+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE. - Volume 22, Issue 02, July 6, 2023. An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development. ++ISSUE 02 CONTENTS. SECTION ONE: New references. What's new at the Web Design Reference site? https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/ New links in these categories: 01: ACCESSIBILITY. 02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. 03: COLOR. 04: DRUPAL. 05: EVALUATION & TESTING. 06: EVENTS. 07: HTML. 08: JAVASCRIPT. 09: MISCELLANEOUS. 10: NAVIGATION. 11: TOOLS. 12: USABILITY. 13: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. SECTION TWO: 14: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? [Contents ends.] ++ SECTION ONE: New references. +01: ACCESSIBILITY. WCAG 2.2 Quick and Simplified By Mike Gower. "The new version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are on the cusp of becoming a standard and will likely become a W3C Proposed Recommendation in early July…" https://medium.com/design-ibm/wcag-2-2-quick-and-simplified-73c3ff66b065 Captions By Ellen Liebert and Rachael Bradley Montgomery. "Captions are text versions of dialogue and important sounds that are displayed on the screen…" https://www.ta11y.org/learning/topic?key=media.captioning Become an Accessibility Champion by Using Simple Mockup Annotations By Dan Bivins, Jeana Clark, Natalie Hill, and Meena Sripal. "Designers can live in the visual world of user interface (UI) design without often considering what 's under the hood…" https://adhoc.team/2023/06/28/become-an-accessibility-champion-by-using-simple-mockup-annotations/ Dyslexia Friendly Style Guide By The British Dyslexia Association. "This Style Guide provides principles that can help ensure that written material considers the difficulties experienced by some dyslexic people and allows for the use of text to speech to facilitate ease of reading. Adopting these principles for dyslexic readers has the advantage of making all written communication easier on the eye for everyone…" https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/employers/creating-a-dyslexia-friendly-workplace/dyslexia-friendly-style-guide Three Key Principles for an Accessible Website By Astrid Van Hoeydonck and Ted Gies. "Accessibility experts on the ScienceDirect team share their approach to making Elsevier 's research platform accessible to people with disabilities…" https://beta.elsevier.com/connect/three-key-principles-for-an-accessible-website Position Statement: When to Use Plain Text or Images Instead of MathML By George Kerscher, DAISY Consortium. "The question often arises, 'If there is a simple mathematical expression occurring in what is basically text, is it OK to just use plain text (sometimes called ASCII) for the math?'…" https://daisy.github.io/transitiontoepub/information-sharing/position-paper-plain-text-math/#position-statement-when-to-use-math-represented-as-plain-text-or-images-of-math-instead-of-mathml Your Browser May Be Having a Secret Relationship with a Screen Reader By Neill Hadder. "This is the final installment of my three-part saga on the technical details of how screen readers communicate with other software…" https://knowbility.org/blog/2023/accessibility-apis-part-3 Resources for Procurement of Accessible Digital Products and VPAT By Dennis E. Lembrée. "Do you need to provide or to purchase an accessible website or other digital product but don 't know how to go about it? You 'll likely need to create or analyze an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) which is created from a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)…" https://www.webaxe.org/resources-for-procurement-of-accessible-digital-products-vpat/ Legal Update: June 2023 By Ken Nakata. "…While I have no problem with courts trying to limit the number of serial web accessibility cases, the way that they are going about it seems wrong…" https://convergeaccessibility.com/2023/07/03/legal-update-june-2023/ +02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. How to Use CSS Background-Size and Background-Position By Ralph Mason. "There's a lot we can do with the CSS background properties. In this article, we'll explore how to use the background-size property to set the size of a background image, and we'll also explore options for positioning that background image with background-position…" https://www.sitepoint.com/how-to-use-css-background-size-and-background-position/ Solved: Tricky Floating Image Alignment By Tyler Sticka. "If you want to pair an image alongside some text content in CSS, you have a few options.…" https://cloudfour.com/thinks/solved-tricky-floating-image-alignment/ Style Recalculation Secrets They Don't Want You To Know (Video) By Patrick Brosset. "…In this talk, we'll go through the details of how browser engines react to DOM changes and apply styles to the page again. We'll also take a look at examples and case studies to make things practical. And finally, we'll review developer tools that will help you investigate style performance bottlenecks." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRiOWJZoKlw Are We There Yet? By Chris Lilley. "CSS Color 4 is now widely implemented. But it has been a long and bumpy ride! Why did it take so long, and why did it finally succeed?" https://svgees.us/blog/colorHistory.html +03: COLOR. Colour Contrast Analyser (Tutorial) By Ellen Liebert and Matthew Russell. "The Colour Contrast Analyser (CCA) checks the contrast between any two colors and provides pass or fail results based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) contrast standards. CCA is able to check contrast in websites, desktop applications, and documents. It also includes tools that simulate the most common types of color blindness. Using CCA helps to support people with low vision and color blindness…" https://www.ta11y.org/learning/topic?key=test_tool.color_cca +04: DRUPAL. Drupal Association Releases Open Web Manifesto By Staff Reporter. "The Drupal Association has released its Open Web Manifesto, emphasizing the importance of open access, open standards, free expression, and digital inclusion in today's society…" https://www.thedroptimes.com/32591/drupal-association-releases-open-web-manifesto +05: EVALUATION & TESTING. AI-Powered Tools for UX Research: Issues and Limitations By Feifei Liu and Kate Moran. "Be skeptical of the marketing claims being made by AI tools designed for UX researchers. Many of these systems are not able to do everything they claim." https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ai-powered-tools-limitations/ Quantitative UX: Glossary By Raluca Budiu. "Use this glossary to quickly clarify key terms and concepts related to quantitated user studies" https://www.nngroup.com/articles/quant-ux-glossary/ Long-Tail Data in UX (Video) By Evan Sunwall. The long tail refers to the data points at the trailing end of a power-law distribution. A long-tail strategy involves efficiently exploiting these low-impact data points for an aggregated benefit. https://www.nngroup.com/videos/long-tail/ Why You Need to Start Your Research With a Workshop By Claire Maguire. "…A 'framing the problem ' workshop lets us get all the extra detail we need. We can hear from your project team, product owners and wider stakeholders, to understand the strategic business priorities driving the project forwards…" https://www.nomensa.com/blog/why-you-need-to-start-your-research-with-a-workshop/ +06: EVENTS. Conquer Accessibility Challenges During Software Design & Development July 12, 2023. Online https://www.tpgi.com/webinar-july-12-at-12pm-et-conquer-accessibility-challenges-during-software-design-development/ San Diego Accessibility & Inclusive Design July Meetup July 18, 2023. Online https://www.meetup.com/a11ysd/events/294309441/ A Tale of Three Agencies: The Section 508 Playbook July 18, 2023. Online https://accessibilityonline.org/cioc-508/session/?id=111062 The Future of Technology Runs Through Accessibility. No, really! July 18, 2023. Online https://www.meetup.com/a11ynyc/events/294352036/ Women in Tech Summit Online July 18-20, 2023. https://womenintechsummit.net/wits-2023-virtual-summit/ International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE) July 20-24 2023. Online and San Francisco, California, U.S.A. https://ahfe.org +07: HTML. The details Element and In-Page Search By Manuel Matuzović. "…I often hear the question, 'Can I use the details element for page navigation?'. My answer is always 'No' for two main reasons…" https://www.matuzo.at/blog/2023/details-find-in-page/ The article Element and Screen Readers By Manuel Matuzović. "I wanted to know how and if common screen readers expose the
element. Here are my results…" https://www.matuzo.at/blog/2023/article-screen-readers/ 4 More HTML Concepts You Didn 't Know By Jens Oliver Meiert. "Following two summaries for the 'HTML Concepts ' series, here 's the third and for now last summary—the last one as the series is currently not being continued. (If you feel it should go on, please share your feedback.)…" https://frontenddogma.com/posts/2023/4-more-html-concepts-you-didnt-know/ +08: JAVASCRIPT. The Cost Of JavaScript (Video) By Addy Osmani. "As we build sites that are more heavily reliant on JavaScript, we sometimes pay for what we send down in ways that we can 't always easily see. In this talk, Addy explains how and why JavaScript is the most expensive resource your site uses today—especially on mobile and lower-end desktops…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKH3DLT4BKw +09: MISCELLANEOUS. What Disabled People Are Losing With The Slow Death Of Twitter By Shane Blackheart. "Once again: the 'death of twitter' jokes are fun but the disability community is filled with dread…" https://graniteandsunlight.wordpress.com/2023/07/02/what-disabled-people-are-losing-with-the-slow-death-of-twitter/ Mozilla Developer Network Adds AI Help That Does the Opposite By Thomas Claburn. "Mozilla Developer Network, a widely used technical resource for web developers, this week introduced an assistive service called AI Help, perhaps unaware that its robo-helper gives incorrect advice…" https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/03/mozilla_developer_network_adds_ai/ The LLMentalist Effect: How Chat-Based Large Language Models Replicate the Mechanisms of a Psychic 's Con By Baldur Bjarnason. "…LLMs are not brains and do not meaningfully share any of the mechanisms that animals or people use to reason or think. LLMs are a mathematical model of language tokens. You give a LLM text, and it will give you a mathematically plausible response to that text. There is no reason to believe that it thinks or reasons…" https://softwarecrisis.dev/letters/llmentalist/ Changing Attitudes Towards Disability: What Works By Scope. "Our changing attitudes research aims to understand how different messaging can change attitudes to disability. We look at what does and does not work…" https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/research-policy/attitudes-towards-disabled-people/changing-attitudes/ +10: NAVIGATION. Form and Search Landmarks By Manuel Matuzović. "I wanted to know how well common screen readers and browsers support search and form landmarks. Here are my results…" https://www.matuzo.at/blog/2023/form-and-search-landmark/ +11: TOOLS. Text on Background Image a11y Check By Andrew Brandwood. "This is a guide to foreground colour accessibility on a background image. It is intended as guide for designers and developers to test if their design solution is accessible. Change the text size, colour and position. It will check the dimensions of the textarea against the background image…" http://www.brandwood.com/a11y/ +12: USABILITY. 4 Design Principles I Use Every Day to Avoid Bad UX And Create Products That Work For Everyone By Adam Silver. "…Principle #1: Good design works for everyone… Principle #2: Good design makes things obvious… Principle #3: Good design puts users in control… Principle #4: Good design is lightweight…" https://adamsilver.io/blog/4-design-principles-i-use-every-day-to-avoid-bad-ux-and-create-products-that-work-for-everyone/ Choosing Chart Types (Video) By Kate Moran. "Pick a chart type that will help you make your point. In the vast majority of cases, use bar charts, line charts, or scatterplots." https://www.nngroup.com/videos/choosing-chart-types/ Disabling Paste in Textboxes Is Not a Security Feature By Nicholas C. Zakas. "…there is no good reason to block paste in textboxes in 2023. It 's time to put this anti-pattern behind us for good." https://humanwhocodes.com/blog/2023/07/disabling-paste-textboxes-security/ +13: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. Digital is Not Green By Gerry McGovern. "If we 're going to have any chance of solving the multiple environmental crises we now face, we must start by being honest with ourselves…" https://gerrymcgovern.com/digital-is-not-green/ Sustainable Design Toolkits And Resources By Cosima Mielke and Geoff Graham. "How can we create products and experiences that don 't cause harm to the planet and to the people who use them? What do we need to consider to make more sustainable design decisions and reduce the carbon footprint of our websites? In this post, we compiled valuable resources that will get you familiar with the principles of sustainable design…" https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2023/07/sustainable-design-toolkits-and-resources/ [Section one ends.] ++ SECTION TWO: +14: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? Accessibility Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/accessibility.html Association Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/associations.html Book Listings. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/books.html Cascading Style Sheets Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/css.html Color Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/color.html Drupal Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/drupal.html Evaluation & Testing Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/testing.html Event Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/events.html HTML Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/html.html Information Architecture Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/architecture.html JavaScript Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/javascript.html Miscellaneous Web Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/misc.html Navigation Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/navigation.html PHP Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/php.html Sites & Blogs Listing. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/sites.html Standards, Guidelines & Pattern Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/standards.html Tool Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/tools.html Typography Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/type.html Usability Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/usability.html WebWaste & Sustainability Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/webwaste.html XML Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/xml.html [Section two ends.] ++END NOTES. + SUBSCRIPTION INFO. WEB DESIGN UPDATE is available by subscription. For information on how to subscribe and unsubscribe please visit: https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/webdev_listserv.html The Web Design Reference Site also has a RSS 2.0 feed for site updates. + TEXT EMAIL NEWSLETTER (TEN). As a navigation aid for screen readers we do our best to conform to the accessible Text Email Newsletter (TEN) guidelines. Please let me know if there is anything else we can do to make navigation easier. For TEN guideline information please visit: http://www.headstar.com/ten + SIGN OFF. Until next time, Laura L. Carlson Information Technology Systems and Services University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009 mailto:lcarlson@d.umn.edu [Issue ends.]