By Matt Fennell 26th May 2015
On May 19th, I was fortunate enough to be sent by Rapid Web Services to UpFront Conference 2015 at the Comedy Club in Manchester. It was a long day, starting with a train from Stafford at 7.30am, and not getting back until around Midnight. Below is a brief overview of my highlights, and what I personally took from the day: Atomic Design Brad Frost, 10:00 - 10:40 What a way to open the conference! Brad was confident and passionate; perfectly k...
By Matt Fennell 26th February 2015
All throughout University, and in my career as a web designer, the desktop design has come first. I’ve learned how to design for desktops, creating pixel-perfect Photoshop PSDs which look perfect for clients, but this is changing. Since 2014 there are now more mobile users than desktop users, with roughly 2 billion of us reaching for our smartphones or tablets when wanting to access the internet. These statistics have caused web designer...
By Matt Fennell 2nd January 2015
Each year new web trends come along, some last the course and stay, whereas some only have a moment in the spotlight. I’ve now been engaged in the web world for 5 years, and have seen plenty of trends come and go. The list below is based on my opinion of what will become popular in 2015, and what previous trends will continue to reign supreme. Webgraphics Infographics have exploded onto the web, largely thanks to social media websites such ...
By Matt Fennell 30th October 2014
In the last 2 years one of the biggest changes in web design is how and what fonts are being used. Long-gone are the days where the only choices were Arial, Times New Roman or Comic Sans. With the arrival of the ‘@font-face’ HTML rule, and with big name players such as Google launching services to make applying new fonts easier, the web has truly benefited. Below we look at multiple sections of where and what fonts are good, along with our ...
By Matt Fennell 18th September 2014
With online shopping growing, and Britons spending a combined £23.1bn in the first quarter of 2014, there has never been a better time for companies to trick us into paying for what we don’t want or need via dark patterns. Fortunately for us consumers a new EU law has just been passed (June 2014) stopping companies from pre-populating checkboxes which add undeclared subscriptions, additional downloads, shipping charges or extra items into our...