+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE. - Volume 22, Issue 26, December 20, 2023. An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development. ++ISSUE 26 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: EVALUATION & TESTING. 04: EVENTS. 05: HTML. 06: JAVASCRIPT. 07: MISCELLANEOUS. 08: USABILITY. 09: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. SECTION TWO: 10: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? [Contents ends.] ++ SECTION ONE: New references. +01: ACCESSIBILITY. Making Data Visualizations Accessible By Ricky Onsman. "…While their aim is to make information easier to understand, data visualizations can have specific accessibility implications for people with disabilities…" https://www.tpgi.com/making-data-visualizations-accessible/ Accessible Data Visualizations By Digital Accessibility Office, University of Colorado Boulder. "…Data visualizations are difficult to make accessible because they often fail to address other ways individuals consume the information presented. It is more than just color contrast… Through multiple months of iterative work, the two teams developed a proof of concept for using Tableau's Application Programming Interface (API) for dynamic control and updating of embedded visualizations and data tables in a content management system like Drupal…" https://www.colorado.edu/digital-accessibility/accessibility-newsletter/accessibility-minute-november-2023 The Road to Accessible Drag and Drop (Part 1) By James Edwards. "Welcome to the first in a mini-series of articles, published over three days, where I'll be exploring solutions for truly accessible drag and drop…" https://www.tpgi.com/the-road-to-accessible-drag-and-drop-part-1/ Reflow Red Flags By Doug Abrams. "During the 2023 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference, I had the pleasure of presenting about WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow. One of my favorite audience questions after the session was along the lines of, 'what are some of the most common design choices that you see that cause reflow issues?'…" https://www.tpgi.com/reflow-red-flags/ MVP and Accessibility By Nic Steenhout. "Accessibility should be part of your Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Remember this if you read nothing else of this blog post…" https://nicsteenhout.substack.com/p/mvp-and-accessibility Potential Problems With Accessibility Audits and What to Do About Them By Bogdan Cerovac. "Don't think accessibility audit alone will help making things accessible. It can even mean ineffective use of resources as there are several things you need to consider before just auditing…" https://cerovac.com/a11y/2023/12/potential-problems-with-accessibility-audits-and-what-to-do-about-them/ I Wish Parts of WCAG AAA Would Become AA By Bogdan Cerovac. "Sometimes when I audit webpages and mobile apps I really wish that parts of WCAG AAA would just become AA, to improve the user experience and to make things better for more users…" https://cerovac.com/a11y/2023/12/i-wish-parts-of-wcag-aaa-would-become-aa/ Swallowing Camels By Ida Franceen. "Reflecting on my tendency to obsess over small, but maybe not so important details has led me to write this article. I want to share my experiences and the lessons learned from past projects where I may have lost sight of what is actually important…" https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/16/ Baseline Does Not Really Cover Baseline Support By Adrian Roselli. "…The relatively new Web Platform Baseline offering does not track browser support for accessibility features built into the web platform. If you need to understand whether browsers support accessibility features as your own base level set of requirements, for legal or other compliance reasons, then Web Platform Baseline does not represent a baseline…" https://adrianroselli.com/2023/12/baseline-does-not-really-cover-baseline-support.html Is Accessibility Support Included? (Issue #498) By Adrian Roselli. "What steps is Baseline taking to ensure that when it affirms 'this feature works across the latest devices and browser versions' a developer can confidently take the feature and deploy it without the risk of creating barriers for users (or legal risk, depending on jurisdiction)?…" https://github.com/web-platform-dx/web-features/issues/498 Design Systems Teams: Understand Your Users So They Can Serve Theirs By Matthew Luken. "… I'll be sharing a story from some recent client visits that will help y'all recognize WHY you should do things differently to mature and scale your digital accessibility program quickly…" https://www.deque.com/blog/design-systems-teams/ Announcing the iOS SwiftUI Accessibility Techniques Open Source Project By Paul J. Adams. "CVS Health is releasing a new open-source project, iOS SwiftUI Accessibility Techniques, which demonstrates iOS SwiftUI Accessibility programming techniques using live good and bad examples that can be tested with VoiceOver and other assistive technologies on iOS…" https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/announcing-ios-swiftui-accessibility-techniques-open-source-adam-ldahc ChatGPT Is Not Ready to Handle Web Accessibility Remediation By Karl Groves. "Recently a friend shared with me a “Custom GPT' called “Accessibility Copilot'. This is one of many interesting applications of ChatGPT that are arriving to market at breakneck speed, but is unfortunately not something I would rely on for effective remediation of accessibility issues…" https://karlgroves.com/chatgpt-is-not-ready-to-handle-web-accessibility-remediation/ +02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. CSS @scope By Miriam Suzanne. The new '@scope' rule is here! It's a better way to keep our component styles contained - without relying on third-party tools or extreme naming conventions. https://12daysofweb.dev/2023/css-scope/ Anchor Positioning By Roman Komarov. "Anchor Positioning is an incoming dynamic addition to enhance the capabilities of CSS positioning.…" https://12daysofweb.dev/2023/anchor-positioning/ How We Reduced CSS Size and Improved Performance Across GOV.UK By GOV.UK. "We recently reduced CSS size and improved performance across GOV.UK pages by moving away from bundling all CSS into a single stylesheet served to all pages to serving smaller stylesheets containing only the necessary styles for each page…" https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2023/12/15/how-we-reduced-css-size-and-improved-performance-across-gov-uk/ align-content in Block Layout By Rachel Andrew. "Despite what you might read in some corners of the internet, it's been possible to vertically centre an element inside a parent for a very long time now…" https://rachelandrew.co.uk/archives/2023/12/19/align-content-in-block-layout/ +03: EVALUATION & TESTING. Cultural Differences in User Research Facilitation (Video) By Feifei Liu. "Cultural differences can negatively impact study outcomes when conducting international user research studies. Identify these differences and use 3 techniques to lower their effects." https://www.nngroup.com/videos/cultural-difference/ An Experiment Comparing 2D and 3D Bar Graphs By Jeff Sauro, Jim Lewis, and Dylan Atkins. "…In this article, we describe an experiment we conducted using the click testing feature of our MUIQ® platform to investigate how quickly and accurately people could compare two graphed values presented in 2D and 3D bar formats and which they preferred…" https://measuringu.com/are-3d-bar-graphs-worse-than-2d/ Squint Test (Video) By Huei-Hsin Wang. "Use the squint test to identify elements that catch attention and assess the visual hierarchy in your design. Ensure high-priority content stands out visually." https://www.nngroup.com/videos/squint-test/ +04: EVENTS. WCAG 2.2: What's New? January 26, 2024. Online https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wcag-22-whats-new-tickets-768341900307 Florida DrupalCamp February 23-25, 2024. Orlando, Florida, U.S.A. https://www.fldrupal.camp/ UX Virtual Training March 3-6, 2024. Online https://www.nngroup.com/training/march/ +05: HTML. Revisiting Fundamentals - Semantic lists for Improved Accessibility By Winnie Bosibori. "Lists are one of the fundamental semantic HTML configurations that, when implemented appropriately can enhance accessibility…" https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/17/ The Road to HTMHell Is Paved With Semantics By Vadim Makeev. "HTML semantics is a nice idea, but does it really make a difference?…" https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/18/ +06: JAVASCRIPT. New JS Array Methods By Chris Ferdinandi. "This year, a handful of new Array methods became available in all modern browsers: toReversed(), toSplice(), toSorted(), and with()…" https://12daysofweb.dev/2023/new-js-array-methods/ Vanilla JS Doesn't Scale By Chris Ferdinandi. "…my point is, vanilla JS absolutely scales, it's not just reinventing the wheel, and anyone who says that has no idea what they're actually talking about…" https://gomakethings.com/vanilla-js-doesnt-scale/ ARIA-AT Project By W3C ARIA-AT Community Group in coordination with the Authoring Practices Task Force of the ARIA Working Group. "Enabling Interoperability for Assistive Technology Users…" Note the project only tracks screen readers and ARIA. https://aria-at.w3.org/ +07: MISCELLANEOUS. RFC 9518 - What Can Internet Standards Do About Centralisation? By Mark Nottingham. "…After digging into the mechanisms that we have available, the way that the markets work, and the incentives on the various actors, it became apparent that it was unrealistic to expect that standards documents - which of course don't have any intrinsic power or authority if no one implements them - are not up to the task of controlling centralization…." https://www.mnot.net/blog/2023/12/19/standards-and-centralization The Ghosts of Markup Past By Thomas A. Powell. "As a well-seasoned web developer, a clear euphemism for my age, I reminisce about the early days of markup through the haze of strong emotional glasses…" https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/15/ Internet Archive Defends Digital Rights for Libraries By Chris Freeland. "We submitted our appeal to the court today to protect the core mission of libraries-preservation and access. This is a fight to keep library books available for those seeking truth in the digital age…" https://blog.archive.org/2023/12/15/internet-archive-defends-digital-rights-for-libraries/ Getting Started with Web Performance By Alistair Shepherd. "…Simply put, web performance is how fast a website loads and feels, and how fast it feels while using it…" https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/14/ +08: USABILITY. Improve Validation Errors with Adaptive Messages (98% Don't) By Edward Scott. "Our large-scale testing shows that errors are inevitable when it comes to checkout. What matters is how users are - or are not - helped to address the error…" https://baymard.com/blog/adaptive-validation-error-messages Why Carousels Don't Work By Rob Maigret. "One of the most commonly discussed components in web design has to be the carousel. It goes by many names - image rotators, sliders, featured content modules - but that doesn't lessen the ongoing critique. In my 25 years of experience as a user experience designer, there's hardly been a big project where carousels were considered, dismissed, considered, and dismissed again. I will admit that I've designed them in the past, but I now try to steer discussions away from them. Let me explain why…" https://www.antonsten.com/why-carousels-dont-work +09: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. Building a Greener Web with Michelle Barker (Video) By Michelle Barker. "In her talk, Michelle Barker will focus on how and why developers can make a difference, and where we fit in as part of a wider community…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtzcE_HUx2o Reducing Digital Waste with Gerry McGovern (Video) By Gerry McGovern. "In this talk, Gerry McGovern will show that we - as digital professionals - can do so much more to clean up our data, and have a direct and positive impact on the environment…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owgJgRo8M9s Will AI Be Good for the Environment? By Tom Greenwood. "When generative AI technology suddenly exploded into the mainstream towards the end of 2022, it was immediately clear that this new technology was going to change everything. What wasn't so clear was whether or not this would be a good thing, and what the side effects of this rapid change might be…" https://www.wholegraindigital.com/blog/will-ai-be-good-for-the-environment/ Big Tech Drives Overconsumption (Part 3) By Gerry McGovern. "The meta-crisis we face is overconsumption and practically the entire infrastructure, strategies and tactics of the technology industry are about devouring overconsumption…" https://gerrymcgovern.com/big-tech-drives-overconsumption-part-3/ [Section one ends.] ++ SECTION TWO: +10: 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.]