What is Responsive Design?

Responsive design is where a website will re-size itself to the size of the device that is being used to view the website on. The layout of the website will often change in order to fit within the display.

A good illustration of responsive design can be found at:

http://www.thismanslife.co.uk/projects/lab/responsiveillustration/

What are the benefits of responsive design?

The benefit of responsive design is solely for the user. A responsive website will know what size display the user is using and re-size itself accordingly. This will make the website easier to read, navigate and interact with.

It is very common to have to pinch the screen of a mobile device in order to be able to read content, navigate and view images, having a responsive website will eliminate this and give the user a much better experience while on your website.

With this is mind it is hard to state a case for not having a responsive website, especially as web browsing using mobile devices has become so popular with the emergence of smart phones and tablets over the last few years.

Good Examples of Responsive Websites

Please have a look at the below websites. To test their responsiveness resize the browser window and watch the layout accommodate the browser.

Oliver Russell – http://oliverrussell.com/

Deren Keskin – http://www.deren.me/

Spigot Design – http://spigotdesign.com/

Forefathers (My favourite) – http://forefathersgroup.com/

Stephen Caver – http://stephencaver.com/

New Adventures – http://2012.newadventuresconf.com/

Need help with responsive design?

A guide to developing using the responsive grid system can be found at:

http://www.responsivegridsystem.com/

Conclusion:

Responsive design is the way forward, anyone who is considering having a new website or a re-design needs to make sure their site can adapt to the many devices that are now used to view websites. We all want our visitors to have a great experience when using our sites, and using a responsive layout is the best way to ensure this.

Productivity is one of the most critical assets of a professional web designer or developer. Our day to day projects naturally lend themselves to an open minded approach to the acquisition of new resources, tools and services; ultimately making the increasingly vast techniques easier.

Thankfully there are an abundance of useful resources to equip the discerning web designer with all the firepower they need; in this post we will list but a few of the inspiring websites to fuel your creativity:

Method & Craft

They like to think of themselves as the “DVD extras of design”, giving real life insight into the creation of professional work within the industry and covering who made it, how they did it, and even techniques developed by the creators over recent years.

DesignersMX

A place to share inspiration, where designers are able to fuel each others creativity and discover what inspires them; A “one-stop shop for creative inspiration”.

Designers and Books

Publishes lists of books identified as important, meaningful and informative by designers held in high regard on the international design scene, which gives fantastic exposure to a concentrated flow of useful, proven literature which otherwise might go missed.

Little Big Details

This particular website is dedicated to UI details, frequently featuring the common social media companies such as facebook and twitter; highlighting precise aspects of excellence and why they work so well.

Dribble

Likes to refer to themselves as the “show and tell” for designers, a place where you can share what you are working on in an exclusive environment. Aside from this, Dribble provides a unique opportunity to scout ( and therefore to be scouted ) for potential work; making Dribble a prime stage for self promotion or employment!

Awwwards

Like many showcasing websites, Awwwards, in essence; shares some of the best work in the industry on a daily basis. The defining factor that makes this particular site stand out is the jury of designers, bloggers and internet agencies which are responsible for ranking the submissions. The inclusion of such talented individuals reflects heavily on the quality of sites featured throughout the categories on a day to day basis.

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