Frederick O’Brien

2 months ago | smashingmagazine.com | Frederick O’Brien |Frederick O'Brien

7 min readFrameworks,Coding,Tools,TechniquesShare on Twitter, LinkedInAfter months of anticipation, debate, and even a bit of apprehension, Svelte 5 arrived earlier this year. Frederick O’Brien caught up with its creator, Rich Harris, to talk about the path that brought him and his team here and what lies ahead. Svelte occupies a curious space within the web development world.

Jan 17, 2025 | smashingmagazine.com | Frederick O’Brien |Frederick O'Brien

6 min readCareer,Opinion Column,Workflow,InspirationShare on Twitter, LinkedInA once-revered perk of some tech workplaces, the status of ‘side project time’ seems to have slipped in recent years. Frederick O’Brien believes it deserves a comeback. There seemed to be a hot minute when the tech industry understood the value of idle tinkering and made a point of providing ‘side project time’ as an explicit working perk.

Sep 23, 2024 | smashingmagazine.com | Frederick O’Brien |Frederick O'Brien

7 min readData Visualization,Research,ToolsShare on Twitter, LinkedInIn this age of endless newfangled organizational tools, the spreadsheet holds firm. Frederick O’Brien explains how, from engineering to design, they can still provide a rock-solid foundation for your work. Part of me can’t believe I’m writing this article. Applying the insights of Leonardo da Vinci or Saul Bass to web design is more my groove, but sometimes you simply have to write about spreadsheets. You have to advocate for them.

Jun 21, 2024 | smashingmagazine.com | Frederick O’Brien |Frederick O'Brien

13 min readContent,Inspiration,MDXShare on Twitter, LinkedInBalancing the age-old simplicity of words on paper with the myriad creative possibilities of the web is a tension as old as the web itself. Leaning into that overlap can bring new dimensions not just to the things we write but also to how we write them. Prior to the World Wide Web, the act of writing remained consistent for centuries. Words were put on paper, and occasionally, people would read them.

Nov 13, 2023 | smashingmagazine.com | Frederick O’Brien |Frederick O'Brien

13 min readWeb Design,Workflow,Design Systems,Best PracticesShare on Twitter, LinkedInWords alone aren’t enough to safeguard best practices in the world of web design and development. Web design documentation must be like its medium — interactive and constantly evolving. As an occasionally competent software developer, I love good documentation. It explains not only how things work but why they work the way they do. At its best, documentation is much more than a guide.