Blog

Wrapping Up 2011

What a year! Take few minutes to relive 2011 along with me. It has been a good 12 months for MRW Web Design with projects across the U.S., the world, and the web! Bear with me as I share the technical, professional, and personal milestones from this year.

Reconsidering the Slider

The slider isn’t just a small hamburger, it’s a rampantly-popular way of showcasing content on a website, and it’s one that sometimes gets used with little thought toward effectiveness.While I still believe there are a few instances where it’s appropriate, I think we all could afford to slow down, take a deep breath, and think about what we’re doing with sliders on our websites.

Just Launched: Archipelago Consulting [status]

I’d like to give a warm welcome to the newest MRW Web-built website, Archipelago Consulting. Archipelago Consulting is the new website for conservation consultant Kent Redford. If you fancy, take a moment to read about the Archipelago Consulting project in my portfolio or visit the Archipelago Consulting website to see the result for yourself!

Overview and Example of WordPress “Child Theming” [gallery]

WordPress uses a technique called child theming to create a new design based on an existing theme (a set of files that defines a WordPress design). In June, I gave a presentation to the Seattle WordPress meetup about child theme uses and techniques. This post contains the slides of that presentation and an example of one recent project in which I used the child theming technique.

Make Websites Accessible for Visitors You’ve Never Met [link]

This article is almost a manifesto for the various principles of inclusion, universal design, and accessibility, topics I recently blogged about. It’s very short and geared toward web designers, but anyone who uses the web at work would benefit from reading this. Plus, it’s in a fun statement/response format! Luckily for us, web designers are … Continue reading “Make Websites Accessible for Visitors You’ve Never Met [link]”

Privilege & Web Design: Putting the Web And Accessibility in Perspective

On the internet, websites are used in many ways and by many people that web designers may have never considered. In order to build a website that is accessible everywhere to everyone, it’s important to think about some of the privileges that many web designers share. In this post, I’ll share some common privileges and recommendations for best practices to keep in mind.

Make an Impact with Compelling Data Visualizations [gallery]

Most nonprofit organizations collect data on outcomes and stakeholders in order to write effective grants and fundraising pitches. How that data is presented, though, makes a huge difference in its effect on others.

By “visualizing” data in creative and engaging charts, infographics, maps, and more, you can really add some “wow” to what is otherwise a simple table of statistics.

Two New Projects: UnSectored.net and Slash Open

It’s been a busy month for me. Alongside the launch of this refreshed website, I also launched UnSectored.net and built some badges for SlashOpen.net. UnSectored You can read more about UnSectored on its page in my portfolio, but, simply, it’s a multi-author blog about social change in the Washington, D.C. area created by my good … Continue reading “Two New Projects: UnSectored.net and Slash Open”