An Event Apart, Spring Summit - Day one
Yes. An Event Apart is that good.
After all these years I managed to finally attend An Event Apart.
The ongoing pandemic means it's virtual, so I'm still in my basement, but they've got a format that's working well — Watch the pre-recorded talk, followed by a live Q&A with the presenter.
This means I don't miss anything if I have to let the dogs out, make a cuppa, or answer a work SOS.
Today is day one, and it's been a barnstormer.
Presenters
Jeremy Keith opens by looking forward to what the web could be by considering it's history. The progress we've made thus far. How Flash and polyfills can be seen as R&D for the evolution of W3C standards.
If I have the choice of making something the user's problem, or making it my problem, I’ll make it my problem every time. That’s my job.
I had to miss Scott Jehl's presentation, but I'm going to watch the recording soon.
Next was Rachel Andrews on "How to understand CSS". Filled with "live" code and clear examples of how CSS has evolved over the years and what its actually doing. Thinking about "aligning in the block and inline dimensions". Now I want to completely restructure this blogs pages.
Do not be afraid of the specifications! Interesting information lives there.
Miriam Suzanne delivered a great look at variables in CSS. Again, like Rachels talk, there's so much to dive into here. From defining a name of a repeated color to creating and animating bar charts. Unlike Sass and the like these aren't static and complied. But dynamic and responsive.
Dave Ruperts presentation on Web Components was the other I missed and have to catch up on the recording.
Ending the day was Cyd Harrel's talk on "Getting Senior with UX". A great look at how being senior does not equal a management track. Some very interesting points about growing your "design eye", realizing your areas of strength, and bringing along others.
Tomorrow
With talk titles such as "Better User Experience is Better SEO", Inclusive Design Systems, and High-Impact User Research it seems a little less code-centric.
I cannot wait to experience the ideas from day two.