The ZURBlog is where we discuss interaction design and strategy.

Over the weekend we rolled out our latest updates to ZURB.com, fixing a few bugs, updating many of our pages, and introducing some new features. Here's the lowdown on what's changed.

ZURBword Redesigned

We did a visual refresh via CSS for ZURBword, focusing on creating a more compelling column layout while improving readability. The entire layout was updated to reflect our general aesthetic for ZURBword, as seen on the back of our business cards.

It's a much sleeker layout, one that we've been dying to get out for some time now. New words (like Design Thinking) are around the corner, so stay tuned.

A New Footer

We updated our footer to be more consistent with the rest of the site, realigning our messaging there to match our expectations for marketing and features elsewhere.

Lighter, stronger, faster. Our new footer takes less space, is more refined, and puts more focus on the right messages.

The old footer had some great personality, but it lacked cohesiveness. The pieces pulled apart rather than together. We made the forms unified (inspired by our new ZURBword layout), updated the copy, and cleaned the visuals up quick a bit.

Improved Commenting

Previously, we stripped out all HTML in our comments, deflating them to bulky passages that were tough to read. We've fixed that and more.

We added a handy-dandy toolbar to help you format your text by using Markdown, a text-to-HTML formatter for writing on the Web. It keeps things easy to read and converts to valid XHTML.

So what's that mean?

That means that you can use HTML and Markdown in our comments, and it'll stay intact when you post. And even better, you're now able to use keyboard shortcuts and preview what you're writing—live!

Revamped Work Section

It's been awhile since we've updated our case studies, but we've just added three new ones to the mix: Britney Spears, Photobucket, and ClickTracks.

We'll be adding images to them all shortly and finalizing the layout, but the content is set. We're quite proud of our work and wanted to share it you all.

In addition to the case studies, we updated our services to include four sub pages, all interlinked and with example case studies. Take a spin and read more about what we do.

And that's not all!

We made a number of backend changes, mostly focused around our Dashboard, but the best stuff is still in our back pockets. We typically push out a new release every month, constantly iterating on pieces that don't feel quite right and adding new content.

Stick around as more is still to come!

For those of you unfamiliar with Alltop, it's a new blog aggregation site started by the same folks who launched Truemors.

The premise for Alltop is simple: hand collected resources on nearly any subject. We liken it to a dashboard view of your favorite websites—a digital magazine rack for the Internet.

The ZURBlog was recently included on two of Alltop's categories, User Interface and Design. In both sections, ZURB joins the ranks of incredibly talented folks like 37signals and Boxes & Arrows—people who take user interface and design as seriously as we do. It feels great to be included and we're excited to be there.

Interaction design and strategy is our core offering, so both categories are a perfect fit. The ZURBlog will continue to take a holistic approach to improving user Interface and design by understanding the business goals and customers needs first.

Stay tuned!

What makes a great interaction design blog? Do people understand what we do? How do we write better? Do designers or clients care about our topics? What's our focus?

These are questions we asked ourselves as we looked over our writing from the past year. After an internal review, we decided to narrow the focus of our blog to seven topics. We believe our writing will improve by focusing on just a handful of concepts and allow our design experience to shine through the massive amounts of web clutter. We'll be adding an eighth topic in the coming months as we document the development and release of our debut product.

Here is a list of the topics:

• Design Strategy
• Interaction Design
• Implementation
• Business & Startups
• Sparks
• ZURB
• Happy Clients

Topics Defined

We went through a few iterations before narrowing the topics. Below is a table of the notes we created over IM and Google Docs in the past year. The list isn't perfect, but it's a great tool for challenging our ideas and helping us stay on target (the table was exported from Google Docs, so it might be wonky in some browsers). Let us know if we're veering off our goals!

As I was skimming through some very old client materials (in Picassa of all things) I found some old photos from our first office in Los Gatos. It was a small 600 square feet, but it was a great place to figure out how an office environment can support creativity.

When we moved to downtown Campbell four years ago we tripled our space and learned that *space* is important for creative work. Growth continued and about this time last year we expanded our current office to 3000 square feet. The spirit of our first office still exists, but with 18 large whiteboards and 2 whiteboard bathrooms, we've learned a lot more about community spaces and working in teams. Below is a photo of the space before we fully moved into the expanded office.

When you’re working through a challenging situation, there’s no greater push forward than some “sign” that you’re moving in the right direction. For us design folks, the sign can be something as simple as the feeling you get when your web page refreshes with the element in the exact spot you’d intended. Or it can be a bigger sign, like a client saying “Wow, that’s really cool!” when you present your work. As you might imagine, we enjoy lots of those little moments around here.

And we anticipate more of those moments thanks to a new addition to the ZURB team—our latest intern brings a solid visual design background and a sense of playfulness and energy to the ZURB offices.

Mayumi Honda joined the ZURB internship program three weeks ago, wanting to get some solid web UI experience and to beef up her HTML skills. Like all of our interns, our plan is for her to create and experience as many wins as possible in her three month stint as the “The Intern.”

At first, Mayumi’s attitude was a little shy—almost demure—but as she’s gotten used to the ZURB team, she’s grown a lot more comfortable and has taken to yelling “Yatta!” (loosely translated “I did it!”) each time she discovers something new or overcomes a design challenge. Now that’s a sign that things are moving in the right direction!

Mayumi is a “typical” ZURB intern (though ZURB interns are anything but “typical”—if you’re interested in being one check us out and drop us a line). She has a passion for design, a strong desire to learn and improve, and the innate drive to win. Before she even got here, she’d already finished her BFA at San Jose State University and was a semi-finalist for the 2008 Adobe Design Achievement Awards.

Just the other day she let out a wave of yattas when she learned she had won three separate HOW International Design Awards—kind of like the Oscars of the design industry. One of the pieces she won an award for is pictured below. Nice one Mayumi!

So welcome Mayumi to the ZURB family—and don’t be surprised if you hear someone cry “Yatta!” while you’re visiting the ZURB offices. It’s just the sound of progress!