[webdev] Web Design Update: May 21, 2015

Thu May 21 06:04:18 CDT 2015

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 13, Issue 48, May 21, 2015.

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

++ISSUE 48 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: MISCELLANEOUS.
07: NAVIGATION.
08: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.
09: TOOLS.
10: USABILITY.
11: XML.

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

[Contents ends.]

++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

Take the #NoMouse Challenge
By Terrill Thompson, et al.
"The #NoMouse Challenge is a global effort to raise awareness about
accessible web design. Just follow these three simple steps..."
http://nomouse.org/

What is the Least we Need to do to be Accessible?
By Valorie Sundby.
"...What is the least we need to do to be accessible? Include
accessibility from the start and maintain it through delivery."
https://www.wuhcag.com/least/

Google's Recaptcha
By Sina Bahram.
"Here's what you hear if you are blind and using TOR with any service
that uses Google's recaptcha."
https://twitter.com/SinaBahram/status/599273032960585729

Feds Say Miami University Failed to Accommodate Students with Disabilities
By Global Accessibility News.
"...As alleged in filings, Miami University uses technologies that are
inaccessible to current and former students who have vision, hearing
or learning disabilities.  Miami University has failed to ensure that
individuals with disabilities can interact with its websites and
learning management systems and access course assignments, textbooks
and graphical materials on an equal basis with students without
disabilities..."
http://globalaccessibilitynews.com/2015/05/14/feds-say-miami-university-failed-to-accommodate-students-with-disabilities/

Subtitle Quality
By The British Broadcasting Corporation.
"A research project to measure and improve subtitle quality..."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/projects/live-subtitle-quality

Understanding the Proposed Section 508 Refresh - Proposed Changes
By Jonathan Avila.
"...This week I'll share some of the proposed updates in The Refresh..."
http://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/understanding-proposed-section-508-refresh-proposed-changes/

Accessibility Policy Series #1: Why Do We Need Them?
By Sheri Byrne-Haber.
"This is the first in a series of posts I'll be writing on
Accessibility Policy.  Before examining the details of the most common
types of accessibility policies, it is important to understand why
these types of policies are needed.  There are many valid reasons for
strong accessibility policies, and this post will discuss some of
those..."
http://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/accessibility-policy-series-1-need/

Image Identification Project
By Wolfram.
"...we're launching the Wolfram Language Image Identification Project
on the web to let anyone easily take any picture (drag it from a web
page, snap it on your phone, or load it from a file) and see what
ImageIdentify thinks it is..."
https://www.imageidentify.com/

+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Understanding CSS Counters and Their Use Cases
By Louis Lazaris.
"There are certain CSS features that we probably don't use very often.
I think CSS counters fall into that category for most of us, and more
than likely for two reasons..."
http://www.sitepoint.com/understanding-css-counters-and-their-use-cases/

An Introduction To Graphical Effects in CSS
By Sara Soueidan.
"CSS has gone a long way, and in this article I want to give you an
overview of the CSS features that allow us to create such graphical
effects--namely blend modes and filter effects..."
http://blogs.adobe.com/dreamweaver/2015/04/an-introduction-to-graphical-effects-in-css.html

Eric Meyer on the Past, Present and Future of CSS
By Tom May.
"Eric Meyer talks to Tom May about how he helped make CSS what it is."
http://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/eric-meyer-past-present-and-future-css-7126192

+03: EVALUATION & TESTING.

Writing a Great Test Plan - Open-Ended vs. Specific Tasks and Questions
By Spencer Lanoue.
"In any successful user experience study, you'll need to write a
foolproof test plan to guide users through the tasks and questions
that will give you the insights you need..."
http://www.usertesting.com/blog/2015/05/18/open-ended-vs-specific-tasks-and-questions/

Remotely Possible
By User Testing.
A webinar series archive about remote research with experts Steve Krug
and Tomer Sharon. You must register to access the recordings.
http://www.usertesting.com/resources/remotely-possible

Bridging the Gap Between Actual and Reported Behavior
By Kat Matfield.
"It seems we're constantly asking users what they think, only to find
that they lied - or at least didn't tell quite the truth! Kat Matfield
reveals why users 'lie' in testing, and how to get the real
answers..."
http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/design-research/bridging-the-gap-between-actual-and-reported-behavior/

The Expert Review is More Than a Second-Rate Usability Test
By Jeff Sauro.
"...Expert Reviews aren't a panacea. They aren't a full substitute for
user testing, but they're something more than a second-rate usability
test. When it's difficult to conduct a usability test, or where a
usability test won't solve your problems, an Expert Review is often
the better tool..."
http://www.measuringu.com/blog/expert-review.php

+04: EVENTS.

Inclusive Design 24
May 21, 2015.
Online
http://www.inclusivedesign24.org/

Accessible Design using ARIA and HTML5 to meet WCAG 2.0 Requirements
June 3-4, 2015.
Online
http://disability.illinois.edu/accessible-it-group/training/accessible-design-using-aria-and-html5

SmashingConf Barcelona 2015
October 20-21, 2015
Barcelona, Spain.
http://lanyrd.com/2015/smashingconf-barcelona

International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) Access 2015
October 21-23, 2015
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.
http://www.accessibilityassociation.org/content.asp?admin=Y&contentid=304

+05: JAVASCRIPT.

Lessons from a Failed Experiment in JavaScript Accessibility
By James Edwards.
"It's quite common for password fields to have a 'Show Password'
function -- a checkbox or button which temporarily converts the field
to plain text, so that users can see the password they're typing.
However it occurred to me that this might not be secure for
screenreader users, because a person who's blind might not know if
someone else is looking at their screen (for example, in a semi-public
space such as an office or conference room)."
http://www.sitepoint.com/show-password-javascript-accessibility/

A Re-Introduction to JavaScript
By Mozilla.
"Why a re-introduction? Because JavaScript is notorious for being the
world's most misunderstood programming language. While often derided
as a toy, beneath its deceptive simplicity lie some powerful language
features, one that is now used by an incredible number of high-profile
applications, showing that deeper knowledge of this technology is an
important skill for any web or mobile developer..."
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/A_re-introduction_to_JavaScript

The True Cost of Progressive Enhancement
By Aaron Gustafson.
"...Hopefully, these two small case studies help illuminate things a
bit for those who may still be a bit skeptical."
https://medium.com/@AaronGustafson/the-true-cost-of-progressive-enhancement-d395b6502979

The JavaScript-Dependency Backlash - Myth-Busting Progressive Enhancement
By Craig Buckler.
"...Progressive Enhancement compliments the strengths of the web: 1)
it separates content, layout and functionality for easier maintenance
2) you're writing defensive, fault-tolerant, device-agnostic code for
the web -- not browsers 3)you can support a wide range of devices 4)
your testing burden is reduced because your app remains operative on
failure 5) SEO and accessibility are baked-in (or require less effort)
6)sites and apps will work on browsers released today, yesterday and
tomorrow 7) no one has disproved the benefits of Progressive
Enhancement or proposed a better technique. There's only one downside:
it's evident many developers still don't trust or understand
Progressive Enhancement..."
http://www.sitepoint.com/javascript-dependency-backlash-myth-busting-progressive-enhancement/

+06: MISCELLANEOUS.

Meta-Moments - Thoughtfulness by Design
By Andrew Grimes.
"Does the internet ever stop you in your tracks? Does it sometimes
make you pause and think about what you're doing? Andrew Grimes calls
such moments meta-moments. He walks us through why meta-moments are
occasionally necessary and how we might build them into the
experiences we design...."
http://alistapart.com/article/meta-moments-thoughtfulness-by-design

+07: NAVIGATION.

Hamburger Icon - How These Three Lines Mystify Most People
By The British Broadcasting Corporation.
"The hamburger button has become a common symbol on our smartphones,
tablets and computers. But, Chris Stokel-Walker asks, what is it,
where did it come from, and do people really know what it means?..."
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31602745

+08: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.

Web Standards - We're F'ing It Up
By Jens Oliver Meiert.
"It's a problem to just change specs. But it's an increasingly bigger
problem not to clean and prune them. The intimidating complexity of
web standard specs should precisely be a motivation, not a threat, to
come up with a plan. It follows the populist version..."
http://meiert.com/en/blog/20150518/fing-up-standards/

+09: TOOLS.

What Does My Site Cost?
By Tim Kadlec.
"Find out how much it costs for someone to use your site on mobile
networks around the world."
http://whatdoesmysitecost.com/

+10: USABILITY.

Touch Screen Laptops - Handy or Hands Off?
By Asha Vergis.
"...Overall, the touchscreen functionality didn't seem to meet any
necessary needs for participants. Although the ability to swipe while
shopping online provided a quick and easy way to browse items, the
touchscreen functionality ended there. Websites and apps designed for
mobile were better received for touch screen than the standard layout.
Participants found that though the combination of both touch screen
and mouse would complete the task, it didn't seem effective to switch
between using the touchscreen and the mouse..."
http://www.usertesting.com/blog/2015/05/19/touch-screen-laptops-handy-or-hands-off/

Designing an Effective Contact Form
By Monique Rivers.
"Business owners who think that contact forms are nothing more than an
easy method of communication that they provide to users of their Web
site are making a huge mistake..."
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2015/05/designing-an-effective-contact-form.php

For Infinite Scroll, Bounce Rate Is a Vanity Stat
By Adrian Roselli.
"...As always, unless someone who manages a content site with infinite
scroll (that isn't a stream-based site like Twitter or Facebook) can
show data to prove infinite scroll genuinely leads to greater
retention and engagement, I won't trust the measuring stick. Neither
should you when making a decision about whether or not to implement
infinite scroll."
http://blog.adrianroselli.com/2015/05/for-infinite-scroll-bounce-rate-is.html

Approaching Content Strategy for Personalized Websites
By Colin Eagan.
"Experience management systems are making it easier than ever to
customize content for your visitors-but are you using your newfound
personalizing powers for good (or for creepy)? Colin Eagan shows that
personalization can be done, thoughtfully, using the same tools you
would apply to any content strategy conundrum: by asking why, being
deliberate, and putting users first."
http://alistapart.com/article/approaching-content-strategy-for-personalized-websites

15 Years Ago in ALA - Much Ado About 5K
By Jeffrey Zeldman.
"...As one group of web makers embraces performance budgets and the
eternal principles of progressive enhancement, while another (the
majority) worships at the altar of bigger, fatter, slower, the 5K
contest reminds us that a byte saved is a follower earned."
http://alistapart.com/blog/post/fifteen-years-ago-in-ala-much-ado-about-5k

+11: XML.

SVG Patterns - Build More Complex Patterns With Images, Attributes, And Nesting
By Steven Bradley.
"Patterns for web design elements are usually created with images.
While some patterns can be created using CSS alone, most involve
images of some kind. Fortunately SVG makes it easy to create simple
and more complex patterns that can scale with your design and likely
require fewer http requests..."
http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/svg-pattern-attributes/

[Section one ends.]

++ SECTION TWO:

+12: 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

Drupal Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/drupal.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

HTML Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/html.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.]