#CriticalAxis is a community driven project from The Disabled List that collects and analyzes disability representation in media.
• people of the web • in alphabetical order
Aaron Gustafson author, speaker, W3C spec editor, principal program manager @ Microsoft Edge
known for
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Web Standards Project
i
Lead (–2013) of the Web Standards Project, a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all; project active from 1998-2013.
-
Adaptive Web Design
i
… learn how to use progressive enhancement to build websites that won’t break, work anywhere, are accessible by anyone—on any device, and are designed to work well into the future.
2nd edition published 2015 by New Riders Pub
-
The Web We Want
i
The Web We Want is a collective effort by browser makers to understand where the dev community would like us to invest our energy.
links
- aaron-gustafson.com personal site
elsewhere:
Andy Budd design leader, conference speaker, agency founder, coach
links
- andybudd.com personal site
- clearleft.com role: Founder and former CEO
elsewhere:
Andy Clarke designer, author, speaker
known for
-
Art direction for the web
i
A brilliant read that takes a look at art direction and how it can be used for enagaging and more unique web layout, published 2019 by Smashing Magazine.
-
Contract Killer
i
Initially introduced via 24ways in 2008, Andy shared his contract and rationale openly, helping many of us to be able to put together better contracts, thanks, Andy :)
-
Transcending CSS
i
“The fine art of web design”, published 2006, revisited in 2019 and published by Stuff & Nonsense Ltd, now availabe to read free online. An inspiring combination of visuals and code, Andy discussed how to be creative with CSS and push your designs further.
links
- stuffandnonsense.co.uk web design studio
elsewhere:
Aral Balkan cyborg rights activist, designer, developer @ Small Technology Foundation
known for
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Better Blocker
i
Better is a privacy tool for Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
-
Free is a lie
i
The powerful talk Aral delivered at the Thinking Digital Conference, Newcastle, 2015
-
<head> conference
i
<head> was a 4-track international virtual conference in 2008, one of the early hybrid RL/online events of its day.
links
- Small Technology Foundation role: co-founder/partner
- ar.al personal website
elsewhere:
Brad Frost web designer, speaker, consultant
known for
-
Atomic Design
i
This book introduces a methodology for thinking of our UIs as thoughtful hierarchies, discusses the qualities of effective pattern libraries, and showcases techniques to transform your team’s design and development workflow.
self-published 2016, available as book and to read online.
-
patternlab.io
i
Pattern Lab is a frontend workshop environment that helps you build, view, test, and showcase your design system’s UI components.
-
styleguides.io
i
Website Style Guide Resources
Real life pattern libraries, code standards documents and content style guides. -
this is responsive
i
Patterns and resources for creating responsive web experiences.
links
- bradfrost.com personal site
elsewhere:
Brendan Dawes artist, designer
known for
-
Local Murmurs
i
Story-sharing installation for Airbnb at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival
-
The Happiness Machine
i
A simple button reveals happy thoughts from people connected across the Internet
-
POPA
i
The big red button for your iPhone camera
-
Doodlebuzz
i
A chaotic system to help you find things you didn’t know you were looking for
links
- brendandawes.com personal website
elsewhere:
Bruce Lawson developer, author, speaker
known for
-
Introducing HTML5
i
practical book on the then-emerging changes to HTML; published 2011 by New Riders;
co-authored by Bruce Lawson & Remy Sharp -
How to Destroy the Web
i
Bruce’s excellent talk at Frontend United, 2013
links
- brucelawson.co.uk personal website
elsewhere:
Cassie Evans Speaker - Educator - SVG magician @ Green Sock
known for
-
Interactive web animation with SVG
i
Come with me as I take you on a whistle-stop tour of delightful SVG animations.
Cassie’s talk at beyond tellerrand conference, 2019
links
- cassie.codes personal site
- Green Sock role: Lead Bestower of Animation Superpowers
elsewhere:
Chris Coyier web designer and developer @ codepen, author, speaker
known for
-
CSS-Tricks
i
one of the most popular CSS references sites, with excellent articles by various authors and a CSS Almanac
links
- chriscoyier.net personal site
- codepen.io role: co-founder/developer
elsewhere:
Christian Heilmann developer, author, speaker, Principal Program Manager @ Microsoft
known for
-
conference speaker & educator
i
Chris is known for his expert talks on JS, workflow and team work, as well as his swift actions following conferences, such as the build of a more accessible YT player following an accessibility conference (2006) – shared freely for use and further development.
links
- christianheilmann.com personal website
- The Developer Advocacy Handbook online book; published under CC license
elsewhere:
Dave Shea designer, creator of CSS Zengarden
known for
-
CSS Zengarden
i
CSS Zengarden was a site to promote CSS as design tool and was launched in 2003 with only a handful of designs. The set challenge was to use the very same HTML and showcase creative designs implemented via CSS. The result was a vast online gallery of CSS masterpieces, some of which are documented in the book:
The Zen of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Web; co-authored by Dave Shea & Molly Holzschlag; published 2005 by Peachpit.
links
- daveshea.com personal website
elsewhere:
Ellen Lupton writer, curator, designer
known for
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Design is Storytelling
i
Design is Storytelling is a guide to thinking and making created for contemporary students and practitioners working across the fields of graphic design, product design, service design, and user experience.
-
Thinking with Type
i
published 2010 by Princeton Architectural Press, available to read online.
links
- elupton.com personal site
elsewhere:
Eric Meyer CSS pioneer & expert, developer, author, speaker
known for
-
CSS Reset
i
the famous CSS reset, created in 2007, updated in 2011 — thank you, Eric :)
-
Design for real life
i
An excellent book on the effect of design in real life situaions and how to improve design processes for different scenarios; published 2016 by A Book Apart.
Watch Eric’s brilliant talk on the same topic – highly recommended: Designing for Crisis
-
A List Apart
i
Started in 1997 as mailing, published as website a year later — A List Apart publishes ground-breaking articles For People Who Make Websites, credited with shaping the web and still going strong.
+ consequently:
An Event Apart — web conference
A Book Apart — book publisher
links
- meyerweb.com articles on CSS & personal blog
elsewhere:
Ethan Marcotte web designer, author, speaker
known for
-
Responsive Web Design
i
This book followed up on Ethan’s original article on A List Apartin 2010, which is said to have coined the phrase:
Responsive Web Design; published 2011 by A Book Apart. -
The World-Wide Work
i
Ethan’s powerful talk at the New Adventures Conference, Nottingham, 23/1/2019 – a must see for anyone working in web.
links
- ethanmarcotte.com personal website
- autogram.is role: co-founder/partner
elsewhere:
Frank Chimero designer, author, creative director @ fictive kin
known for
-
The Shape of Design
i
It is not a book which will teach you how to become a better designer but a book which will inspire you to take a deeper look at design itself, to ask questions, to explore and tell your story; self-published 2011; available to read online ~ thank you, Frank :)
links
- frankchimero.com personal site
- fictivekin.com role: creative director
elsewhere:
Heather Burns tech policy/regulation specialist, Policy Manager @ OpenRightsGroup
known for
-
After Brexit
i
blog: Tech policy throughout the Brexit process
links
- webdevlaw.uk personal site + blog
elsewhere:
Heydon Pickering designer/coder/consultant #a11y
known for
-
Inclusive Design Principles
i
These Inclusive Design Principles are about putting people first. It’s about designing for the needs of people with permanent, temporary, situational, or changing disabilities — all of us really.
Co-authored by Heydon Pickering, Henny Swan, Léonie Watson, and Ian Pouncey.
-
Webbed Briefs
i
WEBBED BRIEFS are brief videos about the web, its technologies, and how to make the most of them. They’re packed with information, fun times(TM), and actual goats.
-
Making Future Interfaces
i
Your guide to making and wrapping shapes in CSS, using things like border-radius, clip-path, the CSS Shapes spec’, and paint worklets.
links
- heydonworks.com personal site
elsewhere:
Jake Archibald web developer
known for
-
SVGOMG
i
SVGO’s Missing GUI – an inexpendable online SVG optimising tool, thank you, Jake :)
links
- jakearchibald.com personal website
elsewhere:
Jason Santa Maria multidisciplinary design/product leader, author, speaker
known for
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On Web Typography
i
A book on the craft of typography on the web; published 2014 by A Book Apart.
-
Typedia
i
A Shared Encyclopedia of Typefaces
links
- jasonsantamaria.com personal website
- A Book Apart role: co-founder and creative director
elsewhere:
Jeffrey Zeldman designer, author, speaker, member of Automattic advisory board
known for
-
Web Standards Project
i
Lead (1999–2002) and one of the original co-founders, of the Web Standards Project, a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all; project active from 1998-2013.
-
Designing with web standards
i
The book on design and web standards ~ inspiring a whole generation of designer to learn semantic coding.
And starting a tradition: Blue Beanie Day, to promote awareness of web standards, is the brainchild of Doug Vos, creator of the Designing With Web Standards group on Facebook active since October 27, 2007.
-
A List Apart
i
Started in 1997 as mailing, published as website a year later — A List Apart publishes ground-breaking articles For People Who Make Websites, credited with shaping the web and still going strong.
+ consequently:
An Event Apart — web conference
A Book Apart — book publisher
links
- zeldman.com personal blog
elsewhere:
Jen Simmons Apple Evangelist on the Web Developer Experience
known for
-
Layout Land
i
excellent tutorial series for designers and developers on layout, CSS Grid, and more.
-
The Web Ahead
i
Podcast (2011-16): Jen speaks with world experts on changing technologies and the future of the web.
links
- jensimmons.com personal site
- The experimental layout lab web design experiments
elsewhere:
Jeremy Keith developer, author, speaker
known for
-
HTML5 For Web Designers
i
A look at the evolving specs of HTML; first published in 2010 by a Book Apart. Second edition co-authored by Rachel Andrew 2016.
-
Huffduffer
i
Create your own podcast of found sounds.
-
DOM Scripting
i
book: DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model; published 2005 by Apress.
links
- adactio.com personal blog
- clearleft.com role: Co-founder
elsewhere:
Jessica Hische lettering artist, illustrator, author
known for
-
Don’t Fear the Internet
i
Basic HTML & CSS for non-web designers
-
Daily Drop Cap
i
Since September of 2009, an illustrative initial cap has been posted daily (or at least regularly), to prettify the internet and beautify your blog posts. … The project will end after the twelfth alphabet is complete, but the site will remain up for your use and inspiration. Enjoy!
links
- jessicahische.is personal site
- jessicahische.is/writing books
elsewhere:
John Allsop software developer, author, speaker, educator
known for
-
A dao of web design
i
An excellent article on the nature of the web. Frequently referenced, it continues to be widely cited as the theoretical foundation for Responsive Web Design. Published online 2000, on A List Apart.
links
- webdirections.org web conferences
- johnfallsopp.com personal site
elsewhere:
John Boardley writer & type lover
known for
-
Typographic Firsts
i
A book on the history of type, published i2019 by Bodleian Library, available in German and English
links
- I love typography • blog role: founder & CCO
elsewhere:
Jon Hicks designer, author, speaker
known for
-
The Icon Handbook
i
… the only resource that guides you through the complete process of designing icons – from deciding on the correct metaphor, drawing clear & understandable symbols and implementing in your websites and apps.
Originally published in 2012 by Five Simple Steps, the ebook is now available via the book’s website.
-
3D CSS Box Model
i
a well-shared illustration of the box model in the early days of web standards
-
Logo design
i
for Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird, Miro, Mahalo.com and MailChimp and the Camino website CaminoBrowser.org;
see portfolio for more.
links
- Hicksdesign design studio • creative partnership
elsewhere:
Laura Kalbag author, speaker, designer, developer @ Small Technology Foundation #a11y
known for
-
Accessibility for Everyone
i
An excellent book on accessibility offering great incentives and examples; published 2017 by A Book Apart.
-
Better Blocker
i
Better is a privacy tool for Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
links
- Small Technology Foundation role: co-founder/partner
- laurakalbag.com personal site
elsewhere:
Lea Verou developer, author, speaker, elected @w3ctag member
known for
-
Contrast Ratio
i
Brilliant tool to check colour combinations against the WCAG guidelines for accessibility — thank you, Lea :)
-
dabblet
i
dabblet is an interactive playground for quickly testing snippets of CSS and HTML code.
Brilliant for quick experiments and more — thank you, Lea :)
-
Prism
i
Prism is a lightweight, extensible syntax highlighter, built with modern web standards in mind.
links
- lea.verou.me personal website
elsewhere:
Léonie Watson developer, author, speaker #a11y
known for
-
inclusive design 24
i
Inclusive Design 24 (#id24) is a free 24-hour online event for the global community.
-
inclusivedesignprinciples.org
i
These Inclusive Design Principles are about putting people first. It’s about designing for the needs of people with permanent, temporary, situational, or changing disabilities — all of us really.
links
- tink.uk personal site
- tetralogical.com role: director
elsewhere:
Liz Jackson disability strategist, founding member of The Disabled List #a11y
known for
-
criticalaxis.org
i
-
Thisten
i
A powerful transcript editor
links
- disabledlist.org consultation, collaboration and camaraderie
elsewhere:
Matt Mullenweg webdeveloper, entrepeneur, founding developer of WordPress
known for
-
WordPress
i
WordPress started in 2003 by Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg as a well designed blogging platform and has since evolved into the popular CMS it is today.
-
distributed.blog
i
The Distributed Podcast is an in-depth conversation about the future of work — with the companies and leaders driving it. Hosted by Co-Founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic Matt Mullenweg
links
- ma.tt personal website
- automattic role: CEO
elsewhere:
Michelle Barker front-end developer, author, speaker
known for
-
CSS { In Real Life }
i
… is a blog about front end technologies, with a particular focus on CSS – which I consider to be the web’s most beautiful language.
—Michelle Barker
links
- michellebarker.co.uk personal site
elsewhere:
Molly Holzschlag author, speaker, advocate for the social benefits of the web #a11y
known for
-
Web Standards Project
i
Lead (2004–2006) of the Web Standards Project, a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all; project active from 1998-2013.
-
CSS Zengarden
i
CSS Zengarden was a site to promote CSS as design tool and was launched in 2003 with only a handful of designs. The set challenge was to use the very same HTML and showcase creative designs implemented via CSS. The result was a vast online gallery of CSS masterpieces, some of which are documented in the book:
The Zen of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Web; co-authored by Dave Shea & Molly Holzschlag; published 2005 by Peachpit.
Read this interview with Molly by digital web for more insights.
links
- webwithmolly.com personal website
elsewhere:
Peter Gasston Innovation Lead @ VCCP, developer, author, speaker
known for
-
The Book of CSS3
i
A Developer’s Guide to the Future of Web Design – an excellent book on the new CSS properties and possibilities; published 2014 by No Starch
links
- broken-links.com blog
- petergasston.co.uk personal website
elsewhere:
Peter-Paul Koch developer, browser researcher, consultant, CSS coach
known for
-
Browser Compatibility Tables
i
… hype-free assessments of the major browsers’ CSS and JavaScript capabilities, as well as their adherence to the W3C standards.
A vital resource for all devs especially in the days of early web standards. Thanks, PPK :)
links
- quirksmode.org personal site + research blog
elsewhere:
Rachel Andrew Content lead for Chrome DevRel at Google, member of CSS Working Group
known for
-
gridbyexample.com
i
excellent collection of examples, video and other information to help you learn CSS Grid Layout — thank you, Rachel :)
-
Perch
i
The really little content management system
-
HTML5 For Web Designers
i
Second edition of Jeremy Keith’s first look at HTML5; co-authored by Rachel; published 2016 by A Book Apart.
-
Notist
i
Notist is a place to build your public speaking portfolio.
links
- rachelandrew.co.uk personal website
- CSS Layout weekly CSS Layout newsletter curated by Rachel
elsewhere:
Remy Sharp JavaScript developer, author, speaker
known for
-
FullFrontal
i
Lovingly curated Javascript conference, Brighton ~ very popular in the dev community, highly recommended.
-
Introducing HTML5
i
practical book on the then-emerging changes to HTML; published 2011 by New Riders;
co-authored by Bruce Lawson & Remy Sharp -
jsbin.com
i
Collaborative JavaScript Debugging tool
links
- remysharp.com personal blog
- leftlogic.com web development consultancy
elsewhere:
Richard Rutter designer, author, speaker
known for
-
Web Typography
i
A handbook for designing beautiful and effective responsive typography
This book, published 2017 by Ampersand Type, is an evolution of the site ‘The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web’.
links
- clagnut.com personal site
- clearleft.com role: founder, managing director
elsewhere:
Sara Soueidan Web user interface and design systems engineer, author, speaker, and trainer
known for
-
Codrops CSS Reference
i
An extensive CSS reference with all the important properties and info to learn CSS from the basics
-
Understanding SVG
i
an excellent 3-part introduction to working with SVGs, highly recommended.
links
- sarasoueidan.com personal website
elsewhere:
Seb Lee-Delisle laser artist, presenter, coder
known for
-
Laser Light City
i
Sky lasers that you control
links
- seblee.me personal site
elsewhere:
Simon Collison designer
known for
-
colly.com v4
i
Don’t make that masterpiece go away. We have so little left of what was glorious.
—Zeldman -
New Adventures Conferences
i
Lovingly curated conference in Nottingham with select speaker across different fields of design. Highly recommended if it returns!
links
- colly.com portfolio/blog
elsewhere:
Tantek Çelik Inventor, writer, teacher, runner, coder
known for
-
box model hack
i
Back in early days, Tantek was working at Microsoft on the Mac version of IE and developed this famous workaround. This hack exploits IE’s bugs to address issues with W3C compliance.
-
microformats
i
Founder & classic microformats spec contributor
links
- tantek.com personal site
- @ Mozilla Corporation role: Web Standards Lead
elsewhere:
Tim Berners-Lee www inventor, W3C director
known for
-
Weaving the Web
i
The original design and ultimate destiny of the World Wide Web, by its inventor
-
This is for everyone.
i
Opening of London Olympic 2012
links
- w3.org/people official profile
- Inrupt.com role: co-founder and CTO
- Solid role: co-founder and director
elsewhere:
Trent Walton designer & web builder @ Paravel
known for
-
Fluid Type
i
article on web typography and settings across different viewports, excellent walk-through of fittext.js (jQuery plugin).
links
- paravelinc.com role: founder
- trentwalton.com personal site/blog
elsewhere:
Val Head speaker, author, design advocate @ Adobe
known for
-
The UI Animation Newsletter
i
Weekly web animation resources & inspiration.
Keep up-to-date on the best web animation, motion design, and UX resources on the web! -
Designing Interface Animation
i
… how to create web animation that balances purpose and style while blending seamlessly into the user’s experience.
links
- valhead.com personal site
elsewhere:
Veerle Pieters freelance web design & multimedia developer
known for
-
vector graphic tutorials
i
Inspiring and instructional step-by-step tutorials for working with Vector graphics, Illustrator speficially.
-
Veerle's weekly EDITION
i
weekly newsletter with inspiration picks, links and design articles
links
- duoh.com Graphic & web design studio
- veerle.duoh.com blog with tutorials, inspiration and articles