Author
Mike Pick
As a part of Monkey Do, Mike approaches web design from the perspective of both art director and front-end developer. He primarily creates clean and concise design systems for websites, but is also known to get his hands dirty with HTML/CSS and JavaScript development.
Over the years he has worked as a cog in a large agency, an in-house art director, and a humble freelancer, and has picked up a few awards along the way. He holds a BD in Communication Design from NSCAD in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Also from this author
Ten years ago in May,
A List Apart published Issues 180–182, featuring
Art Direction and the Web by Stephen Hay and
Onion Skinned Drop Shadows by Brian Williams.
We’ve been designing responsively for more than three years, now, and have the small-screen pattern libraries and portfolios to prove it. But what about larger screens? While we commonly use liquid design for smaller breakpoints, allowing our content to expand and contract as needed, few of us consider what happens beyond a maximum width of 960 pixels or so—which can leave a heap of unused pixels on a contemporary desktop display. Mike Pick explores how to use negative space, scale, density, and layout devices such as grids, modules, and columns to break through the 1024-pixel layout barrier.
First, ask yourself if your site even needs a right column. If the answer is yes, Hoa Loranger has some ideas on how you can more effectively design the content you put there.
Yes, the clipped logotype at the top of the page is intentional.
People who make websites know that the work doesn't magically end after the initial launch.