Responsive Web Design turns 10!

Responsive design turns 10 years old today! The originator of the concept, Ethan Marcotte, has written the story of how the concept of Responsive Design came to be and how it eventually led to one of the greatest sea changes in web design since the introduction of Cascading Style Sheets.

The original article on Responsive Design by Ethan came out the same month I quit my first design job in order to freelance full time. It was an exciting time in the industry with so much to learn and so many interesting challenges to tackle.

I took to Responsive Design immediately. Unlike designers who came from the world of print design, I considered myself a “native web designer”, which basically meant I could code anything I designed. Just a few months prior, Meagan Fisher had reintroduced the world to the idea of designing in the browser rather than starting in Photoshop, which was tailor-made for designing responsive websites.

I can’t at the moment count the number of responsive websites I’ve designed since Ethan first published that article, but I am forever grateful to him, Meagan, and everyone else in this community who have taught me everything I know.

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