December 19, 2011

WordCamp Birmingham is Jan14th and 15th!

WordCamp Birmingham is right around the corner! If you live in the south you have to come to this! Beginner or Dev, theres stuff for you at WordCamp Birmingham. We're still looking for sponsors and please get the word out! Check out all the incredible speakers. Some are coming across the country just to talk to our community here and other are local legends! If that isn't convincing enough, take a look at the ever-updating session page. There's something for everyone! #WPYall

December 17, 2011

UI Design for Themes & Plugins: Presentation at WordCamp Vegas with Chelsea Otakan

Chelsea Otakan and I presented at WordCamp Vegas on UI Design for Themes & Plugins.

User interface design is both a science and an art. The developers and designers who volunteer to work on WordPress put a lot of thought into the approach. We’ll discuss how the WordPress UI can influence your theme and plugin UI designs.

September 1, 2011

Video: My Responsive Web Design talk at WordCamp San Francisco

Here's the video recording of my talk at WordCamp San Francisco that I gave on Responsive Web Design. Lots of talk about Twenty Eleven, WordPress, and Media Queries. Enjoy!

August 27, 2011

Tokyo Wrap Up

Thank you to everyone who came to my talk at Jelly Jelly Cafe in Tokyo! I had the best time. It was great meeting everyone. Special thanks to Naoko for setting up the talk, Sho for hosting the talk in Jelly Jelly Cafe, and Toru for his awesome translating skills. More thanks to everyone else who came and helped in any way. I love Japan and it meant a lot to me to meet everyone. Below is the Ustream video from the talk :)


Video streaming by Ustream

addition 12.17.12: The video is now on youtube!

August 17, 2011

Speaking on Responsive Web Design and WordPress this Friday in Tokyo!

I can't be more excited about this event! This friday I will be speaking in Tokyo at the coworking space "Jelly Jelly Cafe" in Shibuya. I will be talking about Responsive Web Design and WordPress.

here is the Facebook Event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=248644095166353

A brief description/rant:

Q. What can be more exciting than your content being viewed in the very best manner possible?
A. Your content being viewed in the very best manner possible on any device!

Enter Responsive Web Design. A topic that is very near and dear to my heart. Why? Because it is important. We actually have the ability to make our site closer to perfect on every device.  Why wouldn't we?

No matter how you're accessing your content, it should be functional, readable, and consumable. No more device hinderance! No more pinching, squinting, and scrolling when not appropriate. No more trying to drag and swipe and having it not work as expected. We are in control. We can finagle and cry and tweak and cry and get angry until our content is perfect everywhere.

July 31, 2011

Speaking at WordCamp San Francisco on Responsive Web Design

I'm speaking at WordCamp San Francisco 2011!I have have been given the great opportunity to speak this year at WordCamp San Francisco! I am absolutely thrilled and humbled to be amongst the lineup of speakers at that conference. Let me know if you're going and I'll be sure to say hi! My session will be on "Responsive Web Design" and WordPress. Here's a semi-unofficial blurb about the talk.

Your site is about your content. With mobile devices, iPads, phones, gaming consols, etc: people can access your content many different ways and formats. How can we maintain some control over the display of our content and keep our brand consistent? How can we try to provide the best user experience on any platform?

Enter Responsive Web Design. A term coined by Ethan Marcotte. Many experts aren't leaning on one static design anymore, but on structured content that adapts to its given environment.
We are going to take a look at responsive web design techniques out there including: progressive enhancement, flexible grids, media queries, flexible images & video, & other methods that you can implement to make your WordPress theme "Responsive".
This talk is particularly important to me, as I will be leading a responsive admin effort in contributing to WordPress core. Follow and Contribute: Make.WordPress.org/UI . Are you going to WordCamp San Francisco this year?

July 24, 2011

WordCamp Boston: “Theming and Mobile: Optimizing your site for various devices”

WordCamp Boston has been incredible. I was thrilled to give a talk on "Theming and Mobile" with an emphasis on Responsive Web Design. The presentation is sort of a pre-cursor to my full "Responsive Web Design" talk that I'm thrilled and humbled to be giving at WordCamp San Francisco. Here is the description and slides of the talk that I gave yesterday at WC Boston:

Your site is about your content. How do we optimize for all the different devices out there but still keep our brand? Do we even optimize at all? What are different ways we can look at how our content is handled? We are going to take a look at different techniques out there including: responsive web design, media queries, dealing with video, touch, and other various plugins & CSS tricks to truly display your site and your content in the best possible manner in any given scenario.

 

May 29, 2011

WordCamp Reno and Boston!

I'm thrilled to be speaking at two WordCamps in the next two months. First I'll be on a panel this weekend at WordCamp Reno about the future of web typography. I can not wait for my first time in Reno and to meet all the fabulous WordPressers there. Secondly, in July I'll be making a pilgrimage back to my native Massachusetts to speak at WordCamp Boston. I'll be giving a talk on "Theming & Mobile: Optimizing your WordPress site for Various Devices." I am absolutely thrilled that I have the opportunity to not only attend but speak at these fabulous WordCamps. If you're in those areas, please come and say hi to me!

May 10, 2011

Scout Blog Post: “Freshly Pressed: Christian & Small Attorneys and Counselors”

Here is a post that I wrote over on the Scout Blog, syndicated over here just in case you didn’t catch it over there.

We have recently launched an exciting new site for Christian & Small Attorneys and Counselors. The law firm came to Scout for not only a new website but for help with branding and positioning — both internally and externally. They are a really capable firm, full of amazing people and have a wonderful focus on the community. If you haven't seen the donation website we made for them yet, make sure you check out the post for the NonstopAdvocates.com site.

Simplicity of Design

Christian & Small has close to 50 attorneys with several different practice areas. We designed a website where communicating their expertise is the focus. We organized everything simply and made information readily available and easy to digest, all while keeping the character and integrity of the brand.

Customized WordPress Content Management System

Because Christian & Small has so many attorneys and so much content, we decided that the best fit for them would be a custom tailored WordPress backend. This set up allows designated C&S staff members, with no coding skills to easily add attorneys, edit practice areas and add photos. This ability to edit and add content internally saves money and over time, reduces the total cost of ownership of the website.


We used custom post types to organize the admin as well as create custom meta boxes for special information. This makes adding content easy.

We also added the ability to connect Attorneys to their respective practice areas dynamically, as well as their associated resources. This bridging of content really makes WordPress a true CMS.
Check out the website for yourself: CSAttorneys.com

April 25, 2011

My Interview With Sally Strebel at Page.ly

The awesome Sally Strebel of Page.ly interviewed me as part of their WP Heavy Hitter Series. Read the article on their blog. Let me know what y'all think. I've never done an interview like that before! Also, check out their awesome WordPress hosting as well. Thanks Sally!

Sara Cannon is a UX/UI Designer, Former Business Owner, Creative Director, & Artist remote working in Birmingham, Alabama. 
Have a project I could help you with? Contact me at sara@saracannon.com.

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