If you’re a conscientious web designer or developer who cares about accessibility, then I’m sure you’ve spent the last few years drilling yourself into the habit of using relative font sizes (EMs or percentages) rather than absolute font sizes (pixels – PX)?

Now with the advent of modern browsers and full page zooming (as opposed to just text scaling), I’m sure I’m not the only person that’s been wondering whether we still need to be going through the painstaking task of calculating relative font sizes?

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The days of the ever resourceful all-in-one web designer-come-developer extraordinaire are long gone. In this industry the general consensus is that a great developer doth not a great designer make (and visa-versa).

It’s more common for designers and developers to work side-by-side collaboratively in web design harmony. Or not as the case may be. Designers tend to make developers jobs as fiddly as possible and developers have a knack for screwing up great designs.

It doesn’t have to be that way, here are five tips designers can follow to make developers’ jobs easier and ensure the site turns out as great as you intended.

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The CSS display property can be the bane of the web designer’s life as support varies from browser to browser, making it all a bit more complicated than it should be. In this article I will show a quick and simple way to get the display:inline-block declaration rendering consistently across all major browsers.

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With the rise of CSS and standards, the mere mention of the word ‘tables’ amongst web designers is likely to bring a reaction as if you just swore to your grandmother. For some reason the backlash towards table-based design – which ten years ago was the defacto standard way of designing complex page layouts – has become so passionately fought over that web designers can forget that tables still play an important role in modern web design. Here are three examples:

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A week from today, on Monday 2 June, my life will be taking a slightly new direction as I begin working for digital marketing agency, Inbox Digital.

Inbox are an award-winning digital marketing agency specialising in online advertising and viral marketing. They have an impressive list of clients including names such as Vodafone, BMW, Panasonic and AOL.

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Rather than add to the already filled-to-the-brim Digg bin of top 10 tips for web design, I thought it would be interesting to look at what YOU think are your top tips for web design.

Johnathon Longnecker in Top 10 tips for creating kick awesome websites says:

“Your web typography will set your design apart from other studios. Study optimum line heights, widths and look for inventive ways to guide the viewer through your layout only using CSS rules. Flash replacement (sIFR) is alright, but don’t overuse it.”

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I have been blogging for well over a year now and along the way I’ve discovered many fantastic design and creativity blogs. I’ve wanted to thank the authors for their commitment for a long time now, so consider this post an official tip of the hat and slap on the back from me.

Some of the blogs I list below I am an active commenter on and know the authors personally – others I am a silent but appreciative lurker. One thing all these blogs have in common is that in some way over the past twelve months they have inspired me.

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When commissioning a designer or developer to assist with a web project, it is vital to write a constructive project brief. When a client takes the time to put their thoughts and aims to paper it helps both parties work together and get through the project as smoothly as possible.

A well thought-out brief allows the client to think about and formalise exactly what they want to achieve from the project. And a good brief will help the freelancer no end by providing a documented point of reference to work to.

By shining light on the project and communicating with each other as clearly as possible from the outset, important issues and questions can be addressed before the project begins. This ultimately ensures the client gets better value for their money.

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Forums are a great place to get inspired and learn from others about all aspects of web design. Forums can help with sharing creative ideas, asking for help with a specific problem or to networking with potential clients and colleagues.

However, there is no shortage of choice when it comes to finding your online home. To get you started here are five web design forums I find myself using from time to time.

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