Year in Review: Highlights from 2007

As another year rolls to completion, I wanted to take the time to outline some articles I’ve published in the last 12 months and existing readers may have missed or new readers have not been exposed to quite yet. I’d also like to take the time to thank each and every reader of Monday By Noon. I really appreciate each person who takes the time to read what I’ve written because they see some value in it. Thank you for giving me your time.

On to the list! There is no particular order presented below, other than chronological.

My Development and Design Process

I’ve always had an extreme interest in the work process of others. Observing the details while someone else works can really help you to compare your own process and find any holes or weak spots in need of repair. In this article, I outlined my development and design process from start to finish. Although the article was written nearly a year ago, I still practice the very same process; markup, cutup, then style.

Suckerfish HoverLightbox Redux

I was able to take the time to revamp on of the most accessed examples on Monday By Noon, the Suckerfish HoverLightbox. I’ve said before that I wasn’t really happy with the aesthetics of the original Suckerfish HoverLightbox and felt it needed a bit of a redux. I think the second version, while not glisteningly beautiful, is quite an improvement over the first version.

Improving Your Process: CSS Techniques Part 1

In this piece I wanted to outline some tips, tricks, and techniques that have helped me to work more reliably and faster. A couple of the more prominent guidelines that I wanted to pass along were to simply avoid Box model inconsistencies whenever you could. I also mentioned how important I thought it was to have a solid naming convention as you work. It doesn’t have to conform to any sort of standard naming convention, only something that will really make sense to you (or someone else) should it need to be revised in the future.

Applying Progressive Enhancement to Your CSS

It’s always frustrating to see documents on the Web which assume each and every visitor will be equipped with a JavaScript capable browser with images turned on and full CSS support. In this article I wanted to provide an alternative to this assumption by using the technologies you’re relying on to progressively enhance your documents. In essence, using JavaScript to apply CSS which is dependent on the presence of JavaScript in order to remain unobtrusive.

Linux Font Equivalents to Popular Web Typefaces

I’ve always been a huge fan of Linux. I was a Linux user for nearly two years both at home and at work. Although I had a few reasons to switch to OS X, Linux will always be an interest of mine. Finding the Linux equivalent to popular Web typefaces was always an issue, and this article remains one of the more highly trafficked documents on Monday By Noon.

Is Manipulating the DOM for Presentation Acceptable?

Something about directly interacting with the style of elements via DOM scripting seemed a bit wrong to me. After thinking about it a bit, I had quite a few things to say on the subject, and thought it was only proper to ask the design and development community how they felt on the situation at hand; is it acceptable to manipulate the DOM for presentational purposes only?

Improving Your Process: 9 Ways to Improve Yourself

In the spirit of 9rules, I put together this article consisting of the things I try to keep in mind day to day to stay on top of the ever-changing medium we all work in every day. While I feel terrible that the article gets many views as a result of searches for self help in the general sense of the word, I think keeping these things in mind has allowed me to enjoy what I do that much more.

Please do not Use CSS Frameworks

If there was ever a time where I used a less sensational title for an article, it would be for this piece. CSS frameworks were one of the great debates of 2007, and this article has been used multiple times as a reference to one person who is ‘against CSS frameworks’. I tried to be as explicit as possible with my concerns about CSS frameworks in the piece, and through following articles, conveyed my misunderstandings and misconceptions for all to see.

At What Point Do Semantics Not Apply?

Continuing with the long discussion regarding CSS frameworks, I published this article questioning one of the issues that seemed to creep up time and time again during the debate; whether or not a class or id needed to have any semantic value. Do they matter to anyone other than the person writing the CSS? Do semantics even apply here? How do Microformats fit in to all this?

Closing this Chapter on CSS Frameworks

I spent quite a bit of time reading what everyone had to say on the subject of CSS frameworks. Lots of designers and developers that I have long respected posted a number of great articles on the subject, and in this article I tried to recall all I had learned about CSS frameworks. I’ve come to more of a conclusion regarding my personal stance on CSS frameworks as a result of the fantastic conversation had.

While I hope readers enjoy every article, those are a few worth a look if you’re new to Monday By Noon. If you’ve got any questions/comments/concerns/suggestions about the subjects covered week to week, I’d love to hear them.