Modern Style Guides for a Better Tomorrow

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Modern Style Guides for a Better Tomorrow Shay Howe @shayhowe learn.shayhowe.com

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe CSS is Hard

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Consistency is one of the most powerful usability principles: when things always behave the same, users don’t have to worry about what will happen. – Jakob Nielson “

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Times are Changing

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Tools • HTML5 & CSS3 have opened doors • Preprocessors make writing code more eﬃcient • Frameworks improve abstraction

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Standards • Web standards are evolving • OOCSS & SMACSS promote modularization • Maintainability & performance are gaining traction

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Browsers • Feature support is truly respectful • Rendering has tremendously improved • Updates are continuous

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Processes • Static compositions are a house of cards • Responsive design is a must • Mobile ﬁrst approach provides clarity

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe We Need to… • Design, or decide, in the browser • Provide a realistic presentation of a website • Quickly change & iterate • Stay consistent • Think in systems, not pages • Build a style guide

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe What is a Style Guide

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Style Guide Goals

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Provide Consistency • Build a living reference library • Favor constraints • Encourage more cohesive design • Improve maintainability

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Set Standards • Document design & development standards • Conform to standards • Socialize standards

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Improve Workﬂow • See the design in action • Cut out unnecessary steps • Provide better deliverables • Make life easier & save time

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Raise Awareness • Give design & development a voice • Create a shared vocabulary • Advocate quality

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Getting Support

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Development Strategy

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Research • Gather the team • Ask thought provoking questions • Listen to what is needed • Organize feedback

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Take Inventory • Take visual inventory • Recognize patterns • Identify what to include... • Branding • Buttons • Colors • Forms • Icons • Layout • Media • Navigation • Typography

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Build Incrementally • Set a foundation for content Colors, Layout, Lists, Normalize, Typography • Add in theme & components Alerts, Buttons, Labels, Navigation, Tooltips • Round out speciﬁcs Carousels, Hero, Sidebar

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Bring It to Life • Build in live, real code • Show behaviors & interactions • Use actual examples • Make it comprehensive

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Document Standards • Document set standards • Educate through standards • Include brand, development, design & editorial guidelines

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Iterate • Do not neglect the style guide • Keep the audience in mind • Reduce friction • Have a review process

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Moving Forward

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Drive Participation • Encourage contribution • Evolve through collaboration • Make it accessible

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Watch the Unpredictable • Predict the unpredictable • Be rigorous, say no! • Again, conform to standard

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Learn from Others • Look to others for advice • Study diﬀerent style guides & frameworks • Don’t reinvent the wheel

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Helpful Resources • Website Style Guide Resources styleguides.io • The Style Guide Guide vinspee.me/style-guide-guide • Style Guide Boilerplate brettjankord.com/projects/style-guide-boilerplate • Stylify Me stylifyme.com

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe In Closing

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe 1 Provide consistency 2 Set standards 3 Form relationships 4 Build incrementally 5 Iterate often

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Modern Style Guides @shayhowe Thank You! @shayhowe learn.shayhowe.com Save 35% “LEARNCODE2” peachpit.com