Smashing Conf 2016

Last year I volunteered at Smashing Conf and I was honoured to be asked back. It's great to be able to give something back to the community and also help learn about 'back stage' issues that occur that many of the attendees will have no idea about.

Also, last year I was involved with running my first conference @upfrontconf. We had some great feedback from the community, and, so, we're doing it again this year (more details to come soon I promise! Thanks to those of you who have already shown an interest).

From my experience running @upfrontconf 2015 I have a tremendous amount of respect for people who do this. It's not easy. At any given moment something could happen, causing a lot of other things needing to be done, and fast. With the event all taking place on a specified date, time is a luxury you don't have.

Here are my notes from Smashing Conf 2016. I wrote these mainly for myself to jog my memory so apologies if things don't quite make sense. If you'd like something elaborating, please hit me up on Twitter and I'll try my best to clarify.

• Prep
• Workshops
• Jam Session
• Day 1
• @aarron
• @craftui
• @sarasoueidan
• @patrickhamann
• @shiflett
• @smashingmag
• @vasilis
• @heydonworks
• After Party

Prep

Prep! @smashingconf https://t.co/gWrnrHbsjm pic.twitter.com/fBL7WE8YMO

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 13, 2016

Swag prep! @smashingconf https://t.co/NSXx149DZH pic.twitter.com/NKbGeEs26i

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 14, 2016

Swag prep done! @smashingconf https://t.co/GcWacLKWv5 pic.twitter.com/asoICbPiWO

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 14, 2016

Balloon prep @smashingconf https://t.co/bk6SrEUZ5H pic.twitter.com/lhf5brjcbP

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 14, 2016

Workshops

“We’re not designing pages, we’re designing systems of components.” —@stephenhay /via @aarron #smashingconf pic.twitter.com/t8scTfyN6S

— Gunnar Bittersmann (@g16n) March 14, 2016

Thanks @SaraSoueidan for the Mastering SVG workshop #smashingconf #cmda pic.twitter.com/eIAnNkBAzQ

— Justus Sturkenboom (@ju5tu5) March 14, 2016

Brilliant workshop today with @aarron at @smashingconf The pyramid of needs was a highly anticipated slide :D pic.twitter.com/3jEjulOkx5

— Sandra Gonzalez (@UXcata) March 14, 2016

Jam Session

We're raring to go here at @StAldatesTavern! You can find us in the upstairs room #SmashingConf pic.twitter.com/VXgcj0uYsk

— Heart Internet (@HeartInternet) March 14, 2016

First up @adrianba at the @smashingconf jam session https://t.co/nUduWgcJCB pic.twitter.com/jgQMN4bQXf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 14, 2016

Learning about https://t.co/6btP9ER7Rr and getting world wide Fish and Chips finally a reality 😂 @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 14, 2016

Next up @smashingconf we have @lifeofmle who spoke at @upfrontconf mini last year :) https://t.co/BgvxwQIyWh pic.twitter.com/ZiXeiUS9TE

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 14, 2016

Wow, 36 trackers for The Telegraph, A/B split tests provided feedback to reduce this to 24 @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 14, 2016

@smashingmag #smashingconf @HeartInternet event tonight pic.twitter.com/NT5BVcCsmr

— Dorota Gibiino (@dorota21) March 14, 2016

Next up @zagaynikov at the @smashingconf jam session https://t.co/rw895ujOvC pic.twitter.com/6y9TRhgyex

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 14, 2016

Honoured to talk @smashingconf warmup in Oxford. Thxs for mc-ing @s10wen #dropthemic #smashingconf #telegraph #ux https://t.co/fCHYcm9reE

— Michael Le (@Lifeofmle) March 14, 2016

Day 1

The calm before the storm @smashingconf https://t.co/cRBaSYP5bj pic.twitter.com/YxJAgndpKb

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Lanyards! @smashingconf https://t.co/xtWxJI5Y9m pic.twitter.com/s6f0hh1GMO

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Such a great vibe at @smashingconf already - great lanyard, too! pic.twitter.com/HrigrhxsZS

— Alex Ryans (@alexryans) March 15, 2016

And so it begins! @smashingconf https://t.co/eowzKIxJud pic.twitter.com/fHcRTygqdV

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Off we go! With @fehler @smashingconf https://t.co/nh5mKytMzr pic.twitter.com/PW1GER3YDx

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

@aarron

"Design without research is just decoration" said @aarron #smashingconf #oxford

— Yas (@UserXman) March 15, 2016

I learned the most about design by getting away from my desk with an ideal monitor and the perfect connection. @aarron #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

You can't learn about customers sat at your desk with the perfect monitor and the perfect cup of coffee – @aarron /cc @smashingconf

— Matthew Standage (@mstandage) March 15, 2016

Shoot documentaries with users and share them in the company. Ppl will start noticing details e.g. outdated equipment. @aarron #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Enjoying @aarron's talk on building great design teams at @smashingconf. Amen to design process not really fitting in the agile process.

— Jon Setzen (@jonsetzen) March 15, 2016

Hiring wrong people is the most dangerous thing for the company. @aarron #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Don’t hire a skillset, instead invite the candidate for a day long interview. You can’t fake a day-long interview. @aarron #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Triangles, squares, circles @aarron #smashingconf pic.twitter.com/R9pvObtVcl

— Gunnar Bittersmann (@g16n) March 15, 2016

‘Knowing people’s superpowers is really important. Match the right person to the right project.’ – @aarron #smashingconf

— Matthew Standage (@mstandage) March 15, 2016

Great design emerges in small, interdisciplinary, diverse, well informed teams. — @aarron #smashingconf pic.twitter.com/cYsFnVhj6g

— Frederic Marx (@fredericmarx) March 15, 2016

Knowing (and acknowledging) your kryptonite makes you a better collaborator. @aarron #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

“My job was not to know everything, it was to be more curious about everything” —Matthew Smith /@aarron at #smashingconf

— David Roessli (@roessli) March 15, 2016

Notes from the talk by @aarron at #smashingconf #cmda pic.twitter.com/qT1XBMpoJz

— Justus Sturkenboom (@ju5tu5) March 15, 2016

@craftui

Thinking in Systems, Donella H. Meadows (https://t.co/e9ZfiENUv7) @craftui #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

‘Name modules based on their global function’ – @craftui #smashingconf

— Matthew Standage (@mstandage) March 15, 2016

The Language of Modular Design https://t.co/pfwKBxBXx9 @craftui #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Related to @craftui’s context based element naming goes hand in hand with @csswizardry’s article https://t.co/BMcDaEsJdY. #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

“How do you name your components? Create a Slack channel, drop the design in there and brainstorm ideas for naming.” —@craftui #smashingconf

— Smashing Magazine (@smashingmag) March 15, 2016

Nice, like that @craftui slack bot idea, that randomly shows modules with their names to the team @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

#SmashingConf EXACTLY.

/ @craftui pic.twitter.com/rTrboUvhiP

— Andy Welfle (@awelfle) March 15, 2016

So feeling the pain @craftui describes. Naming things and establishing a common language across teams is incredibly hard. #smashingconf

— Marco Hengstenberg (@nice2meatu) March 15, 2016

Descriptive properties of a button @craftui 'subatomic particles' @smashingconf https://t.co/UxgwySYcpK pic.twitter.com/dfUlNCm10O

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

.@craftui introducing the role of subatomic particles to atomic design (spacing, type, color etc.) #smashingconf

— Heydon (@heydonworks) March 15, 2016

Typographic scale @craftui but which one to use in a given module? @smashingconf https://t.co/YWO9HK08vE pic.twitter.com/ikJWWYOQDs

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Here's how :) with spacious, regular and compact @craftui @smashingconf https://t.co/DXD8GRvAIg pic.twitter.com/PpPDcUXPOw

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/Xzd33ErhED @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/npZEG6nHf5 @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Notes from the talk by @craftui at #smashingconf #cmda pic.twitter.com/k6bGV65DfF

— Justus Sturkenboom (@ju5tu5) March 15, 2016

@sarasoueidan

Love Sara! Looking forward to this @smashingconf https://t.co/kRM5NZexfV pic.twitter.com/BgP7Vy9TOM

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

SVG is useful for:
– icon systems
– ad banners
– infographics
– data visualisations
– …
@SaraSoueidan #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

SVG is useful for
– …
– animated illustrations
– filter effects on SCG as well as HTML elements, including text
@SaraSoueidan #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

SVG optimisation is great to do, but be careful with automation as it can cause issues @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Optimise first, animate later (or you'll break it!).

Useful advice from @SaraSoueidan when using SVGs. #smashingconf

— Westley Knight (@westleyknight) March 15, 2016

I learn so much whenever @SaraSoueidan does a talk. Top tip: embedding SVG with <picture> provides easy fallback method #smashingconf

— Heydon (@heydonworks) March 15, 2016

Understanding SVG Coordinate Systems and Transformations https://t.co/g9M550d72e @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

This bird! Helped me a lot ^_^ @sarasoueidan @smashingconf https://t.co/MOzKX1gPz1 pic.twitter.com/lOs8IxAvwB

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Learn / practice SVG coordinate system at https://t.co/1fN1uF2Zyg @SaraSoueidan #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Snap SVG demos https://t.co/t4As5Ylqhq @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

First animations using a Zoetrope https://t.co/hTwuusVxO2 @SaraSoueidan @smashingconf similar to using the step function.

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Creating Cel Animations With SVG https://t.co/5hPAAtit00 @smashingconf by @heydonworks

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Notes from the talk by @SaraSoueidan at #smashingconf #cmda pic.twitter.com/VNDjCcoRZa

— Justus Sturkenboom (@ju5tu5) March 15, 2016

@patrickhamann

HTTP/2 here we go! @patrickhamann @smashingconf https://t.co/0aZmeRrdYh pic.twitter.com/7H5TRLyjGc

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/eG4XnKNGql HTTP2 faq @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

HTTP2 solves multiplexing, binary data format, prioritisation, header compression, flow control, header push @patrickhamann #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

With HTTP2 tell the server to immediately push the CSS file even before the browser realizes it needs one. @patrickhamann #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

About 75% of browsers already support HTTP2 https://t.co/pqNQrDn7xy @patrickhamann #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

What is Multiplexing in HTTP/2? https://t.co/RKsTUGyHJT @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/55MHlcr4Ld @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

A list of known implementations of HTTP/2 https://t.co/taIEiy5zWI @patrickhamann #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Webpage performance is directly related to your user’s experience – @patrickhamann #smashingconf

— Matthew Standage (@mstandage) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/Fxs7fZkmDe Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

A conformance testing tool for HTTP/2 implementation https://t.co/CA2MQSZDTO @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/BiOD0nbFN3 @rmurphey @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Surprised more people haven't heard of https://t.co/BzvmmaMGf3 @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Google already ranks https served websites higher. @patrickhamann #smashingconf cc @kpodnar

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

I wrote how I got my site on https, with GitHub pages: https://t.co/cdWr22J9FY @patrickhamann @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

A site that is slow on http, is probably still going to slow on http2. We still need to think about perf basics @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Perf gains from http2 5 seconds for mobile! @smashingconf https://t.co/9bd9x5t1Qs pic.twitter.com/OP5oA4unjJ

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/xwaQooSHip open source resources from @FT @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Notes from the talk by @patrickhamann at #smashingconf #cmda pic.twitter.com/euUFzBpvvx

— Justus Sturkenboom (@ju5tu5) March 15, 2016

To move to http2 requires https, this can cause issues when serving ads @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

HTTP2 produces the biggest performance gains on mobile bc it remedies high latency @patrickhamann #smashingconf

— Heydon (@heydonworks) March 15, 2016

@shiflett

Next up @shiflett @smashingconf on understanding people https://t.co/zcJBNqiq1s pic.twitter.com/DRl45pqefX

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

TIL: https://t.co/SFfV0SOFgR @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

"Users aren't stupid, they're human" @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/Bum7xum81e @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

An error message outside the field of focus won't be recognizable immediately. Put it into the form instead. #smashingconf #changeblindess

— Markus Seyfferth (@indysigner) March 15, 2016

Ambient Signifiers (Tokyo Rail) https://t.co/itSgx7WoBu @shiflett #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/0CQqZduKf0 @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

“Dark patterns are user interfaces designed to trick people.” —@shiflett #smashingconf pic.twitter.com/nwh7sbmoTP

— Gunnar Bittersmann (@g16n) March 15, 2016

It’s much easier to accommodate for user behavior than to change it. @shiflett #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

The Fun Theory Piano Stairs https://t.co/ahixGmcpO5 @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Recommended reading:
– Predictably Irrational
– Thinking Fast and Slow
– Sleights of Mind
– The Invisible Gorilla@shiflett #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Recommended reading:
– You are not so Smart
– Influence the Psychology of Persuasion@shiflett #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Notes from the talk by @shiflett at #smashingconf #cmda pic.twitter.com/jya8qma6rD

— Justus Sturkenboom (@ju5tu5) March 15, 2016

@smashingmag

Dirty front-end tricks with @smashingmagazine @smashingconf I'm not sure if this is going … https://t.co/xtApZRFPXO pic.twitter.com/uTyU9ZyFMW

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Nested links (links inside of links) https://t.co/xSL6KDHsxU @smashingmag #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Simple CSS-Only Table Row and Column Highlighting https://t.co/E0ioMJudti by @chriscoyier @smashingmag #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Multiline Padding with box-decoration-break https://t.co/JhIzGuRies @smashingmag #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Mr. @smashingmag channeling his inner mathematician for a session on dirty front-end hacks #smashingconf pic.twitter.com/Qotd0k32GP

— Frederic Marx (@fredericmarx) March 15, 2016

The most amazing horrible resource i've seen in my life: https://t.co/UVAt2hFEoj – @smashingmag #smashingconf

— Matthew Standage (@mstandage) March 15, 2016

Media queries without media queries. "It really works like charm!" #smashingconf @vitalyf pic.twitter.com/Ws5iBJNfA2

— Matt Willett (@M_Willett) March 15, 2016

Wha!? Twitter stream in an email by pointing to CSS that's updated with content @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

The future of loading CSS https://t.co/gfgfwPoyxG @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Redesigning the Country Selector https://t.co/ii8dwJwplL @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

#Smashingconf liking the https://t.co/EgXXL0KoVg age check @SprngSmmr pic.twitter.com/RBfpPCcSjj

— Atli Adalsteinsson (@atliadal) March 15, 2016

@vasilis

Next up @vasilis @smashingconf https://t.co/za7dkEtgk9 pic.twitter.com/AipSlZh68o

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

“There’s no such thing as Ctrl-Z in real life.” —@vasilis #smashingconf

— Gunnar Bittersmann (@g16n) March 15, 2016

The web is there for everyone – @vasilis #smashingconf /cc @timberners_lee

— Matthew Standage (@mstandage) March 15, 2016

“CSS is awesome.” —@vasilis #smashingconf pic.twitter.com/tiD1XT2C45

— Gunnar Bittersmann (@g16n) March 15, 2016

I never realised you could use the head element of a document to style elements of its body #smashingconf Tks @vasilis !

— David Roessli (@roessli) March 15, 2016

Create text that always fills the viewport. https://t.co/vsi8sQXPEU @vasilis #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

Quantity Queries for CSS https://t.co/kLQB4f9fJa by @heydonworks @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

@vasilis got me excited about CSS all over again! #smashingconf pic.twitter.com/NLo6SlQ1xF

— Thomas Robinson (@Thomas_Robinson) March 15, 2016

Notes from the talk by @vasilis at #smashingconf #cmda pic.twitter.com/SrwFwunPmu

— Justus Sturkenboom (@ju5tu5) March 15, 2016

"The problem is that we don't have many *artists* that work with the web as a medium. We're all designers."–@vasilis #smashingconf

— Alla Kholmatova (@craftui) March 15, 2016

@heydonworks

Last but not least @heydonworks @smashingconf https://t.co/Jh7MkYaEUX pic.twitter.com/ILmpvzjdRq

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Incredible, @heydonworks doing a code review of Kanye West lyrics @smashingconf https://t.co/sBogcQmsca pic.twitter.com/dpiEMAvOtD

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Next up in phrases not expected at @smashingconf : 'salad-punching' by @heydonworks #smashingconf #knowingIsHalfTheBattle

— Paul Izod (@paulizodUX) March 15, 2016

From sharks & salads, to patterns, dialectics, & deconstructing poetry – @heydonworks talk has it all!#smashingconf pic.twitter.com/8vRqCvKweQ

— Alla Kholmatova (@craftui) March 15, 2016

We take the web for granted, because we see it every day. @heydonworks #smashingconf

— Marko Dugonjić (@markodugonjic) March 15, 2016

You can not comment in books @heydon #smashingconf pic.twitter.com/5KoOY6vr2I

— Arnoud (@ArnHub) March 15, 2016

Maybe we could tone down the JavaScript https://t.co/jJG5HhfDq4 @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

#smashingconf ninja dev vs designer. Awesome!!! pic.twitter.com/yqZu7nOZe1

— Alejandro Rangel (@arangelp) March 15, 2016

The communicator @smashingconf pic.twitter.com/bsyGnMXUL0

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/kWVMhAkn8K @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/ouwAshs3FH for the cli by @heydonworks @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

https://t.co/yQ0H4KPv6H by @heydonworks @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

"When we're joined up, our work is joined up" @heydonworks @smashingconf

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Notes from the talk by @heydonworks at #smashingconf #cmda pic.twitter.com/9bCEPAsBV2

— Justus Sturkenboom (@ju5tu5) March 15, 2016

After Party

And that's a wrap for day one @smashingconf see you at the after party https://t.co/Q7BxWEEs7n pic.twitter.com/eQw0gnn65A

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Legend! @wesbos @smashingconf https://t.co/MRWgTROBBV pic.twitter.com/tPYXbVH4dx

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

#SmashingConf (@ Freud in Oxford, Oxfordshire) https://t.co/ES1YWX5Dl9 pic.twitter.com/jEdQHkYZUD

— Wolfgang Wagner (@wowa_TYPO3) March 15, 2016

Beautiful afterparty setting #smashingconf #oxford pic.twitter.com/DSiBxRz04c

— Gemma Stephen (@gemma_stephen) March 15, 2016

How many people can you fit in an Instagram photo? @smashingconf https://t.co/4uCiEfJopf pic.twitter.com/nXfeWL0a6t

— Simon Owen (@s10wen) March 15, 2016

Day 2 Coming Soon…