+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE. - Volume 21, Issue 31, January 25, 2023. An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development. ++ISSUE 31 CONTENTS. SECTION ONE: New references. What's new at the Web Design Reference site? https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/ New links in these categories: 01: ACCESSIBILITY. 02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. 03: DRUPAL. 04: EVALUATION & TESTING. 05: EVENTS. 06: HTML. 07: JAVASCRIPT. 08: NAVIGATION. 09: TOOLS 10: TYPOGRAPHY. 11: USABILITY. 12: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. SECTION TWO: 13: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? [Contents ends.] ++ SECTION ONE: New references. +01: ACCESSIBILITY. Comparing Manual and Free Automated WCAG Reviews By Adrian Roselli. "…My concern is that too many managers, bosses, stakeholders, and even testers, may do no more than run a free automated tool against a site or page and consider that sufficient. This post shows why it may not be sufficient…" https://adrianroselli.com/2023/01/comparing-manual-and-free-automated-wcag-reviews.html Comparing Level Access Automated Tools To Manual Accessibility Testing By Rachele DiTullio. "…The automated testing results from the Level Access tools are comparable with the other automated tools Adrian tested with manual testing finding more than 9x the unique success criteria issues. Use automated testing tools in tandem with manual testing to find the most potential accessibility issues. Relying on any automated testing alone will leave you with access gaps for your users." https://racheleditullio.com/blog/2023/01/comparing-level-access-automated-tools-to-manual-accessibility-testing/ Important Audio Description Tips: Techniques to Make Visuals Heard By Jennie Delisi. "People may only hear your meeting and video's visuals…" https://mn.gov/mnit/media/blog/?id=38-560867 Blind News Audiences Are Being Left Behind in the Data Visualisation Revolution: Here's How We Fix That By Johny Cassidy. "As the use of visual data journalism becomes more embedded in day-to-day newsroom operations, there's a very real danger that those who can't decipher visual information in the usual way will be left behind…" https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/blind-news-audiences-are-being-left-behind-data-visualisation-revolution-heres-how-we-fix WCAG 2.2 is (Eventually) Coming… By Scott O'Hara. "Don't make Wimpy excuses: review the proposed new criteria today and where guidance is clear, make adjustments to get ahead of the curve…" https://twitter.com/scottohara/status/1615444515497857024 What's New in WCAG 2.2 Draft By Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). "This page lists the proposed new success criteria for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2…" https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/new-in-22/ Desktop Screen Readers Survival Guide - Basic Keyboard Shortcuts By Deque Systems. "On this page: * Recommended Browsers * Notes * Shortcut Keys…" https://dequeuniversity.com/screenreaders/survival-guide Brennan Roy Talks About Multiple Disabilities and How Web Use Is Impacted By Nic Steenhout. "Brennan says 'people who create and teach and have disabilities actually use this stuff. We're out in the world creating things while using the products that you're making. It can't just be the first layer of the system that you're making meet bare level of accessibility.'…" https://a11yrules.com/podcast/brennan-roy-talks-about-multiple-disabilities-and-how-web-use-is-impacted/ Accessibility Strategy By GOV.UK. "This accessibility strategy outlines the current principles and work needed to improve the accessibility of the GOV.UK Design System…" https://design-system.service.gov.uk/community/accessibility-strategy/ ADA Lawsuits in the Last Five Years: Trends and Take-Aways By Sathish Kumar. "…In this article, we will discuss our reflections on the key trends and observations since 2018 and our take-aways…" https://www.digitala11y.com/ada-lawsuits-in-the-last-five-years-trends-and-take-aways/ +02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. Using :is() in Complex Selectors Selects More Than You Might Initially Think By Bramus Van Damme. "To :is() or not to :is()?…" https://www.bram.us/2023/01/17/using-is-in-complex-selectors-selects-more-than-you-might-initially-think/ Day 83: Computed Values in Container Style Queries By Manuel Matuzović. "On day 80, I've explained that we can check whether a container has a specific property and value assigned and apply additional styles based on this condition. On day 82, I've explained that the value of a property can come from different sources, undergo adjustments before it becomes the actual value, and take on different forms along the way. To use container style queries, it's important to understand which value's being used in queries…" https://www.matuzo.at/blog/2023/100daysof-day83/ CSS Tip: Style your Radio Buttons and Checkboxes for Printing By Álvaro Montoro. "…To provide a complete experience, we must design and develop for that whole experience. And that includes printing. Components not only need to look good on the screen, but they must also be usable and accessible, both on the screen and in print." https://alvaromontoro.com/blog/68024/css-tip-style-checkboxes-radio-buttons-for-printing The Truth About CSS Selector Performance By Patrick Brosset. "If you're a web developer, you may have already heard that some CSS selectors are faster than others. And you're probably hoping to find a list of the better selectors to use in this article. Well, not quite. But bear with me, I promise that by the end, you'll have learnt something new about CSS selector performance…" https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2023/01/17/the-truth-about-css-selector-performance/ CSS Named Colors: Groups, Palettes, Facts, & Fun By Austin Gil. "This page contains everything I've ever wanted related to CSS named colors: groups, palettes, favorites, factoids and more…" https://austingil.com/css-named-colors/ +03: DRUPAL. Talking Drupal #382 - Automated A11y Testing with Nightwatch By Daniel Mundra and Ben Mullins. "Today we are talking about A11y Test Automation with Nightwatch with Daniel Mundra and Ben Mullins.…" https://www.talkingdrupal.com/382 +04: EVALUATION & TESTING. Does Thinking Aloud Affect Task Metrics? By Jeff Sauro and Jim Lewis. "…Having participants speak their thoughts while working on tasks helps researchers identify usability problems and potential fixes. But does the added burden of speaking while attempting a task make the experience harder and affect perceptions of the website or app being evaluated? Or does articulating thoughts have a negligible or even positive effect on perception?…" https://measuringu.com/impact-of-ta-on-task-metrics/ Measuring DesignOps with the REACH Metrics Framework By Kate Kaplan. "DesignOps success is difficult to track and measure. Use the REACH framework (Results, Efficiency, Ability, Clarity, Health) to identify and triangulate relevant DesignOps metrics, and use clear goals to understand the success of individual DesignOps programs." https://www.nngroup.com/articles/measuring-designops-reach/ Applying the Double Diamond Model By Alka Jha. "…The big idea of the double diamond model is that the problem and the solution are equally important. But problem-finding and problem-solving are two distinctly different design activities…" https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2023/01/applying-the-double-diamond-model.php Lean UX Research Checklists By Anton Stout. "…When you're practicing Lean UX, your goal should be to capture research data as often as possible to help you make quick, actionable decisions…" https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2023/01/lean-ux-research-checklists.php +05: EVENTS. Best Practices for Conducting User Research With Assistive Technology Users  January 31, 2023. Online https://makeitfable.com/lp/webinar-experts-with-fable-best-practices-user-testing-at-users/ Reframing Accessibility for the Web February 1, 2023. Online https://www.eventbrite.com/e/webinar-reframing-accessibility-for-the-web-tickets-516162454797 Exploring New Accessibility Frontiers with TPGi and the W3C February 14, 2023. Online https://www.tpgi.com/webinar-february-14-at-12pm-et-exploring-new-accessibility-frontiers-with-tpgi-and-the-w3c/ Future of Interface & Future of Interface Accessibility February 15-16, 2023. Online https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfz31jDAqetn-5PNTmLrRmH2MB2mC-WRlW_qFyNUzypqGlVzA/viewform UX Conference April 15-21, 2023. Online https://www.nngroup.com/training/april/ HOW Design Live 2023 June 5-7, 2023. Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. https://howdesignlive.com/ +06: HTML. Unordered Lists in Main Navigations By Manuel Matuzović. "…Several people have asked me: 'Why do you use an unordered list instead of an ordered list?'…" https://buttondown.email/htmhell/archive/issue-22-unordered-lists-in-main-navigations/ Three Attributes for Better Web Forms By Jeremy Keith. "Forms on the web are an opportunity to make big improvements to the user experience with very little effort. The effort can be as little as sprinkling in a smattering of humble HTML attributes. But the result can be a turbo-charged experience for the user, allowing them to sail through their task…" https://adactio.com/journal/19842 Building an Accessible Theme Picker with HTML, CSS and JavaScript By Sarah L. Fossheim. "In the recent refresh of my website's design I implemented different theming options. It's now possible to choose between six different color schemes when reading my blog…" https://fossheim.io/writing/posts/accessible-theme-picker-html-css-js/ +07: JAVASCRIPT. Chaining Array Methods with Vanilla JavaScript By Chris Ferdinandi. "…Today, we're going to look at how to chain multiple functions together…" https://gomakethings.com/chaining-array-methods-with-vanilla-javascript/ +08: NAVIGATION. How You Could Build a Search That the Fediverse Would Welcome By Anil Dash. "…I've had an idea for how to implement Fediverse search for a long time that I've talked about privately with people but not shared broadly, and it's probably doing a disservice to potential implementors to not share some of my thinking. It also seems like it'd be great to float the idea as a concept rather than an implementation, so that people could react to the idea without the increased emotional urgency of feeling like they have to react to an existing potential threat…" https://anildash.com/2023/01/16/a-fediverse-search/ +09: TOOLS. Accessibility Tools and Resources for Designers By Raghavendra Satish Peri. "Here are a set of tools and resources for designers to inculcate accessibility into their designs, often organizations talk about shift left approach when they talk about accessibility, and we believe these accessibility tools will make it easy and reduce the number of accessibility defects during the development phase…" https://www.digitala11y.com/accessibility-tools-and-resources-for-designers/ +10: TYPOGRAPHY. Quick Thoughts on Typeface and Font Accessibility By Jonathan Avila. "What makes a font and typeface more readable? Font and typeface choices can negatively impact some people with disabilities more than other readers. Impacted groups include people with low vision, people with dyslexia, and people with other cognitive or development disabilities. Below are some aspects of typeface and font that I have found to impact readability…" https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/quick-thoughts-typeface-font-accessibility-jonathan-avila-cpwa How Type Influences Readability By Hilary Palmen. "Reading is a complex cognitive process that involves working out what meanings are represented by a set of symbols in a writing system, such as the Latin alphabet…" https://fonts.google.com/knowledge/readability_and_accessibility/how_type_influences_readability +11: USABILITY. UX-Stakeholder Engagement 101 By Sarah Gibbons. "Dialog, action, and compromise are all needed to build successful, mutually supportive relationships with your project's stakeholders." https://www.nngroup.com/articles/stakeholder-engagement/ Common Fate: Gestalt Principle for User Interface Design (Video) By Sarah Gibbons. Things that move in synch are perceived as belonging to the same group and being different than other screen elements that stay put or move differently. https://www.nngroup.com/videos/common-fate-gestalt/ +12: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. The Environmental Weight of Data By Gerry McGovern. "Data management is chaotic and getting worse, and the tech industry is feeding this chaos, as it constantly launches new magical solutions that will solve the chaos. There is a strong sense that, as the data tsunami gathers force, organizations are giving up on the idea of quality metadata, information architecture or proper archiving, and hoping that the magical technology will solve everything for them. It won't. It will make the problems much worse. A global data crisis is fast approaching…" https://gerrymcgovern.com/the-environmental-weight-of-data/ Is Low-Code Development Better for the Environment? By Jennifer Riggins. "The answer: it depends, based on - among other factors - how you define low code/no code and serverless, which cloud provider you use, and where its servers live…" https://thenewstack.io/is-low-code-development-better-for-the-environment/ What Might a More Humane Web Look Like? By Rachael B. "Towards the end of 2022, we ran a survey (now closed) to help us improve Website Carbon as part of our continuous improvement work…" https://www.wholegraindigital.com/blog/humane-web/ An Interview with AI on the Social and Environmental Impacts of AI By Tom Greenwood. "Below is a transcript of an interview I conducted with ChatGPT on this topic. Some of it's answers are long, but stick with it as it gets into some deeper issues of bias, corporate power and the influence of AI on democracy. Are you ready…" https://www.wholegraindigital.com/blog/social-environmental-impacts-of-ai/ An Inclusive and Planet-Friendly Digital Style Guide By Damien Lutz. "Sustainable, accessible, diverse, and ethical design can make digital better for all life-let's embed them into our style guides to accelerate their full adoption…" [Section one ends.] https://uxdesign.cc/an-inclusive-and-planet-friendly-digital-style-guide-b97ba25a9cdc ++ SECTION TWO: +13: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? Accessibility Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/accessibility.html Association Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/associations.html Book Listings. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/books.html Cascading Style Sheets Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/css.html Color Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/color.html Drupal Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/drupal.html Evaluation & Testing Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/testing.html Event Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/events.html HTML Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/html.html Information Architecture Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/architecture.html JavaScript Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/javascript.html Miscellaneous Web Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/misc.html Navigation Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/navigation.html PHP Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/php.html Sites & Blogs Listing. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/sites.html Standards, Guidelines & Pattern Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/standards.html Tool Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/tools.html Typography Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/type.html Usability Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/usability.html WebWaste & Sustainability Information. https://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/webwaste.html XML Information. https://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: https://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.]