Topic: A More Tangled Web

For the first time in years, there are actual stakes in browser updates and standards development: things are moving faster, and the moves being made now will reverberate for years to come. The markup world has been in upheaval, layout systems are advancing, a new browser has entered the market, and web-based applications-- even operating systems-- are spreading like wildfire. What does it all mean for us and for the sites we build?

Topic: Design & Build: How to be an effective hybrid

There are designers and there are developers. And then there are hybrids, working at the intersection of these two crucial aspects of web design. Why would you want to be one, or want one on your team? How can you make the most out of both sets of skills without sacrificing depth? How can you have the most impact in different environments, from a small startup to a big company?

Topic: The Playing Field: Practice Makes Pixel-Perfect

In a blossoming industry that is struggling to forge its own identity, a drove of designers and developers — many of whom are self-taught or struggled through irrelevant educational programs — are left piecing together the puzzle of how to build a better career for themselves without truly knowing what to do next. Cliches, buzzwords and conflicting ideologies are the curriculum de facto. Unrealistic expectations fuel bad habits and misplaced priorities. It's time to go back to some basics and take a sober look at what it's going to take for you to become good/better/great.

Join Ryan in spending more than 140 characters mining below the surface of why practice really is important for designers, why every pixel doesn't have to be perfect, why staying inside the box might be better than blowing minds, why form and function follow empathy and why making the logo bigger just might work. Well... let's not get too crazy.

Topic: Seductive Design

In the dating game of the web, you need more than just a pretty (inter)face and a winning smile. You need to woo your users in a complex ritual of seduction and delight. Only then will you win their hearts, minds and registration details. Sadly, too many sites focus purely on the chase, adding each new conquest into their little black book of registered users (moleskines presumably) before moving on to their next victim.

While one-night log-ins can be exciting, they aren't particularly satisfying. It's the quality rather than quantity of your relationships that count. A truly meaningful relationship takes time, understanding and sacrifice. The best relationships are born from a sense of shared ideals; they are supportive, caring and fun.

Using examples from the real world, this session will look at the various tips, tricks and techniques you can use to make your users fall in love with your product or service. So dim the lights, put Barry White on the stereo and get ready for a lesson in the fine art of user seduction.

Topic: Font Embedding and Typography

Font embedding is slowly edging towards a possibility – from both a browser perspective and from a technical perspective. But, what about a typographic design perspective? We’re so fixated on the on the ‘could’ – on surmounting the hurdles of font foundries and their immovable licensing structures – has anybody stopped to ask if we should? This session will do just that.

I’ll be dispelling myths, challenging preconceptions and detailing how we, as web design professionals, can not only make font embedding a reality, but how we can move beyond simple font embedding to a much richer typographic web.

Topic: Passion

The web is relatively young, and people still have the wrong idea about the "nerds" and "geeks" who make a living building products for it.

The biggest problem is the lack of passion these webworkers have. Some have no standards or shame, and go for the money (so called "prostitutes"), while others just don't care what the outside world thinks, and continue doing what they love even though they can't explain to their grandparents what it is exactly they do for a living (I call them "lovers").

In my presentation, I'm going to teach you how you reply to the typical "That expensive? My little nephew does it for free!", how to proudly explain what your job is at a school reunion party without creating that awkward silence, how to be a lover instead of a prostitute, how to keep pushing yourself further, how you can help raise the next generation of web professionals, and how you can help the current generation profiling itself as real craftsmen instead of a bunch of nerds sitting in front of a computer all day.