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Comment by rnernento | Hacker News Reader

I guess effectively using contrast isn't one of them...

Came here to post this. For some reason a blog post about design or UX posted to HN (by a design / UX guy no less!) has at least one failing in the user interface department that can be spotted by a $0.02 programmer.

Yeah, he embraced the idea to never use black:

http://ianstormtaylor.com/design-tip-never-use-black/

EDIT

It looks awful in Chrome(Windows) but in Explorer it's OK...

http://imgur.com/a/CA7Ow

Looks like he embraced and extended it. Not using #000 is one thing, having almost no contrast is another.

Hello. Just to make things clear. I made the design. I run the Pastry Box Project. Stephen Anderson is a guest.

In the vein of constructive criticism: there is a set of W3C-suggested accessibility guidelines that include tests for things like the contrast between text and its background (http://www.w3.org/TR/AERT#color-contrast).

This page fails that contrast guideline algorithm (258 out of a minimum suggested 500) and is a little annoying to read even for someone without a sight/color deficit.

Thanks a lot. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. A redesign is on its way. This issue will definitely be taken into account.

It's not his design. The Pastry Box Project is a collaborative blog made by someone else. He just contributed the content.

Oh, great. Thanks for the info. This is his web site:

http://poetpainter.com/

Ah, I see. He's a thinker, a consultant, and a speaker. Who would have thought?

(Clicks the obvious "Let me explain" button.)

Ah, and he's currently available for consulting too? I'm shocked, shocked I say!

Something notably missing throughout his entire site is any evidence of results. Or past clients. Or having ever produced or contributed anything of value at all, really.

Which is ironic for a UX designer, because if I were looking to bring in some more help for one of my companies, the first thing I'd want to know is what benefit that person is actually going to bring.

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