December 14, 2015 — Typography is a foundation of design. It can make or break your website. My aim with this talk is to point out some really basic, timeless typography rules that can help beginners to avoid classic mistakes and create better themes.
The talk will be useful not only for web designers but also for WordPress users because they will get a list of things to check typography-wise when choosing a new theme for their next project.

December 12, 2015 — Integrating Accessibility (a11y) into the project process can be downright scary. In this session, I’ll cover basic web accessibility principles for web designers, developers, and site owners, then show how to turn seemingly daunting and confusing accessibility requirements into understandable, actionable tasks and techniques. The talk will cover some of the accessibility-specific WordPress plugins and themes available, as well as some quick, easy tests to integrate into design and development workflows.

December 11, 2015 — Minimalist web design requires a deep understanding of the needs of the people using your website. Clearing away design clutter and nonessential functionality leaves only the most important elements, creating a peaceful and focused environment for both the end user and the designer. This talk will cover visual design principles for creating a more peaceful user experience.

Presentation Slides »

December 9, 2015 — We’re going to explore a few methods of learning – focusing on the practice of copying. Code, design, & user experience can all be improved when we take a deeper look into successful implementations. We’ll analyze methods and steal a few things along the way, learning how to truly make them our own.

Presentation Slides »

November 24, 2015 — Intervista fatta a Chiara Dossena al primo «WordPress Contributor Day» italiano, organizzato dalla «Italia WP Community» a Milano il 7 novembre del 2015. #wpcdit

November 24, 2015 — Intervista fatta a Andrea Fercia al primo «WordPress Contributor Day» italiano, organizzato dalla «Italia WP Community» a Milano il 7 novembre del 2015. #wpcdit

November 23, 2015 — Appearance, Themes, Customizer, Menus, Header, Background.

October 3, 2015 — Web designers and developers are each specialists with their own priorities, needs, and focus. Sometimes there can be a communication gap between the two, leading to misunderstandings and frustration. How can you learn to speak each other’s language and ensure your projects run smoothly and without hassles?

Presentation Slides »

October 2, 2015 — This session is guaranteed to win the most boring session award. But if you hang out for 60 minutes, there’s a good chance you’ll pick up some new tricks to help you design creatively awesome WordPress sites. No razzle-dazzle web design show-and-tell here, this is all about foundational paperwork. (Bleh!) Hang on. You will actually learn the 10 questions you should ask in a kickoff meeting and why the answers aren’t as important as the conversation, why you need to do at least six site maps for every project and who the most important person in the room is (I’m guessing it isn’t who you think it is). So bring your RedBull and get ready to trade in your creative doormat for a shiny new web design superhero cape b/c after this session, you’re going to be super awes!

Presentation Slides »

October 1, 2015 — 3 tips to help web designers get the right content from clients. Some easy-to-use sites designers can refer their clients to, such as building infographics, images for their blogs, and topic ideas.

Jo will cover some of the following topics during her presentation:

– Why a pretty website isn’t enough.
– Providing content slows the web designer down.
– Content generating ideas.
– Content moving with the times – not static.
– Clients start off strong, then fade when novelty of being a blogger fades.
– Strategies and tips to help clients manage their content
– Ways web designers can help get the right content the first time.
– Repurposing existing content.
– Engagement.
– Personality in content.
– Stories matter.