About the Author
Born and raised in the small town of Lima, Ohio, Shay Howe grew up disas-
sembling remote controls and other electronics in hopes of learning how they
worked. When the Internet was introduced, he was fascinated and immediately
began learning all he could about it. Upon graduating from high school, he moved
to Tempe, Arizona, where he attended the University of Advancing Technology
and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in digital multimedia with a focus in
web design.
Currently living in Chicago, Illinois, Shay is a designer and front-end developer with a passion for
solving problems while building creative and intuitive websites. He specializes in web and product
design and front-end development, specialties that he regularly writes and speaks about.
Shay is co-founder of Chicago Camps, which hosts low-cost, high-value technology events in the
Chicago area. He is also co-organizer of Refresh Chicago and UX Happy Hour, which help to refresh
the creative, technical, and professional culture of New Media endeavors.
Perhaps most importantly, though, Shay is the undisputed office table tennis champion.
Acknowledgments
To everyone who helped make this book a reality, from the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank
you enough!
There are so many people who have helped me in my career and with this book that it’s going to
be impossible to thank them all. I will undoubtedly forget someone important, and I apologize to
whoever that may be. That said, I have to begin by thanking my family and friends. There’s no way
this book would ever exist without their help and support.
My wife, Becky, was encouraging from day one and has always been supportive of my endeavors,
no matter if they seemed like good ideas or not. Our pup, Gatsby, who makes me smile every day,
kept my feet warm all winter while I was writing, using them as his bed under my desk. All of the
thanks in the world would not be enough for my parents, Wes and Deb, who have provided me with
more support and guidance than I could have ever dreamed. I love them all.
Before this was a book it was a website, and that website received feedback from some of the best
in the business. I’m incredibly thankful to Jeff Cohen, Mike Gibson, Scott Robbin, Christopher Webb,
Russell Schoenbeck, Dan Kim, Chris Mills, Bruce Lawson, Christian Heilmann, and many others for
their initial feedback on these lessons. Of course the website itself wouldn’t have existed without
the help of Darby Frey, who has had my back for years and is easily one of the best guys I know.
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