Quick Fire with Jeffrey Zeldman

Sep 12th in Interviews by Jeffrey Way

If there is such thing as a "legend" in our industry, Jeffrey Zeldman just might be it. He was literally one of the first designers for the web. You could even refer to him as the blueprint. He's written a ridiculously successful book, Designing With Web Standards", co-founded the "Web Standards Project", and publishes "A List Apart". Today, we have a quick fire interview with him. Feel free to ask any questions that you might have, via the comments.

Author: Jeffrey Way

Hi, I'm Jeff. I'm the editor of NETTUTS, and the Site Manager of Theme Forest. I spend too much time in front of the computer and find myself telling my fiance', "We'll go in 5 minutes!" far too often. I love the ASP.NET framework, jQuery, PHP, CSS, AJAX - pretty much anything.

The Interview

What state do you live in?

New York

Favorite food?

Thai (pescetarian)

Current job title?

Founder, executive creative director

Any new book in the works?

Shhh! Designing With Web Standards, 3rd Edition.

Favorite web dev book that you didn't write?

Joe Clark: BUILDING ACCESSIBLE WEBSITES is the best-written "web design" book ever.
Dan Cederholm: BULLETPROOF WEB DESIGN is my favorite web-standards how-to.

CMS of choice?

We keep choosing ExpressionEngine.

Favorite Javascript library, if any?

Don't use 'em.

Framework of choice?

None of 'em. The day someone writes a CSS framework that works for *my* design jobs is the day someone else will write a COPY framework that creates all necessary content for all our clients.

CSS Resets: Good or bad?

Necessary, although the best way to use them is the way Eric Meyer advises -- as a combination reset and project framework. For instance, if you know that you want your line-height to be 1.4 throughout the site, include that in the "reset." Don't reset to 1 and then re-reset to 1.4.

Your life pet peeve?

I've been living under George Bush for nearly eight years. "Pet peeve" doesn't cover it.

Your web dev pet peeve?

13-year-old arguments (e.g. liquid vs. fixed width) that will never be resolved because the right answer is, it depends on the project.

Most fulfilling experience as as designer?

Getting browsers to support web standards.

What did you do before becoming a designer/writer?

I failed at music, journalism, and advertising.

Web technology that you're most excited about?

HTML and CSS are still the ones to beat.

When is the next "An Event Apart" conference?

We held four shows this year. The final show will be held in Chicago on October 13-14.

Who will be speaking?

Andy Clarke – Author, Transcending CSS
Curt Cloninger – Author, Hot-Wiring Your Creative Process
Jason Fried – 37signals
Robert Hoekman Jr. – Author, Designing the Obvious
Cameron Moll – Author, Mobile Web Design
Sarah Nelson – Design Strategist, Adaptive Path
Derek Powazek – Author, Design for Community
Jeff Veen – Author, Art & Science of Web Design
Rob Weychert – Co-author, Web Standards Creativity
Jason Santa Maria – Designer, Happy Cog
Eric Meyer – Author, CSS: The Definitive Guide
Jeffrey Zeldman – Author, Designing With Web Standards 2nd Edition

How much will it cost?

If you order by September 15, the two days (including meals, swag, and party) are $895. $795 if you order using discount code AEAZTF.

After the event concludes in October, what's next on your To-Do list?

Well, there's redesigning the site and structuring next year's shows. Plus client projects and changes to A List Apart....

That should do it! Thank you so much for taking the time to be interviewed, Jeffrey!

SUPER! Thanks, Jeffrey!

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User Comments

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Kevin September 12th

Very enjoyable read! But why do these conferences cost so much money??
dainix September 12th

Thanks for interview! Great master indeed..!

Kevin I think because of popular royalties talking in conference.. The best of the best.
Eric Meyer September 12th

Kevin, it’s because conferences cost a lot of money to put on and there’s a lot of uncertainty in how much money one will bring in. I wrote a post on the topic a while back (http://meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2005/12/14/event-pricing/), looking at how a smaller event gets priced, which may help lend some perspective.
Shane September 12th

Thanks to Jeffrey for sparing the time - I’ve been a reader of his site for a number of years. Not only is he a founding father of web standards, but his writing is superlative.

Anyway, enough arse kissing
Dan September 12th

I think all I would like to say is thank you for making your knowledge accessible, the world of web is better off for it and for all the other pioneers who didn’t keep it a secret.
insic September 12th

Zeldman is a great man. He is one of my inspiration.
pavs September 12th

Being a NYer my favorite line:

“I’ve been living under George Bush for nearly eight years. “Pet peeve” doesn’t cover it.”
Wayne September 12th

Thanks, Jeff! A List Apart is my bible. I am not worthy.
Ben Griffiths September 12th

Nice little article, thanks
Damon Medic September 12th

Thanks, Jeffro!
Connor September 12th

Thanks for this interview…Jeffrey Zeldman is an inspiration to many
Ted September 12th

Hello there,
Great Tutorial.

Does anyone know where Collis Ta’eed come from is he jewish or arabic ?

thanks
Lamin Barrow September 12th

I dont know much about Zeldaman but he has been in the web industry for a long time and his work towards the web standards project deserves all the praise.
Thanks for the article.
Paul Gendek September 12th

Following on Twitter, respectable dude

It would be really great to go to the event!
Stefan September 13th

WaSP has made everyone’s life a lot more enjoyable, or simply less painful, either way he’s great.

I’m really enjoying these interviews is there any chance of getting Joshua Davis / Hillman Curtis or John Maeda? I haven’t heard anything from these guys in a while.

But great article
Taylor Satula September 13th

I wish confrences could be free, but when that happens there will be no problems in the world
Taylor Satula September 13th

But its still a good article
Shaun September 13th

“HTML and CSS are still the ones to beat.”

Agreed.
cheese September 13th

My question is what on earth does “A List Apart” mean? What list? Apart from what?
Todd September 14th

I had the extreme pleasure and privilege to meet Jeffrey (and also Eric) at An Event Apart Boston this past June. I will say, without hesitation, that the money you spend to attend one of these conferences is well worth it. I will shout from the mountaintops if I have to. Spend the money for one of these events.

Jeffrey and Eric are both top notch guys and I had the honor of meeting and mingling with them (at times I may have looked like some star-crossed groupie). It was without a doubt, my highlight of 2008 bar none. I’ve got their books and have read their sites and learned from the masters. To them, I would not be where I am today without their knowledge.

Another great Quick Fire!
Mark Bowen September 14th

Hi there,

Nice interview. Just as a quick aside ExpressionEngine should be one word not two

Best wishes,

Mark
Razvan Pavel September 16th

nice interview. can’t wait to see you in chicago
James September 18th

Thanks Jeffrey and Jeffrey!

Nice interview!