A Web Directions event Respond 2016 Australia's Responsive Web Design Conference

Session Details

Revolutionize Your Page: Real Art Direction on the Web

Jen Simmons 'The Web ahead'

We finally have the tools necessary to create amazing page designs on the web. Now we can art direct our layouts, leveraging the power and tradition of graphic design. In this eye-opening talk, Jen will explore concrete examples of an incredible range of new possibilities.

She’ll walk through a step-by-step design process for figuring out how to create a layout as unique as your content. You’ll learn how Flexbox, Grid, Shapes, Multicolumn, Viewport Units, and more can be combined together to revolutionize how you approach the page — any page.

Jen Simmons

Jen Simmons is a designer who builds stuff, too. She’s the host and executive producer of The Web Ahead, a weekly podcast about changing technologies and the future of the web.

Creating websites since 1996, Jen’s clients have included CERN, the W3C, Google, Apress, the Annenberg Foundation, Zinch, and The New York Stock Exchange. In 2010, Jen designed and created a new default theme for Drupal 7 named Bartik.

Besides designing for the web, Jen has 20 years experience designing for live performance and for print. Back in the day, she’d make the poster for a film festival one day, mix the sound for a live salsa band the next, and hang a photo exhibit the week after, all while designing the lighting for an upcoming play. In 2006, she created seven-channel digital projections for an opera about Nikola Tesla, in Serbia and for the BAM Next Wave Festival. She directed several short films that toured film festivals around the globe, including at RESFEST and on MTV Television. She taught video-making to high school kids in San Antonio and film production to college students in Philadelphia. Jen has a MFA in Film and Media Arts from Temple University. She lives in New York City.

Don't miss your chance to see Jen and many other inspiring speakers

Tickets start at $1099, for two days of the world's leading Web design experts.

Why not bring your co-workers: we've got great team offers.

Register Sydney Register Melbourne

Australia's Responsive Web Design Conference, now in Sydney and Melbourne.

SydneyApril 7–8

MelbourneApril 11–12

Register Now

What is Respond?

Australia's responsive web design conference, now in Sydney and Melbourne

Now in its third year, and curated by John Allsopp, cited by Ethan Marcotte as one of the originators of Responsive design, Respond goes beyond the technology, to address the myriad challenges we face in delivering modern, responsive Web experiences.

Featuring a mix of renowned international and local speakers, including the founder of Responsive Web Design Ethan Marcotte, Respond is one of the World's leading events for the Web industry.

Register Sydney Register Melbourne More details

Praise for past Web Directions events

Web Directions is the must-attend event of the year for anyone serious about web development.

Phil Whitehouse, General Manager, DT Sydney

I’ve been admiring the Web Directions events for years, and was honored to be part… What a fantastic event!

Ethan Marcotte, inventor of "responsive Web design"

Out of any conference, Web Directions is far and away our favourite

Dave Greiner, founder, Campaign Monitor

our audience watches intently

About Us

Co-founded and now run by John Allsopp, Web Directions has for over a decade brought together leading developers, engineers, visual, IxD, UX and product designers, Art and Creative Directors, indeed everyone involved in producing web and digital products to learn from one another, and the World's leading experts across this vast field.

We spend our lives thinking about what comes next, keeping up with trends in technology, practices and processes, and filtering the hype, to make sure you don't miss trends that matter, and don't waste time on hype that doesn't.

We promise attending one of our events will leave you significantly better versed in the challenges you face day to day, and in solutions for addressing them.

In 2016, we'll be organising Respond in Sydney and Melbourne, Transform in Canberra, Code in Sydney and Melbourne, and Direction in Sydney.

vignettes form our events, social, speakers and more. Includes Hannah Donovan skylarking.

John Allsopp

John Allsopp has been working on the Web for over 20 years. He's been responsible for innovative developer tools such as Style Master, X-Ray and many more. He's spoken at numerous conferences around the World and delivered dozens of workshops in that time as well.

His writing includes two books, including Developing With Web Standards and countless articles and tutorials in print and online publications.

His "A Dao of Web Design" published in 2000 is cited by Ethan Marcotte as a key influence in the development of Responsive Web Design, who's rightly acclaimed article in 2010 begins by quoting John in detail, and by Jeremy Keith as "a manifesto for anyone working on the Web".

Code of Conduct

For over a decade, we've worked hard to create inclusive, fun, inspring and safe events for the Web Industry.

As part of our commitment to these values, we've adopted a code of conduct for all involved: ourselves, our speakers, our partners and our audience.

If you have any concern or feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us.