+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 9, Issue 41, April 9, 2011.

An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development. 

++ISSUE 41 CONTENTS.

SECTION ONE: New references.
What's new at the Web Design Reference site?
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/
New links in these categories:

01: ACCESSIBILITY.
02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.
03: EVALUATION & TESTING.
04: EVENTS.
05: JAVASCRIPT.
06:: NAVIGATION.
07: PHP.
08: TYPOGRAPHY.
09: USABILITY.


SECTION TWO: 
10: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?

[Contents ends.]


++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

Between the Lines
By Catherine Roy.
"...And I think Universal Subtitles can become a great crowd sourcing tool for captioning videos on the Web on a shoestring or totally non-existent budget. I can truly imagine awesome volunteers dedicating a few hours here and there to caption videos for non-profits because many non-profits (or other cash-strapped organizations) do not necessarily have the means and/or know-how to caption video resources. So this can really help and I hope people will experiment and utilize this tool..."
http://www.catherine-roy.net/blog/2011/04/02/between-the-lines/

Images in Context
By Derek Featherstone.
"What is appropriate alternative text for an image? You can't really tell until you see the image in context. In our first screencast we look at how appropriate and accurate alt text can actually be counter to the objectives that we have when we look at that image in context."
http://simplyaccessible.com/article/images-in-context/

Design for Understanding
By Ashley Nolan.
"For users with a cognitive disability, accessing your website may be as frustrating as trying to read a Latin version of War and Peace. Yet for many web professionals, this type of issue is relatively unknown. While visual and hearing problems have been on the accessibility radar for a long time, cognitive ones are often ignored..."
http://www.netmagazine.com/features/design-understanding


+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Controlling Width With CSS3 box-sizing
By Roger Johansson.
"An incredibly useful CSS3 feature when you're creating columns with floats is box-sizing. It lets you choose which box sizing model to use - whether or not an element's width and height include padding and border or not..."
http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/201104/controlling_width_with_css3_box-sizing/

Multiple Background Images with CSS3
By Virginia DeBolt.
"There are two background images on the demo page. The page is a standard Dreamweaver HTML template page, with the styles in the document head. To add a second background image URL, the Dreamweaver style element must be edited manually..."
http://www.webteacher.ws/2011/04/08/multiple-background-images-with-css3/

Thoughts on Practices for CSS Gradients
By Tiffany B. Brown.
"Examples of CSS gradients are cropping up in the wild, and with good reason. CSS gradients: don't require the additional HTTP request of an image file; are easier to modify than image files; 'weigh less' than most image files. That's the ideal, at least. In their current state, gradients are actually a hot mess. The reality?"
http://tiffanybbrown.com/2011/04/06/thoughts-on-practices-for-css-gradients/

Here's Something Interesting About CSS Borders
By Louis Lazaris.
"After years of developing CSS layouts and reading web design blogs and CSS books, I still can't believe I come across things that I don't know about super-common CSS properties..."
http://www.impressivewebs.com/interesting-css-border/


+03: EVALUATION & TESTING.

Making Usability Metrics Count
By Philip Hodgson.
"In spite of a proliferation of books, articles and blogs explaining how to measure usability, few companies seem to put their usability metrics to good use. In this article we show how you can link the numbers from usability tests to the numbers that steer business decisions - and in the process, influence your company's business."
http://www.userfocus.co.uk/articles/making-usability-metrics-count.html


+04: EVENTS.

Mobile User Experience
May 4-5, 2011.
London, United Kingdom
http://pmn.co.uk/mex/

IA Konferenz
May 20-21, 2011.
Munch, Germany
http://www.iakonferenz.org/de/2011/news.html

Usability Professionals' Association International Conference
June 21-24, 2011.
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
http://www.upassoc.org/conference/2011/index_alt.html

Big Design Conference
July 14-16, 2011.
Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.
http://bigdesignevents.com/


+05: JAVASCRIPT.

Sophisticated Sorting in JavaScript
By James Edwards.
"JavaScript's sorting mechanism is a model of simplicity, yet bubbling under the surface is some incredibly flexible and powerful functionality. Using sort it's possible to organise arrays, not just into alphabetical or numerical order, but into any bespoke arrangement we can express in conditional logic..."
http://blogs.sitepoint.com/sophisticated-sorting-in-javascript/

The JavaScript Comma Operator
By Angus Croll.
"...The comma operator evaluates both of its operands (from left to right) and returns the value of the second operand. (MDC)..."
http://javascriptweblog.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/the-javascript-comma-operator/


+06: NAVIGATION.

Accessible Tabs Part 2, The Solution
By Emily Coward.
"As we saw in Accessible Tabs Part 1 - The Problem, there are several accessibility issues with tabs created for the web compared to those created for use in software applications. Tabs on the web should ideally replicate the functionality used in applications, so they are more intuitive for everyone. In this article we will look at three existing scripts for creating accessible tabs..."
http://www.nomensa.com/blog/2011/accessible-tabs-part-2-the-solution/

Opinion: Should your Homepage Have Drop Down Menus?
By Nick DeNardis.
"...For me when exploring higher education sites and all the usability studies I have done and watched with our students shows they don't use our homepage as a directory. If they know what they are looking for the will most likely search for it in the search form instead of hunting through menus. But every institution's audience is different so I would suggest doing some tests with real students and just watching them interact with your proposed new site or other sites with similar functionality. You may also want to split that group into one you explicitly ask and ones you don't."
http://nickdenardis.com/2011/04/03/opinion-should-your-homepage-have-drop-down-menus/


+07: PHP.

10 Super Useful PHP Snippets
By Jean-Baptiste Jung.
"Having the right code snippet at the right time can definitely be a life saver for web developers. Today, I've compiled 10 really awesome PHP code snippets that will, I hope, be very helpful in your forthcomming developments..."
http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/10-super-useful-php-snippets

Object-Oriented PHP for Absolute Beginners
By Matt Doyle.
"This tutorial introduces you to object-oriented programming in PHP. You'll explore the basics of object-oriented programming, and learn how to write simple object-oriented PHP scripts."
http://www.elated.com/articles/object-oriented-php-for-absolute-beginners/


+08: TYPOGRAPHY.

Font Resizing Widgets: A Help or A Hindrance to Accessibility?
By Glenda Watson Hyatt.
"A font resizing widget enables your blog readers to easily increase the font size to suit their comfort level for reading. It seems like a handy tool to make available to readers to increase accessibility. However, as is often the case with features that appear, at first  glance, to improve accessibility, there is no consensus on whether providing such a tool is actually a help or a hindrance..."
http://blogaccessibility.com/font-resizing-widgets-a-help-or-a-hindrance-to-accessibility/


+09: USABILITY.

Progressive Disclosure in User Interfaces
By Alexander Dawson.
"As designers, we're always trying to get the most out of our interfaces and maximize whatever space is made available to us. While many solutions have been devised over the years, one above all others has consistently influenced the way visitors access the content they seek. From simple techniques, such as tooltips and drop-down menus, to complex single-page websites powered by Ajax, progressive disclosure has become a formidable force. This article explores the methodology of progressive disclosure and its impact on our interface design work."
http://sixrevisions.com/user-interface/progressive-disclosure-in-user-interfaces/

When is Learnability More Important than Usability?
By Michael Wilson.
"Is it ok to ask your users to learn your interface? As UI design is maturing and the web is becoming a more advanced land of complex interfaces is it now unreasonable for every feature to be instantly usable? Touch devices have also entered the mainstream and added a multitude of interactions that UI designers can lean on. So, how do you know when it is ok to hide features and ask your audience to learn your application? Is 'learnability' now more important than usability?..."
http://www.uxbooth.com/blog/when-is-learnability-more-important-than-usability/

Redesign Outrage
By Andy Budd.
"It's surprisingly common for redesigns to cause outrage amongst their users. People complain that they weren't consulted, criticise the quality and appropriateness of the new solution, and state that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' However if you leave the site for a while, you often see the most critical detractors become the most vocal supporters. Why is this?..."
http://www.andybudd.com/archives/2011/04/redesign_outrag/

There Should Be Limits to Usability
By Peter Hornsby.
"People generally regard improving the usability of products or systems as a major part of our role as UX designers. While there are tradeoffs in all aspects of design, our assumption has generally been that products and systems that are easier to use are preferable to those that are harder to use. However, despite what seemed to be a common understanding, a number of articles have recently reported on research that suggests increased ease of use can be detrimental."
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2011/04/there-should-be-limits-to-usability.php


[Section one ends.]


++ SECTION TWO:

+10: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?

Accessibility Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/accessibility.html

Association Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/associations.html

Book Listings.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/books.html

Cascading Style Sheets Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/css.html

Color Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/color.html

Dreamweaver Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/dreamweaver.html

Evaluation & Testing Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/testing.html

Event Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/events.html

Flash Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/flash.html

Information Architecture Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/architecture.html

JavaScript Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/javascript.html

Miscellaneous Web Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/misc.html

Navigation Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/navigation.html

PHP Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/php.html

Sites & Blogs Listing.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/sites.html

Standards, Guidelines & Pattern Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/standards.html

Tool Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/tools.html

Typography Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/type.html

Usability Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/usability.html

XML Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/xml.html

[Section two ends.]


++END NOTES.


+ SUBSCRIPTION INFO.

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http://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:
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+ 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.]