We’ve all been there: a client or coworker shows you something they’ve worked on for hours or weeks, and your brain screams because their idea sucks. Author Ksenia Cheinman shows how the right conversational framework can help you navigate these all-too-frequent design interactions.
Topic: Community
The wisdom of community. SOPA and other threats. In defense of readers. Coaching your community. Improving the conversation in comments and forums. Content-focused digital product and brand development. Building magazines and communities. Editorial best practices. The arithmetic of readers and writers. Conferences and communication. Anonymity and online community: identity matters.
Trans-inclusive Design
Design decisions across our projects can mean the difference between affirmation and invalidation—and sometimes safety and danger. Erin White explores the repercussions for trans, non-binary, and gender-variant users and what we can do about it.
Nothing Fails Like Success
Money and tech have a complicated relationship. We trained our users to expect things for free. Quickly we realized that wasn’t a sustainable business model, so we sold their data and served ads, which invites its own problems.
Now, we’re trying to undo this tangled web. How do we get back to a democratized web? Our own Jeffrey Zeldman invites us to discuss how and to #LetsFixThis.
Canary in a Coal Mine: How Tech Provides Platforms for Hate
Like a mine can fill up with toxic gasses, technology can become a toxic platform for hate. As the people building the web, we have an ethical responsibility for how these products are used—whether we intended it or not. ALA’s own Tatiana Mac lays this out using her own experience as a woman of color in tech.
So You Want to Write an Article?
Ready to write a professional article? Make sure your submission is the best it can be! ALA editor Brandon Gregory gives some advice on common pitfalls the editorial team sees in article submissions, including advice for picking your topic, writing intros, and adding authority to your ideas.
We’re Looking for People Who Love to Write
Publishing on A List Apart isn’t as easy-peasy as dashing off a post on your blog, but the results—and the audience—are worth it. And when you write for A List Apart, you never write alone: our industry-leading editors, technical editors, and copy editors are ready to help you polish your best idea from good to great. Come share with us!
New A List Apart wants you!
As A List Apart approaches its 20th anniversary—a milestone in independent, web-based publishing—we’re once again reimagining the magazine. We want your feedback. And most of all, we want you. We’re getting rid of advertisers and digging back to our roots: community-based, community-built, and determinedly non-commercial. Find out how you can help!
Network Access: Finding and Working with Creative Communities
Real creative change can happen. And is happening and thriving—just outside our usual circles. Senongo Akpem talks about how the design community has changed, and how venturing further afield can help us push the “Reset” button.
Help One of Our Own: Carolyn Wood
Selfless editor and colleague Carolyn Wood has run into a medical emergency and needs the community’s help. Over the years, she has given us immense gifts without ever asking for anything in return. Let’s pull together and give back.
Back to the Future in 2016
Practicing kickflips. Standing still. Drawing. Learning JavaScript (finally). Messing around with Arduino. Reading and writing books. Jumping into CSS Grid Layout. Sunbathing with cats. We asked some of our smartest friends in the web design and development communities what new focuses they planned to bring to their lives and work in 2016. Their answers fell into four categories—design, insight, tools, and work—but one idea cropped up over and over: sometimes you need to take a step back in order to move forward.
