What's Next For Responsive Design

Responsive design: it's kind of a thing, and AEA has been a part of it since the very beginning. From the moment Ethan Marcotte debuted responsive web design on our stage in 2010, we knew something big was in the air—and the last five years have shown just how big it was. It's transformed the way we all work, and it's not done yet.

To explore some of those transformations in a very practical way, Ethan teamed up with Karen McGrane to create the Responsive Web Design (RWD) podcast. Every week, this dynamic duo interview team leaders who've gone responsive, uncovering how the shift has played out in settings from small colleges to huge corporations. They've also done sterling work in explaining and clarifying what RWD is and isn't, as our recent interview with Karen covered.

This week, Ethan and Karen celebrated the first year of the RWD Podcast with “The Specialest of Very Special Episodes,” during which Karen announced that she's close to finishing her latest book, Going Responsive. As Karen puts it, the book is about the “process/organizational/operational changes that companies need to make as they're implementing a responsive design.”

And in the very same podcast, Ethan spills the beans on his forthcoming Responsive Design: Patterns and Principles, in which responsive design moves “a level below the page,” so folks can stop thinking about web pages and start building ”‘networks of content,' as Trent Walton calls them…stitching them together up from those small little LEGO blocks into something that's more responsive, more flexible, and ultimately more nimble.”

Both books are from our sister company A Book Apart, and we can't wait to read them. Before that happens, we'll get a preview, because Ethan and Karen are bringing their unique blend of wit and wisdom to our stage for “A Day Apart: Responsive Web Design: Content, Code, and Collaboration,” a very special all-day learning session.

In addition to surveying current best practices in RWD, they'll talk about performance and about how organizational structure, workflow, and even hiring need to evolve to fit the new responsive realities. “A Day Apart: Responsive Web Design” is sure to be jam-packed with insights. You have two chances to see it: one in Chicago this Wednesday, or at An Event Apart Austin in just a few weeks. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the best!