“Jeffrey Zeldman on Open Source Design”
I discuss “open source design” in an excerpt from a long interview at Big Think. The full interview, with a complete transcript, will soon be available there as well.
BigThink’s Merrell Hambleton did a great deal of research prior to conducting the hour-long interview, and was thereby able, not only to probe typical Zeldman topics in greater depth, but also to ask interesting questions outside my comfort zone.
The interview was carried out via Interrotron, a fascinating device invented by Errol Morris.
Tags: bigthink, zeldman, design, webdesign, opensource, standards, webstandards, libraries, jeffreyzeldman, interview
Filed under: Design, Interviews, Web Design, Web Standards, Zeldman, development
Always a pleasure to hear your thoughts.
I agree 100% nicely said. I’ll definitely be on the look out for the full interview.
I see a lot of these open source packages like 960.gs and BluePrint.Css as sources for inspiration rather than a base to begin your design or development process is from. Grids and Frameworks should be created on a project by project basis. No 960px wide design is the same as another, or least it shouldn’t be.
Curious why you chose Expression Engine for your CMS?
Your frame of reference is just awesome… I’m looking forward to the full interview.
[...] the original post: Jeffrey Zeldman Presents : “Jeffrey Zeldman on Open Source Design” This entry was posted on Sunday, April 5th, 2009 at 9:57 am and is filed under Software, [...]
Seems good from what I’ve seen, I can’t wait for the full thing…
Your thoughts on “open source” code sharing being helpful but limiting (with respect to learning) is extremely interesting. I do wonder when do libraries become so powerful and accepted that we care more about the knowledge of the library than all else; most employers are asking for jQuery experience now and not as interested in JavaScript experience — appropriate or appropriately flawed?
I do love that you mentioned that at its essence “usability” and “information architecture” is essentially “common sense design”.
Morris’ Interrotron, eh? A few years ago he was at a documentary film festival here in Sheffield & mentioned this machine, describing it as a ‘big bubble’ that people would look at. He said it would make it more personal, more direct for the person interviewed. So I asked him whether talking to a big bubble would be more personal than talking directly to a person. He responded “So in other words, you think I’ve failed?” Well, no, but I’m not sure it was a *success*, either.
But then again I’ve never experienced it & perhaps the Interrotron has been improved. Did you find it awkward?
Great thoughts. I’ve been a longtime user of Expression Engine for about four years now and have been very happy. While it’s not a cure-all for everything, it’s an option that’s allowed us to offer a quality CMS option to our client base w/out having to charge them for “reinventing the wheel.”
If you are a developer looking for a well-rounded option w/ a great user base, consider EE as a viable opportunity to consider. -DS
I’m really looking forward to listening to the full interview. As someone who started designing for the web in the ‘tightly-coupled’ era it’s interesting to hear your thoughts on the proliferation of open source css/xhtml ‘frameworks’ and I’ve often found myself considering whether using these is making me dumber due to abstracting out the underlying technology. I suppose that’s bound to happen at higher levels of abstraction in any form of computer programming framework, but I think the important thing to remember is that we need to step back a few layers from the one we’re working in and understand things 2 to 3 levels deep in the abstraction hierarchy.
Frameworks themselves aren’t bad, but I agree with you that it has the propensity to create legions of programmers who don’t really understand the underlying technology; they just understand the rules and boundaries of the box that is the framework.
I really can’t wait to see the full video, either.
I really enjoy discussing the topic of using tools and learning while producing great design. If you use a lot of tools to reach a great design, that’s wonderful. If you only use one tool and it’s still great design, that’s perfect, too. There are a variety of cms’s available. Each lock you into something at some point whether it be proprietary, hosted, restricted EULA, too few developers yet (in the open source cases), and unsupported and aging older ones, too. But consistently it’s a give here, take there equation.
I’m pretty sure there are aspects of this formula in nearly every industry.
Wonderful discussion. Can’t wait to see more.
Great summary of where we are with the maturing discipline of “web design.”
I think of libraries, frameworks, and off-the-shelf cms as foundation elements. Think of building a house: one needn’t worry about creating every door and window from scratch. You can certainly do that–the ultimate craftsman experience–but you can also buy pre-hung units and it makes the job that much more efficient. Time and energy can thus be spent on the architecture, design, and detailing.
Looking forward to the complete interview.
[...] Jeffrey Zeldman on Open Source Design – Typically, when Zeldman speaks, you listen. This time around, he's discussing open source web CSS/HTML frameworks, content management systems, and the shift of technology on the web. The interview was led by Merrell Hambleton of BigThink. [...]
It’s up!
http://bigthink.com/jeffreyzeldman/jeff-zeldman-outlines-the-history-of-blogging
That’s not the complete interview, but it is a longer one.
See More Zeldman Fun From BigThink, elsewhere in this publication.
Great interview. As someone who is learning Javascript/HTML/CSS etc and comming from a more desktop based programming background, I can definately see the benefits of libraries and frameworks. But, they really abstract so much from the developer that, they almost become their own new watered down language. Will there become a shortage of people in the future who really understand whats going on underneath it all?
I read your books and its a pleasure to also listen to you here, i which we could implement technologies into designers knowledge… in order to start making websites that also work and not only look nice…
For somebody who doesn’t get to conferences, it’s good to be seeing a little more from you. Thanks for putting this up.
There’s more.
[...] And why should I care? A fun new clip from the BigThink marathon Zeldman interview. See also this and that. Or just click the “CHANNELS” button in the video [...]
There’s no one size fits all for design. Well said. As a designer I frequently question whether or not to use CSS frameworks to speed up development, but as you said there is no one solution. When I design really rigid grid structures I feel like something is missing from the design.