[webdev] Web Design Update: September 27, 2012

[Laura Carlson]

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 10, Issue 14, September 27, 2012.

An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web
design and development.

++ISSUE 14 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: DREAMWEAVER.
03: EVALUATION & TESTING.
04: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE.
05: JAVASCRIPT.
06: MISCELLANEOUS.
07: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.
08: USABILITY.

SECTION TWO:
09: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?

[Contents ends.]


++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology
By W3C.
"This document describes a methodology for evaluating the conformance
of websites to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. It
provides guidance on defining the evaluation scope and parameters,
exploring the website features and functionality, sampling
representative web pages where it is not feasible to evaluate all web
pages of a website, applying the WCAG 2.0 success criteria and
conformance requirements in this setting, and documenting and
reporting the evaluation findings. It complements the existing
guidance for WCAG 2.0 but it does not define additional WCAG 2.0
requirements nor does it replace or supersede it in any way."
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG-EM/

What Can Web Accessibility Metrics Learn From Alt.Metrics?
By Brian Kelly.
"A W3C WAI Research Report on Web Accessibility Metrics, published on
30 August 2012, is currently open for review, with feedback requested
by 30 September 2012..."
http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/what-can-web-accessibility-metrics-learn-from-alt-metrics/

Web Accessibility is a Mindset Not a Checklist
By Amajjika Kumara.
"Amajjika Kumara offers some web accessibility ideas and concepts to
consider, taken firsthand from our own journey..."
http://www.accessiq.org/news/commentary/2012/09/web-accessibility-is-a-mindset-not-a-checklist

Book Review - Pro HTML5 Accessibility
By Dennis Lembree.
"Recently I finally made time to read the book Pro HTML5 Accessibility
by Joshue O Connor (@joshueoconnor), released in late March 2012 by
Apress. Let's take a look at each chapter."
http://webaxe.blogspot.com/2012/09/book-review-pro-html5-accessibility.html

Assistive Technology Overview
By Univeristy of Minnesota Duluth.
"Assistive technology (AT) is technology that may be used by people
with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. It incorporates the
principles of universal design in order that each user is able to
interact with the technology in ways that work best for him or her..."
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itsshelp/news/2012/09/assistive-technology-overview.html

Moodle Accessibility Test (Video)
By Michicgan State University.
"A recording of a field test of the MSU Moodle instance and
accessibility. This video features Sean Leahy from Virtual University
Design and Technology along with Al Puzzuoli from the Resource Center
for Persons with Disabilities."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDGDnLh5QVA

PowerPoint Reading Order
By John Eric Brandt.
"The correct way to check the reading order of the content of
PowerPoint slides is found in the MS Office help pages..."
http://jebswebs.net/blog/2012/09/powerpoint-reading-order/


+02: DREAMWEAVER.

Dreamweaver CS6 Fluid Grid Layouts
By Virginia DeBolt.
"Even though I don't own Dreamweaver CS 6 yet, I've been studying up
on how it uses fluid grids for page layout. I found an excellent
tutorial explaining it and wanted to share it here. This is an
Adobe/Lynda.com video. Watch all the way to the end, there are some
interesting points there..."
http://www.webteacher.ws/2012/09/25/dreamweaver-cs6-fluid-grid-layouts/


+03: EVALUATION & TESTING.

Establishing An Open Device Lab // Mobile Testing
By Viljami Salminen.
"Managing a personal device lab can be quite hard with an ever
expanding number of devices. It's not only expensive, but also bad for
our environment. Think of a situation where every Web developer would
purchase a large pile of gadgets and keep adding new ones as they are
launched - this wouldn't make much sense. Thankfully, there are better
ways to handle the problem..."
http://mobile.smashingmagazine.com/2012/09/24/establishing-an-open-device-lab/


+04: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE.

Designing for Mobile - Part 1: Information Architecture
By Elaine McVicar.
"Mobile devices are clearly here to stay, and along with them come a
whole host of new constraints (and opportunities) for our designs.
Let's take a look at how we might update our approach."
http://www.uxbooth.com/blog/designing-for-mobile-part-1-information-architecture/


+05: JAVASCRIPT.

Tell CSS that JavaScript is Available ASAP
By Roger Johansson.
"When you're styling parts of a web page that will look and work
differently depending on whether JavaScript is available or not, it
can be very useful to use JavaScript to change or add a class name to
the html element. By doing this you can create CSS rules that will
only be applied when JS is available and vice versa. The trick is to
make sure the class names are switched as early as possible during
page load..."
http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/201209/tell_css_that_javascript_is_available_asap/


+06: MISCELLANEOUS.

Student Preferences for Mobile App Usage
By Kyle Bowen and Matthew D. Pistilli.
"Mobile learning is increasingly an integral part of higher education,
and colleges and universities developing mobile learning apps
generally face the decision to pursue either device-neutral web
applications or 'native' apps built for a specific platform. In fall
2011, Purdue University surveyed students to try to understand their
preferences for mobile apps. Specifically, the survey investigated
student ownership of various devices, preferences for device usage for
various activities, and perceptions of the value of different kinds of
apps. The bulletin also includes a brief case study of Purdue's Studio
projects, which developed new forms of mobile learning technologies."
An EDUCAUSE username and password required to download document.
http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/student-preferences-mobile-app-usage

Mo' Pixels Mo' Problems
By Dave Rupert.
"Mobile devices are shipping with higher and higher PPI, and desktops
and laptops are following the trend as well. There's no avoiding it:
High-pixel-density, or 'Retina,' displays are now becoming
mainstream-and, as you'd expect, our websites are beginning to look a
little fuzzy in their backlit glory. But before we go off in the
knee-jerk direction of supersizing all our sites, we must identify the
problems ahead and figure out the most responsible way forward-keeping
our users in mind first and foremost."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/mo-pixels-mo-problems/

The Web Aesthetic
By Paul Robert Lloyd.
"Today, when every device begs to be connected, it has become
easier-almost necessary-to accept the adaptable nature of the web.
Responsive web design is an emerging best practice, and our layouts
are becoming more flexible. But often, innovation is focused on
technical implementations while the visual aesthetic remains ignored.
To put it another way, we're embracing 'responsive' but neglecting the
second part: 'design.' Now is the time to seek out an aesthetic that
is truer to the medium..."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/the-web-aesthetic/

Responsive Web Development with WordPress - A Case Study
By Rachel McCollin.
"Responsive web design is maturing. Many of us have moved on from
thinking about media queries and responsive layout towards addressing
the challenges of responsive images, navigation, UX and more. Content
and planning are important too. Even if you're not adopting a Mobile
First strategy, it's important to consider the mobile experience when
planning any responsive site. This includes thinking about content,
user experience, design, performance and more. Rudy Rigot's article on
responsive projects examines more of these issues in detail..."
http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/responsive-web-development-with-wordpress-case-study/

Browser Fragmentation and Quality Fails
By Niels Matthijs.
"The browser has been our main tool for consuming the web ever since
the very beginning. It's still the most efficient tool to access
massive amounts of data coming from various resources, but a couple of
years ago browsers suddenly encountered some serious competition when
apps started to emerge. Browser vendors and html enthusiasts countered
with a knee-jerk reaction in order to compete with apps, the question
remains whether that was the right way to go..."
http://www.onderhond.com/blog/work/browser-fragmentation-and-quality-fails


+07: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.

7 HTML5 Features that You May Not Know About
By Aaron Lumsden.
"HTML5 has been a hot topic recently. Although its been around for a
while now, I still find myself coming across features that I didn't
know about. Here's a few that I thought I'd share with you..."
http://www.aaronlumsden.com/articles/7-html5-features-that-you-may-not-know-about/

W3C Unveils Plan to Finish HTML5 in 2014
By Scott Gilbertson.
"Like the Cylons, HTML5 was created by man. It rebelled. It evolved.
It looks and feels like HTML. And now, it has a plan. Namely, to be
done in 2014..."
http://www.webmonkey.com/2012/09/w3c-unveils-plan-to-finish-html5-in-2014/

W3C Announce HTML5 2014 Delivery Plan
By Craig Buckler.
"If there's one thing which holds back HTML5 adoption, it's confusion
regarding the state of the W3C specifications. Consider the latest
document; it's a 'Working Draft' with big red 'work in progress'
warnings. Many developers claim it's impossible to adhere with
standards when the guidelines are in a state of flux. The W3C poured
more fuel on the fire when they stated final HTML5 Recommendations
would not arrive until 2022. For many, this meant sticking with HTML4
or XHTML1.0 for another decade..."
http://www.sitepoint.com/w3c-html5-2014-plan/


+08: USABILITY.

Homepage Design Changes
By Jakob Nielsen.
"Web design is stabilizing; the average homepage is only about 40%
different than it was a year before. (Corresponding to 2.5 years
between complete redesigns.)"
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/homepage-design-change.html

Why User-Centered Design is Not Enough
By John Wood.
"Many designers will, no doubt, object to this analysis. They will
point out that UCD simply acknowledges the unique physical
capabilities and needs of individual users, or types of user."
http://www.core77.com/blog/articles/why_user-centered_design_is_not_enough_by_john_wood_23465.asp


[Section one ends.]


++ SECTION TWO:

+09: 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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+ 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 at d.umn.edu


[Issue ends.]