Another year, another conf! This time, I’ve got the chance to visit Barcelona! It wasn’t that cold yet so besides of enjoying 2 days of conference talks, we’ve also done a little bit of sightseeing.
The main topic was, of course, the Smashing Conference. The mix of technical, design, UX and inspirational talks was quite entertaining. There are probably some great write-ups already on the internet, so I just want to share couple my thought about the speeches.
The Smashing Conference
I would like to mention a couple that had some impact on me and got me thinking.
The Wonderfull World of SVG by Chris Coyier from CSS-Tricks.com
Cris described in simple language the details of using SVG. It wasn’t anything new, but a good reminder on why this format is quite superior when it comes to vector shapes, icons and animated shapes.
Embracing the Network by Patrick Hamann
Interesting talk about performance & UX. There are lots of things that can break the user experience. Loading assets are often creating the single point of failure for our websites. Patrick shared some useful techniques & shed some light on Service Worker APIs that may help us fight the failures - see speaker deck.
Pease, Hellfire & Outer Space by Seb Lester
This was a strangely inspiring story of his life. Multiple projects, NASA mission logo and awesome typography sketches. Seb shows true passion for his projects. I’ve really enjoyed his finely crafted projects.
Graphic Design in the 21st Century: Is the Internet Killing Creativity by Espen Brunborg
Funny and inspiring talk about modern graphic design. Do all sites looks the same? Are we afraid of going off the beaten path? There were some clever words about designing for the web.
Barcelona
We didn’t have much time to do sightseeing in the city. It was a little bit cold, rainy & cloudy anyway. But we’ve managed to visit Sagrada de Familie – marvelous symbol of Barcelona.
I don’t have much thoughts about the city itself. Too many people smoking in the streets and it was sometimes definitely too loud there! But on the other side, the architecture & streets were nice…
