Minimalism and progressive enhancement

Posted 16th July 2019 in Design and Development

I’ve been enjoying reading though Adam Silver’s archive of articles around accessibility and inclusive design over the past few days, and his take on progressive enhancement really struck a chord:

Progressive enhancement makes us think about what happens when things fail. It allows us to build experiences with resilience baked in. But equally, it makes us think about whether an enhancement is needed at all; and if it is, how best to go about it.

That last sentence is the key for me. It brings Dieter Rams’ tenth principle of good design to mind:

Good design involves as little design as possible

A website should be carefully thought through: every tag, script, style, page, paragraph, and full-stop.

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More posts

Here are a couple more posts for you to enjoy. If that’s not enough, have a look at the full list.

  1. Avatars and alt text

    I really enjoyed Nicolas Steenhout’s recent article on Alt text for avatars or user photos. But there is a context where I would break his rule…

  2. Upgrading from iPhone 13 mini to 16 Pro

    I get a new phone every 3-ish years, give mine to my wife, and now she gives hers to our daughter. I got a 16 Pro this year! Here’s the skinny.