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Showing posts from May, 2019

Perfecting Private Accommodations–Airbnb vs. Expedia

As Airbnb may soon IPO, how does it compare against more traditional businesses in the travel space? We compare it to another top company in the travel sector, Expedia, and analyze how their originally divergent strategies are slowly converging.

Build a Custom Full Page Slider with CSS and JavaScript

There are a number of ways of implementing animated full-screen layouts with a large degree of human interaction, and many developers would resort to a JavaScript plugin to save time. In this article, Toptal JavaScript Developer Stefan Vitasovic demonstrates how you can do it using nothing but CSS and JavaScript, without including a bloated library or plugin in your project.

Perfecting Private Accommodations–Airbnb vs. Expedia

As Airbnb may soon IPO, how does it compare against more traditional businesses in the travel space? We compare it to another top company in the travel sector, Expedia, and analyze how their originally divergent strategies are slowly converging.

Design Talks: Better Designer and Developer Collaboration with Aarron Walter

Designers often struggle to work with developers and vice versa. In this Design Talk, we explore how designers and developers can collaborate better in order to make them stronger and more capable.

All About Process – Dissecting Case Study Portfolios

A portfolio is more than a cache of images, it’s a way to demonstrate design skills and problem solving to clients. We show how to elevate portfolios by explaining the inner workings of a case study.

Working with TypeScript, Dependency Injection, and Discord Bots

Types and testable code are two of the most effective ways of avoiding bugs. In this tutorial, discover TypeScript best practices while you create a Discord bot from scratch.

How to Approach Design for Developers

Developers often think of design as less important than functionality. But time developers spend learning design principles is saved in the future when working with designers or on their own products.

The Comprehensive List of Agile Conferences

The only Agile conference list you will ever need. This list contains 116 Agile conferences all around the world. It is arranged by month and includes insights about notable conferences, locations, and ticket prices.

Object Detection Using OpenCV and Swift

Swift is great, but what if your application relies on a library that’s written using C++? Luckily Objective-C++ is here to save the day. In this article, Toptal Freelance Swift Developer Josip Bernat integrates C++ code with Swift by using wrapper classes as a bridge and then creates an app that recognizes the Toptal logo using OpenCV.

Design Strategy – A Guide to Tactical Thinking in Design

A strategic mindset helps designers develop a design strategy framework which contributes to improved client relationships and better user experiences, and aligns projects with business results.

Libation Frontiers – A Deep Dive into the World Wine Industry

The global wine industry generates $29 billion in annual revenue and is at an inflection point towards future growth. Societal and taste changes are poised to bring new frontiers and opportunities to the industry

Building a GraphQL Server with Laravel

GraphQL is a query language for APIs and can be used to query data from a server while also allowing clients to specify exactly what data is needed. Toptal Freelance Developer Christopher Moore explains how to create a GraphQL server using the Laravel Framework along with walking through some examples including querying relationships, mutations, and authentication.

Design Principles: an Introduction to Visual Hierarchy

The theory of visual hierarchy is different from its practical application. More advanced concepts of visual perception are worth exploring because their mastery is key for great visual design.

How to Effectively Approach Product Value – A Guide for Product Managers

Many product managers will struggle to identify what makes an amazing product or service. The realities of running a successful business depend on the bottom-line financials. Product managers need to define and explain value in monetary terms to drive rapid adoption.

Bridging Gaps: The Importance of DevOps Communication

DevOps is an oft-misunderstood buzzword, seen as a trendy must-have in the form of technologies, tools, and staff to acquire. But it's much more, yet much simpler, than that.

Forecast for Success — A Guide to Cash Management

Running out of cash is one of the main reasons why startups fail. More established companies can also be affected. We outline the importance of managing cash, key metrics, and actions to improve performance.

The Origins of Bad Logo Redesigns

A logo redesign without controversy is like a workout with no sweat. It's possible, but is it impactful? We scrutinize high-drama logo updates and ask why they caught fire in the public arena.

High-frequency Trading Strategies: How Fast Is Fast?

Although high-frequency trading has been around for years, it remains a field plagued by misconceptions and a general lack of understanding. In this article, Toptal C++ Developer Mark Best demystified the world of high-frequency trading and outlines a number of strategies and tips aimed to ensure lightning-fast performance.

Getting Maximum Impact from a Minimum Valuable Product

While MVP methodology has been hailed by many as the “best” way to get a product to market quickly, there’s also been pushback—which is where the concept of a minimum valuable product comes in.

5 False Hopes of Scrum and How to Fix Them

Scrum is easy to introduce but hard to master. Left to its own devices, Scrum creates false hopes and undercuts many of the expected benefits. Scrum teams need to continually improve their process and work culture to reap the rewards of an Agile transition.

The Front End: Using Gatsby.js and Node.js for Static Site Updates

With a static site generator back end in place from Part 1, now it's time to implement a Gatsby.js-based front end, host it on Netlify, and get AWS to activate the whole pipeline.

ReactiveUI and the MVVM Pattern in WPF Applications

Wikipedia describes Reactive Programming as “an asynchronous programming paradigm concerned with data streams and the propagation of change,” but what is it really? In this article, Toptal Freelance WPF Developer Denis Jesus Gonzalez Sanchez demonstrates a WPF app using ReactiveUI with the MVVM pattern and uses it to access a REST API.

Treasury Is the Most Underrated Team in Your Company

Your company’s treasury team is a powerful function with the ability to influence all the levers of shareholder returns. Yet, often these teams are structured, staffed, and incentivized poorly.

How to Manage a Design Diva (and Not Be One)

The design diva is a disruptive personality type and a destructive force on a design team. How do we deal with this personality trait, and more importantly, how do we avoid becoming one ourselves?

Expert Perspectives on the State of Design Education

Aspiring designers have more educational opportunities than any time in history. Do the available options provide worthwhile design training, or are they simply clever money-making schemes?

How to Create a Secure Node.js GraphQL API

GraphQL is a query language for APIs, originally developed by Facebook for internal use. Since its public release, GraphQL has been compared to REST and other architectures. In this article, Toptal JavaScript Developer Marcos Henrique da Silva demonstrates how to create a GraphQL Node.js API, and explains why you should try it, too.

Why Should Product Managers Invest in Sales Enablement?

Product management can induce stressful sleepless nights. Early investments in sales enablement will provide a payback in having a strong, motivated, engaged and supportive team driving product success.

The Back End: Using Gatsby.js and Node.js for Static Site Updates

Static websites are simple and fast, but it's also possible to automate updates to them to keep them fresh and relevant. Find out how to generate daily-updated HTML pages that track the latest releases of popular GitHub repositories.