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/7-interface-design-techniques 7 Interface Design Techniques to Simplify and De-clutter Your Interfaces – http://bit.ly/5Fqk0

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/7-interface-design-techniques/feed 0 Small but useful CSS trick: fi… http://darrenalawi.com/small-but-useful-css-trick-fi http://darrenalawi.com/small-but-useful-css-trick-fi#comments Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:18:31 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/small-but-useful-css-trick-fi Small but useful CSS trick: fixing the background ‘bleed’ in Safari – http://bit.ly/cyQ0RU

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/small-but-useful-css-trick-fi/feed 0 .toucan-css-reset: a very usef… http://darrenalawi.com/toucan-css-reset-a-very-usef http://darrenalawi.com/toucan-css-reset-a-very-usef#comments Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:11:31 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/toucan-css-reset-a-very-usef .toucan-css-reset: a very useful CSS Reset – http://bit.ly/bYovUD”

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/toucan-css-reset-a-very-usef/feed 0 Interesting thoughts on Eric S… http://darrenalawi.com/interesting-thoughts-on-eric-s http://darrenalawi.com/interesting-thoughts-on-eric-s#comments Sat, 21 Aug 2010 09:01:47 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/interesting-thoughts-on-eric-s Interesting thoughts on Eric Schmidt: http://j.mp/auFem0

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/interesting-thoughts-on-eric-s/feed 0 The .net Awards 2010 (@netmag)… http://darrenalawi.com/the-net-awards-2010-netmag http://darrenalawi.com/the-net-awards-2010-netmag#comments Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:09:18 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/the-net-awards-2010-netmag The .net Awards 2010 (@netmag) are now live! – http://bit.ly/1998Ql

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/the-net-awards-2010-netmag/feed 0 JQuery Mobile Project. Good to… http://darrenalawi.com/jquery-mobile-project-good-to http://darrenalawi.com/jquery-mobile-project-good-to#comments Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:11:10 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/jquery-mobile-project-good-to JQuery Mobile Project. Good to see JQuery looking to the future. http://bit.ly/awtLzx

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/jquery-mobile-project-good-to/feed 0 Microsoft taking on the Mac ag… http://darrenalawi.com/microsoft-taking-on-the-mac-ag http://darrenalawi.com/microsoft-taking-on-the-mac-ag#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:36:08 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/microsoft-taking-on-the-mac-ag Microsoft taking on the Mac again http://bit.ly/bRfv09 they should enable user comments to discover the truth.

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/microsoft-taking-on-the-mac-ag/feed 0 RT @designe81: 15 Inception Mo… http://darrenalawi.com/rt-designe81-15-inception-mo http://darrenalawi.com/rt-designe81-15-inception-mo#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:26:39 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/rt-designe81-15-inception-mo RT @designe81: 15 Inception Movie Posters http://bit.ly/a969DM

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/rt-designe81-15-inception-mo/feed 0 RT @behoff: Why we should embr… http://darrenalawi.com/rt-behoff-why-we-should-embr http://darrenalawi.com/rt-behoff-why-we-should-embr#comments Mon, 02 Aug 2010 21:51:59 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/rt-behoff-why-we-should-embr RT @behoff: Why we should embrace the (mis)use of the term “HTML5″ by @jcroft http://cl.ly/1qx4

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/rt-behoff-why-we-should-embr/feed 0 Interesting article about bran… http://darrenalawi.com/interesting-article-about-bran http://darrenalawi.com/interesting-article-about-bran#comments Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:21:43 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/interesting-article-about-bran Interesting article about brands that rename / rebrand after a PR disaster http://bit.ly/9uR4o3 (via @justcreative)

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/interesting-article-about-bran/feed 0 New post: Web design on mobile… http://darrenalawi.com/new-post-web-design-on-mobile http://darrenalawi.com/new-post-web-design-on-mobile#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:16:57 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/new-post-web-design-on-mobile New post: Web design on mobile devices http://bit.ly/bB0b9q

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/new-post-web-design-on-mobile/feed 0 RT “@clientsfh: “It’s a po… http://darrenalawi.com/rt-%e2%80%9cclientsfh-it%e2%80%99s-a-po http://darrenalawi.com/rt-%e2%80%9cclientsfh-it%e2%80%99s-a-po#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:08:07 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/rt-%e2%80%9cclientsfh-it%e2%80%99s-a-po RT “@clientsfh: “It’s a poo fetish website. But it needs to be classy.” http://tumblr.com/xepe6434l”

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/rt-%e2%80%9cclientsfh-it%e2%80%99s-a-po/feed 0 Pattern App: User Interface De… http://darrenalawi.com/pattern-app-user-interface-de http://darrenalawi.com/pattern-app-user-interface-de#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:07:18 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/pattern-app-user-interface-de Pattern App: User Interface Design Patterns Library – http://bit.ly/c7MfZe via @smashingmag

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/pattern-app-user-interface-de/feed 0 50 Fantastically Clever Logos:… http://darrenalawi.com/50-fantastically-clever-logos http://darrenalawi.com/50-fantastically-clever-logos#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:05:40 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/50-fantastically-clever-logos 50 Fantastically Clever Logos: http://ow.ly/2gb4O” via @DesignerDepot

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/50-fantastically-clever-logos/feed 0 New article: Web design on mob… http://darrenalawi.com/new-article-web-design-on-mob http://darrenalawi.com/new-article-web-design-on-mob#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:43:27 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/new-article-web-design-on-mob New article: Web design on mobile devices http://bit.ly/bB0b9q

]]> http://darrenalawi.com/new-article-web-design-on-mob/feed 0 Web design on mobile devices http://darrenalawi.com/web-design-on-mobile-devices http://darrenalawi.com/web-design-on-mobile-devices#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:50:46 +0000 Darren http://darrenalawi.com/?p=1484 I am lucky enough to be in a job where I have time to work out how to adapt web design to new technologies. The mobile web isn’t exactly new, although since the advent of the iPhone it has started to look a lot nicer. Gone are the days of WAP and horrible looking mobile pages, these days mobile pages on devices like iPhone and Android based phones can look just as good if not even better than regular web pages, with a host of JavaScript animations and CSS3 styles to play around with to get the most out of the mobile space.

Why bother designing a site specifically for mobiles, if browsers are displaying normal sites so well anyway? I guess its a case of usability, users looking at web pages on a mobile are generally on the move and not looking to get bogged down in reams of copy or go down complicated navigation routes that get them to their content after an hour of squinting. I think users looking to consume information at a deeper level will wait and use a bigger screen. So it’s a case of considering what users are using their mobile web browsers for and meeting or surpassing that expectation to your businesses benefit.

A great example is dominos.co.uk, not for the design or visual of the mobile site but for the usability, they know what their customer wants and they provide you the quickest route based on the device you are using. The mobile site gets straight to the point with a postcode entry form that will point you in the right direction. The desktop site shows you more information about their current offers and promotions, take a look:

dominos.co.uk

Having recently prototyped a mobile site, I found there are a number of issues with designing sites for mobile phones simply based around the variety of devices, manufacturers and browsers available to consumers. You thought designing for a few desktop based browsers was difficult, try hundreds of different devices, running varied versions of the manufacturers software, it’s a tough job to get everything working and looking good.

The only approach is to use progressive enhancement, or graceful degradation, 2 impressive phrases which basically mean designing a site that adapts based on the device and browser it is being used on, it is really intelligent web design. The layout has to be fluid to enables a good fit on all screen sizes, links and buttons need to be big enough to be used on a touch screen, you have to build up layers of complexity in the design starting at the very basic. Most web designers have had some experience doing this, thanks to browsers like ie6, so we are equipped for the task and with a good team of developers at your disposal it is great fun to take an existing site and ‘mobilise’ it.

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