+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE. - Volume 14, Issue 06, August 5, 2015. An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development. ++ISSUE 06 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: COLOR. 04: EVALUATION & TESTING. 05: MISCELLANEOUS. 06: PHP. 07: USABILITY. SECTION TWO: 08: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? [Contents ends.] ++ SECTION ONE: New references. +01: ACCESSIBILITY. Wearable First Rethinking Accessible Design By Ted Drake. "Wearable devices go beyond the watch and eye glasses. This presentation introduces the wide variety of devices and how they can make the world more accessible. This article by Smithsonian explains how the pocket watch was wearable-first design..." http://wearability.org/wearable-first-design.html Will Your Toaster Become WCAG Compliant? By Scott Hollier. "...While the applicability of WCAG 2.0 would need a high degree of interpretation to apply to a light bulb, web accessibility standards certainly apply to the browsers and apps that we use to centrally control it all. As this space continues to evolve, it's vital that developers ensure that whatever devices control these products, accessibility is at the heart of them..." http://www.accessiq.org/news/w3c-column/2015/07/will-your-toaster-become-wcag-compliant Describing Images for Improved Web Accessibility By Michelle Williamson. "One of the most basic techniques of web accessibility is adding alternative texts to images..." http://www.mediacurrent.com/blog/describing-images-improved-web-accessibility CommonLook PDF GlobalAccess By Jared Smith. "CommonLook PDF GlobalAccess can streamline the accessibility evaluation and repair of PDF files. It provides benefits over using Adobe Acrobat Professional or other tools to create, evaluate, and, if necessary, repair tagged PDFs. This article highlights some strengths and possible shortcomings of PDF GlobalAccess. For a tutorial on how to use this program, see the user guide on the CommonLook site..." http://webaim.org/resources/commonlook/ Making Accessibility a Priority By David M Johnson. "... my goal is to provide a non-technical guide to making accessibility a part of your developer DNA, whatever your app or website happens to be..." http://www.imore.com/making-accessibility-part-your-developer-dna Designing a Manifesto for Accessibility By Jason Vermes. "It might be easy to assume that design and accessibility are two very different concepts. After all, a ramp and automatic door opener are not particularly remarkable architectural features and for the average Canadian, they often go unnoticed. For someone who uses a scooter or power wheelchair, however, a motorized sliding door and small incline give independence..." http://jasonvermes.net/2015/07/28/designing-a-manifesto-for-accessibility/ +02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. CSS Vendor Prefixes By Daniel Glazman. "...let me give you my own perspective (and history) about them. This article is with my CSS Co-chairman's hat off, I'm only an old CSS WG member in the following lines..." http://www.glazman.org/weblog/dotclear/index.php?post/2015/07/30/CSS-Vendor-Prefixes +03: COLOR. Using Color Theory to Improve Website Accessibility By Julia Blake. "There are tons of articles and guides about color theory and its importance for every web designer. Colors are really essential in design and may even influence people's behavior in many cases. Thus, web designers usually check their website colors are suitable for the overall website style and that they create a good impression for users..." http://www.onextrapixel.com/2015/07/25/using-color-theory-to-improve-website-accessibility/ +04: EVALUATION & TESTING. How Iterative Testing Decreased Support Calls By 70% on Mozilla's Support Website By Susan Farrell. "User research with data mining and paper prototyping quickly led to measurable success for one of the busiest support websites in the world." http://www.nngroup.com/articles/testing-decreased-support/ Bridging the Distance - 5 Tips for Remote, Moderated Usability Tests By Hannah Alvarez. "We hope that you find the list of tips below from our experience will help you to take advantage of this fast and flexible user research method..." http://www.usertesting.com/blog/2015/07/30/remote-moderated-usability-tests/ Rocket Surgery Made Easy Usability Testing Demo By Steve Krug. "...The main purpose for creating this video is to demonstrate how easy and simple usability testing can be. The test conducted on this demo is an abbreviated version of the one Krug recommends you perform on your own site..." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QckIzHC99Xc +05: MISCELLANEOUS. Meiert's Law of User-Generated Code By Jens Meiert. "Whenever you allow your users to edit the code of your website, you’re doomed. It’s only a matter of time until you need to rewrite the whole service—and alienate all those users..." http://meiert.com/en/blog/20150804/meierts-law-of-user-code/ +06: PHP. The State of Accessibility in PHP Tools By Parham Doustdar. "Usually when I tell people that I'm blind, many people ask me how I can use the computer..." http://www.sitepoint.com/the-state-of-accessibility-in-php-tools/ +07: USABILITY. The Paradox of Choice (TED Talk Video) By Barry Schwartz. "...Paralysis is a consequence of having too many choices...Even if we manage to overcome the paralysis and make a choice we end up less satisfied with the result of the choice than if we would be if we had fewer options to choose from...Why choice makes people miserable? 1) Regret and anticipated regret 2.) Opportunity costs 3.) Escalation of expectations 4.) Self-blame..." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6XEQIsCoM The Perception of Control By Marli Mesibov. "As we create positive experiences, we sometimes create the perception of control, even when the user doesn't actually control the situation. This week, author Marli Mesibov discusses the ethics involved in designing for perception rather than reality." http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/the-perception-of-control/ [Section one ends.] ++ SECTION TWO: +07: 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.]