January 28, 2014 — The Mystery continues! To celebrate the launch of the SmashingConf NYC, we’ve prepared a new riddle, and this time it’s not going to be any easier, but the reward is worth the effort. In this piece, you’ll find an animated GIF that contains a hidden message. Once you’ve resolved the mystery, you’ll see a Twitter hashtag displayed in plain text. Read more…

January 28, 2014 — One of the ways we can continue learning in the Web industry, is by attending professional Web conferences. But how do you decide which is right for you? In this article, Jeremy Girard will answer this question by shareing the methods that he has found helpful in choosing high-quality conferences, as well as some tips to help you get the most out of the events you decide to attend! Read more…

January 27, 2014 — The debate about what a “User Experience Design” exactly is, is as old as the discipline itself, and while sitting back and watching the drama is sometimes fun, let’s try to figure out which user experience techniques are useful for startups, in-house teams, big corporations and anyone who wants to improve their website, product or service. Read more…

January 24, 2014 — Today, we’re honored to present to you a set of 60 vector round icons, Released exclusively for Smashing Magazine! Crafted with great attention to detail and cleverly designed by the creative trio at Roundicons, this icon set is extremely easy to use and will most probably be the next ultimate resource for any one of your design projects. Feel free to modify the size, color or shape of the icons. No attribution is required. However, reselling of bundles or individual pictograms is not allowed. Read more…

January 23, 2014 — Function binding is probably your least concern when beginning with JavaScript, but when you realize that you need a solution to the problem of how to keep the context of “this” within another function, then you might not realize that what you actually need is Function.prototype.bind(). Read more…

January 20, 2014 — A “workaholic” is someone who is addicted to work. Soon, they neglect their family, friends, health, sometimes damaging them all irrevocably. Some people who work on the Web seem not only to disregard the dangers of workaholism, but to actively promote it. They see it as a badge of honor—but it’s a serious issue that can damage Web teams. In contrast, people who simply “work hard” do not expose themselves to such dangers. Read more…

January 17, 2014 — In this interview of the “How I Work” series, Jacob Cook is speaking with Andres Glusman, of Meetup, a company that uses the efficiency of the Internet to conveniently connect people offline. Andres works as the VP of Strategy, Product and Community in Meetup’s New York City office. In this piece, he tells us how the company uses User Experience, Lean Startup methods and innovative ways of organizing teams to fuel the company’s growth. Read more…

January 16, 2014 — As a designer, the value you bring to any project isn’t only your ability to execute tasks. Good clients will appreciate the guidance and opinions that come with your experience, and it’s up to you to base your recommendations on more than subjective opinion. In this article, Jonathan Kochis will refer to specific mobile research projects he has conducted and build a case for audience surveys and review of analytics data. Read more…

January 15, 2014 — In this article, Matthew Haworth will use Magento’s shipping-method code abstraction to create a shipping carrier. He will be covering topics such as extending the abstract shipping class and implement the required methods, allowing tracking codes to be set against an order, work with promotions to allow for free shipping, and much more! Read more…

January 14, 2014 — 92,000 new articles are posted online every day. Companies are spending billions on content marketing to enhance credibility and build brand awareness. Google has always tried to reward great content with high rankings, but today, thanks to improvements in its algorithm, Google is better able to actually do it. Read more…