[Editors] MIT Editors' Club Minutes: March 2012

[Robyn Fizz]

http://ist.mit.edu/news/responsive_design

Those of you interested in responsive design may also want to read "Responsive Design on My Mind," by Elizabeth McManus, who heads up the WebPub group (https://webpub.mit.edu/). 

BTW, WebPub will be offering a presentation on Drupal as a Service on April 6.

Regards,
Robyn


On Mar 19, 2012, at 2:39 PM, Elizabeth A Thomson wrote:

> MIT EDITORS' CLUB
> 
> *Meeting Notes from March 13, 2012*
> 
> I think that our guest for this meeting expected to be in and out within 30 minutes, but the ~25 MIT Editors present peppered him with questions for an entire hour. The topic? Responsive design for web sites, or how to create one web site design that changes--and looks great--on several different platforms, from laptop to iPad to mobile phone.
> 
> 
> *Introducing Rich....*
> 
> ....Murphy, the web services manager for MIT Information Services and Technology (IS&T) who spoke at this meeting. Rich has been a very busy guy over the last 14 months, which is how long it's taken, start to finish, to create a new IS&T web site using responsive design. Newsflash: this is the first major web site at MIT using responsive design; it will launch on Monday, April 2. (I've asked Robyn Fizz, my Editors' Club co-chair and IS&T News Coordinator, to send us a reminder when it's out.)
> 
> 
> *New Web Site*
> 
> Before I jot down some of the tips concerning responsive design that came out of this meeting, I wanted to mention a bit about the new IS&T web site because it should be quite useful to members of this group. First off, Rich stressed that the new site was designed to be customer-centric. It was redesigned for the MIT community with feedback from LOTS of faculty/staff/student focus groups. As a result, it will include:
> 
> -- service catalog to determine what IS&T can help you with.
> 
> --a searchable Knowledgebase, or database of "how-to" info built up by the IS&T Help Desk over the last several years.
> 
> --easier navigation to pages for getting/updating MIT certificates AND for downloading software.
> 
> 
> *Responsive Design*
> 
> Here, in no particular order, are a few cool tips/stats that came out of our chat with Rich and Emer Garland-Scott of Communication Production Services (Emer, who is also a member of our club, worked closely with Rich on this project).
> 
> --Rich recommends the following book on the overall topic: Responsive Web Design by Ethan Marcotte, <http://www.abookapart.com/products/responsive-web-design>.
> 
> --Can you retrofit an HTML web site to one with responsive design? Um, no.
> 
> --According to Emer, responsive design can add an extra 15% to your budget for web design/development.
> 
> --A good example of a site using responsive design: the Boston Globe. See following story: <http://www.webmonkey.com/2011/09/the-boston-globe-embraces-responsive-design/>.
> 
> --FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Emer at emer at mit.edu, 617.258.9368.
> 
> 
> *Thank you!*
> 
> Many thanks to Carol Breen of physics for hosting this (almost) standing-room-only meeting.
> 
> 
> *Next Meetings*
> 
> The next meetings of MIT Editors' Club, which are always from 12-1 but in different locations around campus, are as follows:
> 
> Wednesday, April 18
> W98-302 (Resource Development)
> 
> Friday, May 18
> 46-3015 (Brain and Cognitive Sciences)
> 
> Monday, June 11
> 66-360 (Chemical Engineering)
> 
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> Elizabeth
> =========================
> Elizabeth A. Thomson
> Associate Director of Communications
> MIT Resource Development
> Office of Communications
> 600 Memorial Dr., W98-300
> 617-258-5563, 857-756-9457
> <thomson at mit.edu>, giving.mit.edu
> =========================
> 
> 
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Robyn Fizz
News Coordinator
MIT Information Services and Technology (IS&T)
W92-218A
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@MIT_ISTnews
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