[webdev] Web Design Update: January 16, 2013

Laura Carlson lcarlson at d.umn.edu
Wed Jan 16 06:44:36 CST 2013 

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 10, Issue 30, January 16, 2013.

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

++ISSUE 30 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: EVENTS.
04: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE.
05: JAVASCRIPT.
06: MISCELLANEOUS.
07: PHP.
08: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.
09: TYPOGRAPHY.
10: USABILITY.


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

[Contents ends.]


++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

Web Accessibility in Higher Education
By Ken Nakata.
"Universities face liability if their Web content is inaccessible.
This is further complicated by new laws and regulations that change
some of these obligations, but also the standards for what constitutes
'accessible' Web content. Colleges and universities also face the
increasing chance of liability due to disability rights organizations
filing more complaints and lawsuits based on these laws. The lawsuits
filed are also extending liability beyond the Web to include other new
technologies used in education..."
http://blog.hisoftware.com/2013/accessibility/web-accessibility-in-higher-education

Why Inaccessibility is the Norm in Higher Ed
By Laura Turgeon.
"...It is very rare to see a public or private school that has
accessibility at the forefront of their Web policies. And if they do
have accessibility as a priority, it is often unfunded..."
http://blog.hisoftware.com/2013/accessibility/why-inaccessibility-is-the-norm-in-higher-ed

5 Things You Should Know Before Buying Accessibility Audit and
Accreditation Services
By Jonathan Hassell.
"From WCAG 2.0 AA and Section 508 VPATs to RNIB/AbilityNet Surf Right,
DAC and Shaw Trust accreditation, there are a lot of accessibility
conformance badges out there. So how do you know which badge to pick?
What is the actual value of these badges to the organisations that buy
them, and to the disabled people who use their sites?..."
http://www.hassellinclusion.com/2013/01/accessibility-accreditation-value/

The longdesc Attribute
By Ted Drake.
"Wouldn't it be nice if there was a standard method for providing long
descriptions of complex images, charts, and infographics? Not
surprisingly, there is..."
http://www.last-child.com/accessible-infographics/infographics-longdesc/

HTML5 Image Description Extension
Charles McCathie Nevile, editor.
"This specification defines a longdesc attribute to link extended
descriptions with images in HTML5-based content. "
http://dvcs.w3.org/hg/html-proposals/raw-file/default/longdesc1/longdesc.html

I Thought Title Text Improved Accessibility. I Was Wrong.
By David Ball.
"Do you add a descriptive title attribute to your links? If so did you
know that you might be making your site even less accessible?...the
best way to make a link accessible is to make the anchor text relevant
and descriptive..."
http://blog.silktide.com/2013/01/i-thought-title-text-improved-accessibility-i-was-wrong/

Using the HTML title Attribute - Updated
By Steve Faulkner.
"The HTML title attribute is problematic..."
http://www.paciellogroup.com/blog/2013/01/using-the-html-title-attribute-updated/

Accessible Keyboard Shortcuts
By Jon Gibbins.
"I have added a new page outlining some best practices and providing
code examples for developers wishing to add JavaScript-powered
keyboard shortcuts to their web applications in an accessible way..."
http://lab.dotjay.co.uk/notes/web-apps/keyboard-shortcuts/


+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

An Advanced Guide  to HTML & CSS
By Shay Howe.
"An Advanced Guide to HTML & CSS takes a deeper look at front-end
design and development, expanding on what is covered in the beginner's
guide. Studying modern front-end development, this guide teaches the
latest for any designer looking to round out their front-end skills. "
http://learn.shayhowe.com/advanced-html-css/

Using Form Elements and CSS3 to Replace JavaScript
By Louis Lazaris.
"...In this article, I run through some of these techniques and
discuss the concepts involved. This should help you get a good overall
understanding of how these tricks work, and may give you insight into
creating something with pure CSS for one of your future web
projects..."
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/html5/articles/using-form-elements-and-css3-to-replace-javascript.html

CSS Techniques for Retina Displays
By Syed Fazle Rahman.
"As many people use their highly portable devices for work and play,
device manufacturers seek to enhance their user experience, making
their devices simultaneously more powerful and easier to use..."
http://www.sitepoint.com/css-techniques-for-retina-displays/

Typesetting Responsive CSS3 Columns
By Tommi Kaikkonen.
"Multi-column layouts are awesome, but I haven't seen many great
implementations. This is my try. Before you start reading this
article, you might want to play with the checkboxes in the top right
corner. Resize the window. Zoom in and out..."
http://kaikkonendesign.fi/columns/

Build a Basic Responsive Site with CSS
By Jason Michael.
"Responsive design is much misunderstood. Jason Michael lays to rest
some myths, and then walks us through building a simple responsive
website..."
http://www.netmagazine.com/tutorials/build-basic-responsive-site-css


+03: EVENTS.

Responsive Day Out
March 1, 2013.
Brighton, England, United Kingdom
http://responsiveconf.com/

Building Responsive Websites
March 11, 2013 in Canberra, Australia.
March 14, 2013 in Brisbane, Australia.
March 19, 2013 in Sydney, Australia.
March 20, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia.
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/workshops/#workshop1

Taking your CSS to the next level
March 12, 2013 in Canberra, Australia.
March 13, 2013 in Brisbane, Australia.
March  18, 2013 in Sydney, Australia.
March 19, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia.
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/workshops/#workshop2

7th European e-Accessibility Forum
March 18, 2013.
Paris, France
http://inova.snv.jussieu.fr/evenements/colloques/colloques/78_index_en.html

Accessibility Summit
April 19-20, 2013.
Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.
http://accessibilitysummit.org/

Future Insights Live
April 29-May 2, 2013.
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.
http://futureinsightslive.com/las-vegas-2013/

Hypertext 2013
May 1-3, 2013.
Paris, France
http://ht.acm.org/ht2013/


+04: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE.

Re-Introducing Page Description Diagrams
By Colin Butler.
"Recently, we discovered the page description diagram, a method for
documenting components without specifying layout. At first, it seemed
limited, even simplistic, relative to our needs. But with some
consideration, we began to understand the value. We started looking at
whether or not PDDs could help us improve our process."
http://uxmag.com/articles/re-introducing-page-description-diagrams

Stop Designing for 'Users'
By Mike Long.
"Most products support activities underpinned by collaboration and
sharing. Designing for individuals may actually be harmful because
these activities reflect ongoing transformations of artifacts,
individuals, and social interactions. Focusing on individuals might
improve things for one person at the cost of others."
http://www.thoughtworks-studios.com/blog/stop-designing-%E2%80%9Cusers%E2%80%9D


+05: JAVASCRIPT.

WAI-ARIA Live Regions Updated
By Gez Lemon.
" I wrote about the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible
Rich Internet Applications  (WAI-ARIA)'s live region properties 6
years ago, but the WAI-ARIA specification has changed
significantly...The original out-of-date article now redirects to this
entry, which provides more information on live regions and how to use
them, along with roles that have implied live regions..."
http://juicystudio.com/article/wai-aria_live-regions_updated.php

How Do You Structure JavaScript? The Module Pattern Edition
By Chris Coyier.
"JavaScript is interesting in that it enforces no particular structure
upon you. "Bring Your Own Organization", if you will. As I write more
and more JavaScript in web app sites, this becomes more and more
interesting..."
http://css-tricks.com/how-do-you-structure-javascript-the-module-pattern-edition/
	
Common JavaScript Gotchas
By James Fuller.
"PHP was my first programming language, and my initial exposure to
JavaScript was through libraries like jQuery. There were things about
JavaScript that always seemed to trip me up in the beginning due to
how they worked differently than PHP. Heck there are still some things
today that are confusing. I want to share some of the things that I
struggled when I started working with JavaScript..."
http://www.jblotus.com/2013/01/13/common-javascript-gotchas/


+06: MISCELLANEOUS.

Web Teacher's Seldom Asked Questions
By Virginia DeBolt.
"Okay, never asked questions. Seldom is an exaggeration. But always
that philosophical question lingers in the air: why are you here?
These SAQs (okay NAQs) will explain everything..."
http://www.webteacher.ws/2013/01/15/web-teachers-seldom-asked-questions/


+07: PHP.

What to Expect From PHP 5.5
By Gabriel Manricks.
"The first PHP 5.5 alpha has been publicly released. After having some
time to test and experiment with it, we can now bring you our in-depth
overview of what to look forward for..."
http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/php/what-to-expect-from-php-5-5/

Beginner to Intermediate PHP Exercises
By John and Nancy Nicoles.
"The Web is full of excellent PHP tutorials. PHP exercises? Not so
much. This site begins to fill that gap with 31 exercises. Choose one
from the menu on the left and get started..."
http://phpexercises.com/


+08: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.

The Harsh Truth About HTML5's Structural Semantics, Part 2
By Luke Stevens.
"In the first part of this series we covered the failings that lead to
HTML5's structural elements, in this second part we'll look in detail
at the consequences..."
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2013/01/the-harsh-truth-about-html5s-structural-semantics-part-2/

The Harsh Truth About HTML5's Structural Semantics, Part 3
By Luke Stevens.
"In the first part of this series we looked at the failings that lead
to the structural elements new to HTML5; in the second part of the
series we looked in we looked in detail at the consequences of those
failings; in this final part we'll look for a way forward, and draw
some conclusions about the current state of play..."
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2013/01/the-harsh-truth-about-html5s-structural-semantics-part-3/

The main Element
By Ian Devlin.
"Back in November last year I wrote about the proposed HTML5 main
element. This new element was recently added to the HTML5
specification..."
http://www.iandevlin.com/blog/2013/01/html5/the-main-element


+09: TYPOGRAPHY.

The New CSS3 Relative Font Sizing Units
By Craig Buckler.
"It's been more than three years since I last wrote about CSS font
sizing. For a decade we were lumbered with inconsistent keywords
(small, medium, large etc) and flawed fixed units (px, pt, mm). While
the problems associated with px in Internet Explorer have dissipated,
% and em remained the best choices - especially for responsive
designs. Fortunately, CSS3 provides us with several new
alternatives..."
http://www.sitepoint.com/new-css3-relative-font-size/

The Responsive Web Will be 99 Percent Typography
By James Young.
"I've had a nagging feeling that the trend towards increasingly large
typography and simpler layouts was just that, a trend. I now think
it's a possibly a logical necessity..."
http://www.welcomebrand.co.uk/thoughts/the-responsive-web-will-be-99-9-typography/


+10: USABILITY.

Flexible Foundations
By Trent Walton.
"Responsive or not, there's no reason why we shouldn't all be
designing and building sites on flexible foundations..."
http://trentwalton.com/2013/01/07/flexible-foundations/

Simplify Responsive Design by Embracing the Flexible Nature of the Web
By Scott Gilbertson.
"If you're using pixels as part of your responsive designs you're
probably making your life harder than it needs to be..."
http://www.webmonkey.com/2013/01/simplify-responsive-design-by-embracing-the-flexible-nature-of-the-web/

Letting Mobile Users See Desktop View of RWD Site
By Adrian Roselli.
"Bruce Lawson tweeted out a seemingly random musing today that I have
pondered myself - what if, while on a mobile device and surfing a RWD
web site, I want the desktop version of a site?..."
http://blog.adrianroselli.com/2013/01/letting-mobile-users-see-desktop-view.html

Turning Off Responsive Web Design
By Bruce Lawson.
"I've long been a fan of responsive web design...but recently I've
been musing on whether mobile browsers should have a mechanism to turn
it off - that is, pretend to have a really wide screen so width-based
media queries don't kick in, thereby allowing people to see the
'desktop site'."
http://www.brucelawson.co.uk/2013/turning-off-responsive-web-design/


[Section one ends.]


++ SECTION TWO:

+11: 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.


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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 at d.umn.edu


[Issue ends.]

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