+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 10, Issue 02, July 6, 2012.

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?
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: FLASH.
06: JAVASCRIPT.
07: MISCELLANEOUS.
08: PHP.
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.

A Simple alt Text Decision Tree
By Steve Faulkner.
Steve added a very useful alt text decision tree to the "HTML5: Techniques for providing useful text alternatives" document.
http://dev.w3.org/html5/alt-techniques/developer.html#tree

Text Alternatives for Images: A Decision Tree
By Dey Alexander.
Dey's 2010 decision tree presents another pragmatic approach.
http://www.4syllables.com.au/2010/12/text-alternatives-decision-tree/

Web Accessibility for Screen Magnifier Users
By Webcredible.
"...All-in-all, there are quite a few things that can be done to improve usability and accessibility for screen magnifier users. The good news though is that all of them improve usability for absolutely everyone."
http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/screen-magnifiers.shtml

The Mobile Accessibility Landscape
By SSB Bart Group.
"...Many fundamental accessibility best practices will apply to mobile interfaces and content. Text and images must meet relevant requirements for sufficient color contrast, screens must be laid out in an order that permits intuitive sequential navigation, controls must respond to multiple modalities of input, and components must communicate correct information about the name, state, role and value of each component..."
https://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/2012/06/29/the-mobile-accessibility-landscape/

Google IO12 Review and Accessibility
By Dennis E. Lembree.
Dennis shares his experience at Google IO12.
http://webaxe.blogspot.com/2012/07/google-io12-review-and-accessibility.html

Making Google Accessible
By Google.
As part of Google's mission to make the world's information universally accessible and useful, we're committed to making accessibility a reality for all of our users, including those with disabilities. 
http://www.google.com/accessibility/

A Look Behind the Scenes - Part III: Website Accessibility Isn't an Exact Science
By Marc Seguin.
"This is the third post in a multi-part series written by the Disability.gov team to help others learn about the importance of website accessibility and the best practices that are used on Disability.gov..."
http://usodep.blogs.govdelivery.com/2012/05/08/a-look-behind-the-scenes-part-iii-website-accessibility-isnt-an-exact-science/


+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Scalable and Modular Architecture for CSS
By Jonathan Snook.
"...SMACSS (pronounced 'smacks') is more style guide than rigid framework..."
http://smacss.com/book/

Add Some Pizzazz to Your Text Boxes with HTML5 and CSS3
By David Elliot.
"...With HTML5 and CSS3, powerful, yet simple coding tools will now allow for speedy and effective appearance upgrades for all types of boxes."
http://www.developerdrive.com/2012/07/add-some-pizzazz-to-your-text-boxes-with-html5-and-css3/


+03: EVALUATION & TESTING.

What Statistical Test Do I Use?
By Jeff Sauro.
"For this decision map, the primary thing you need to know is if your data is binary or not..."
http://www.measuringusability.com/blog/what-test.php


+04: EVENTS.

HOW Interactive Design Conference
September 27-29, 2012.
Washington D.C., U.S.A.
http://howinteractiveconference.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=35941

HOW Interactive Design Conference
October 29-31, 2012.
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
http://howinteractiveconference.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=35392


+05: FLASH.

Flash in the Pan - Time to Create a Transition Plan For Your Web Site
By Brian Jackson.
"Adobe's not supporting Flash on mobile browsers any longer and the industry seems to be moving on to HTML5 for desktop browsing too. Is it time to ditch Flash on your business Web site?..."
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=68160


+06: JAVASCRIPT.

Using ARIA in HTML (Unofficial Draft)
By Steve Faulkner.
"This document is intended as a practical guide for developers. It suggests what ARIA attributes to use on HTML elements. Suggestions are based on implementation realities. It has no official standing within the W3C. It is not intended as a static resource and will be updated as new information arises."
http://dvcs.w3.org/hg/aria-unofficial/raw-file/tip/index.html

JavaScript String Methods Reference
By Louis Lazaris.
"When writing JavaScript, I often find myself Googling for info, or using Mozilla's reference to find the exact syntax and argument definitions for methods associated with string manipulation..."
http://www.impressivewebs.com/javascript-string-methods-reference/


+07: MISCELLANEOUS.

Do I Need an App for That?
By Paul Boag.
"...2012 has been labeled the year of the app, but as you consider your mobile strategy it is legitimate to ask: 'Do I need an app for that?'. This talk given by Rob at this years IWMW explores the context in which an app is the right solution. It also highlight the situations in which other mobile web solutions are the right approach for your organisation and your users. Voted the best talk at this years conference, this presentation is a must watch for anybody deciding on their mobile strategy..."
http://boagworld.com/mobile-web/do-i-need-an-app-for-that/


+08: PHP.

PHP Exercises
By phpexercises.
"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/

PHP 101: PHP For the Absolute Beginner
By Vikram Vaswani.
"This area is intended for everyone new to PHP. It opens with a series of informal, entertaining tutorials written by Vikram Vaswani, founder and CEO of Melonfire. These tutorials build on a previously-published 5-part series which has now been updated and extended to embrace PHP 5, making parts of it suitable for those of you who already have worked with PHP 4 in the past..."
http://devzone.zend.com/6/php-101-php-for-the-absolute-beginner/


+09: TYPOGRAPHY.

Serif vs. Sans-Serif Fonts for HD Screens
By Jakob Nielsen.
"Decent computer screens with pixel densities of 220 PPI or more lead to new usability guidelines for on-screen typography."
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/web-typography.html


+10: USABILITY.

Mobile Landing Page Optimization - 10 Best Practices for Success
By Angie Schottmuller.
"...It's time to adapt your strategy. Instead of just designing a traditional landing page, plan to uniquely consider landing page content and layout for various devices and screens of all sizes - desktops, tablets, smartphones and beyond. Here are some tips to assist with planning..."
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2188662/Mobile-Landing-Page-Optimization-10-Best-Practices-for-Success

10 Trends for Mobile User Experience
By Umesh Gopinath.
"Recently at work there was a call to put together our thoughts on what we see as the top 10 trends for mobile user experience. These could be specific to our area of expertise (UI, visual design, UX, communication, instructional design etc.), and should address user needs, behaviors, device features/technology that supports it, mobile patterns as well as visual treatment and design approaches gaining traction or coming up on the horizon. This is what I came up with..."
http://whitespace.umeshgopinath.com/2012/07/10-trends-for-mobile-user-experience.html

Responsive Images with Mat Marquis
By Jen Simmons.
"What's the best way to handle responsive images? There's been a lot of discussion flying around over the last many months, big debates and fast changes... where have we landed? What's coming in the future? Responsive Images Community Group chair Mat Marquis joins Jen Simmons to sort it all out..."
http://5by5.tv/webahead/25

Design for Readability
By Matt Herron.
"Compared to their print counterparts, the web versions of many magazines give readers a decidedly poor reading experience. Most websites follow a lackluster display model. Will digital publications ever be able to compete with the reading experience that printed ones have bought readers to expect?..."
http://www.uxbooth.com/blog/design-for-readability/


[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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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.]