+++ 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. + SUBSCRIPTION INFO. WEB DESIGN UPDATE is available by subscription. For information on how to subscribe and unsubscribe please visit: 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: 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.]