+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE. - Volume 23, Issue 12, September 18, 2024. An email newsletter to distribute news and information about web design and development. ++ISSUE 12 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: BOOKS. 03: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. 04: COLOR. 05: EVALUATION & TESTING. 06: EVENTS. 07: HTML. 08: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE. 09: JAVASCRIPT. 10: MISCELLANEOUS. 11: TOOLS. 12: USABILITY. 13: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. SECTION TWO: 14: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site? [Contents ends.] ++ SECTION ONE: New references. +01: ACCESSIBILITY. Understanding the "Why" Around Neurodivergent Inclusive Web Design (Video) By Owen Niblock. "…Attendees will gain insights through a demo showcasing how to interact a webpage or an application using Switch Control settings. This talk is designed for beginners to advanced accessibility enthusiasts who wants to learn more about Switch Control…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlRPSpO_N9A Digital Serenity: How to Reduce User Stress (Video) By Malin Hammarberg and Sara Kjellstrand. "…In this talk, accessibility experts from the Funka Foundation will explore what triggers stress in the digital environment and discuss the impact of stress on users of different abilities. Concrete examples of stress-relieving design features will be shared, along with key insights and tips for brain-friendly web design, based on case studies and research…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZR7vT_7uRg Brief Note on Disclosures in Fieldsets By Adrian Roselli. "…Probably don't use disclosure widgets in fieldsets. If you do it anyway, don't put the trigger in the …" https://adrianroselli.com/2024/09/brief-note-on-disclosures-in-fieldsets.html The Folly of Chasing Demographics (Video) By Heydon Pickering. "People with disabilities are different. Not only different from those without disabilities but different from other people with disabilities and even different from other people with the same disabilities. Different experiences, different circumstances, different adaptations, different preferences, different everything. So why do we design for 'screen reader users' or 'keyboard users', for example, like they're all the same person? Are there less clumsy (and insulting!) ways to approach inclusion?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XntrwuBjE5c Accessibility Preference Settings, Information Architecture, and Internalized Ableism By Eric W. Bailey. "I have a lightning talk I deliver internally at my job. It is intentionally delivered to non-accessibility practitioners, so mainly engineers, designers, and product folk…" https://ericwbailey.website/published/accessibility-preference-settings-information-architecture-and-internalized-ableism/ Using Controllers for Keyboard Accessibility with Nikki Massaro By A11yTalks. "Just as design systems provide consistency, and reduce duplication of efforts, reactive controllers for web components can be used to provide a consistent accessible keyboard navigation experience…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLrmnFJKFAM Digital Accessibility Webinar (Video) By Sarah Pulis. "In this webinar, Co-founder and Director of Intopia, and accessibility expert, Sarah Pulis, will cover: * An overview of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) * The importance of meeting these standards * How usability and accessibility go hand in hand * Practical tips for organisation's to implement these standards…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws9TFw2CVQU Unlock Remarkable Progress: Powerful Ways To Transform Accessibility By Michael Harshbarger. "…The journey to accessibility is not a sprint; it's a marathon. It's not about having everything perfect from the outset, but about consistently improving, learning from your mistakes, and pushing forward. Each small change you make contributes to a larger goal: creating a more inclusive world where everyone, regardless of ability, can access and enjoy digital content. Each step helps to transform accessibility in meaningful ways…" https://accessibilityfirstsolutions.com/transform-accessibility/ Accessibility Guidelines (AG) Working Group Update (Video) By Charles (Chuck) Adams, Rachael Bradley Montgomery and Alastair Campbell. "Since TPAC 2023, the group has published the exploratory guidance list, and the WCAG 2 Task Force has sped up updates to the WCAG 2 documentation. In this video, the co-chairs present WCAG 3 goals, including updating guidelines for new technologies, addressing user needs, providing guidance, defining clear testing, supporting flexible conformance, and emphasizing research.…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18dVD2FeOd4 No Industry for Old Men By Steve Faulkner. Steve's presentation slides for the State of the Browser 2024 conference. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1v1cXVvJlBH7M74tFlWAaM54A8Bb43nfZ/ Accessibility Beyond WCAG: EAA & EN 301 549 (Video) By Wilco Fiers. "EN 301 549 is Europe's standard on ICT accessibility. It includes various requirements not covered by WCAG, including for non-web software, authoring tools, and electronic devices. The European Accessibility Act (EAA), starting June 2025 will mean many organizations across different industries needing to apply these requirements. So in this talk we'll introduce EN 301 549, and learn how it's different from WCAG…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHxasDBBskE WCAG, VPAT, s508, Level A - What on Earth? By Julie Grundy. "If you've just started learning about accessibility, you might be a bit overwhelmed by all the jargon. WCAG, VPAT, s508, Level A - what on earth are they?…" https://intopia.digital/articles/wcag-vpat-s508-level-a-what-on-earth/ WCAG 2.2 Summary and Breakdown By Marco Salsiccia. "Welcome to my Web Content Accessibility Guidelines summary and breakdown…"" https://marconius.com/a11y/ Facebook's Useless #AI Based Photo Descriptions Have Made It to Threads By Pratik Patel. "…and, because they have, #blind people have to suffer for it. People think that posting photos on Threads without alt text is ok because of the utterly useless auto-generated descriptions…" https://mstdn.social/@ppatel/113119149233724636 Introduction to XR Accessibility By Joe Lamyman. "The XR Accessibility User Requirements and the Barriers Browser research are great starting points for considering the needs of disabled people when developing XR experiences, as well as some elements of WCAG…" https://tetralogical.com/blog/2024/09/11/introduction-to-xr-accessibility/ Introduction to XR Accessibility (Video) By Joe Lamyman. "…In this talk, we'll explore the W3C's XR Accessibility User Requirements, addressing challenges and key considerations for designing inclusive immersive environments. You'll gain an understanding of general practices for making augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences accessible to as many people as possible…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XGwY5PSsb8 User Experience Guide for Displaying Accessibility Metadata 2.0 Charles LaPierre, Gregorio Pellegrino, Gautier Chomel, and George Kerscher, Editors. "…This document proposes a shared framework for presenting publication accessibility metadata declarations in a user-friendly manner - to offer the information to end users in a way that is easy to understand regardless of their technical knowledge and is consistent across different publications and different digital catalogs…" https://w3c.github.io/publ-a11y/UX-Guide-Metadata/2.0/principles/ Australia Releases Digital Experience Policy By Andrew Arch. "At the end of July, the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) released a Digital Experience Policy (DX Policy)…" https://intopia.digital/articles/australia-releases-digital-experience-policy/ +02: BOOKS. * Stacey Swinehart Ganderson. "WCAG for Designers: Accessibility Reference Manual", Ebook, 2024. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=6gAcEQAAQBAJ&pli=1 Kaplan and Gordon. "Digital Icons that Work: A Comprehensive Guide to Enhancing User Experience with Effective Iconography", Nielsen Norman Group, 2024. +03: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS. The Undeniable Utility Of CSS :has By Josh W. Comeau. "…In this blog post, I'll introduce you to :has and share some of the most interesting real-world use cases I've found so far, along with some truly mindblowing experiments…" https://www.joshwcomeau.com/css/has/ CSS Grid Layout Module Level 3 Tab Atkins Jr, Elika J. Etemad, Mats Palmgren, Jen Simmons, and Brandon Stewart. "This module introduces masonry layout as an additional layout mode for CSS Grid containers…" https://drafts.csswg.org/css-grid-3/ +04: COLOR. A Visionary Approach: How a Team Developed Accessible Maps for Colorblind Scientists By Argonne National Laboratory. "…Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory recently published a paper in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society detailing their work to create CVD-friendly colormaps that highlight important characteristics of clouds and precipitation…" https://phys.org/news/2024-08-visionary-approach-team-accessible-colorblind.html +05: EVALUATION & TESTING. Unlocking Insights: Moderated vs. Unmoderated (Video) By Charlii Parker and Jacinta Gregory. "Let's talk about the positives and the pitfalls of moderated vs unmoderated user testing with people with disabilities. Testing with users who have different access requirements and who use assistive technologies always adds an extra layer of complexity to any user study. So how do we best capture their feedback? This talk compares and contrasts moderated and unmoderated testing methods. Discussing the strengths and limitations of each for learning from users with disabilities. Gain insights to help you choose the best approach for your next research project." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygPBFjcRsWQ Sample Sizes for Usability Studies: One Size Does Not Fit All By Jim Lewis and Jeff Sauro. "…It would be nice if this process were simpler, but unfortunately, one sample size does not fit all research requirements. Fortunately, there is a mathematical model that can guide UX professionals to make reasoned decisions about sample size requirements for formative usability studies." https://measuringu.com/specific-sample-sizes-in-discovery-studies/ Stakeholder Personas vs. Stakeholder Profiles (Video) By Katie Sherwin. "Leverage stakeholder personas and profiles to engage stakeholders effectively and ensure success in UX projects." https://www.nngroup.com/videos/stakeholder-personas-vs-profiles/ Practical vs. Statistical Significance (Video) By Caleb Sponheim. "Statistical significance does not always equal practical significance. A difference may be statistically significant without having any meaningful impact in real life. Conversely, practical differences may not always achieve statistical significance." https://www.nngroup.com/videos/practical-vs-statistical-significance/ +06: EVENTS. Inclusive Marketing: Strategies for Success September 19, 2024 10:00 Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). Online https://intopia.digital/articles/inclusive-marketing-strategies-for-success/ How Articulate Uses a Prioritization Framework to Drive Accessibility Maturity September 26, 2024. Online https://accessibility.deque.com/articulate-prioritization-framework-maturity An Introduction to Disability Studies with Jen DeMesquita (nee Sanders) October 30, 2024. Online. https://a11ytalks.com/posts/2024-oct Bridging Sustainability and Accessibility in the Green Transition: Future Transformations in the Digital World December 2-3, 2024. Online and Barcelona, Spain https://webs.uab.cat/gda/ +07: HTML. State of HTML 2024 Survey By Sacha Greif, et.al. "HTML was the original web technology, and the fact that it's more relevant than ever three decades later is kind of amazing…" https://survey.devographics.com/en-US/survey/state-of-html/2024 2024: 0.5% of the Global Top 200 Websites Use Valid HTML By Jens Oliver Meiert. "HTML conformance data for 2024 are in, and the good news first: There's an increase in the number of valid website home pages, going from 0 to 1…" https://meiert.com/en/blog/html-conformance-2024/ Good Forms By Dave Rupert. …Brian LeRoux posted a few thoughts about forms and the idea of a 'good form' resonated with me so I dogpiled some of my own thoughts and experiences on it… https://daverupert.com/2024/09/good-forms/ +08: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE. What's the Difference Between Information Architecture and Content Strategy? By Jorge Arango. "One of the most common questions I've gotten over years of teaching information architecture is, 'how are IA and content strategy different?' Over time, I've found a way of explaining it that hopefully clarifies things…" https://jarango.com/2024/09/15/whats-the-difference-between-information-architecture-and-content-strategy/ +09: JAVASCRIPT. Test: aria-description By Ted Drake. "The aria-description attribute was added to give developers more flexibility than the aria-describedby attribute…" https://www.last-child.com/test-aria-description.html Something Went Wrong By Mathias Schäfer. "…I've opened this article with an anecdote to illustrate that the state of client-side JavaScript usage on the web is abysmal…" https://molily.de/something-went-wrong/ +10: MISCELLANEOUS. Interview with Detlev Fischer (Video) By AXSChat. "Could the future of web accessibility hinge on nuanced grading systems rather than binary pass/fail ratings? Join us as we sit down with Detlev Fischer, Managing Director of Dias and a key figure in the development of the German test procedure for WCAG 2. Detlev shares his eclectic career path, from studying film in Hamburg and visual arts in the UK to becoming an accessibility advocate. You'll gain a unique insider perspective on the collaborative efforts required to shape accessibility standards and the critical role organizations like W3C and IAAP play in this evolving field…" https://vimeo.com/1009210848 What Price? By Jeremy Keith. "I've noticed a really strange justification from people when I ask them about their use of generative tools that use large language models (colloquially and inaccurately labelled as artificial intelligence)…" https://adactio.com/journal/21405 A Billion New Developers Thanks to AI? By Christian Heilmann. "…I have noticed more and more that writing a program is the smallest part of the work. Rather, it is about developing software that is understandable and accessible to humans, and that is a task that AI cannot do for us. Accessibility and usability cannot be automated, no matter what advertising for great new software promises…" https://christianheilmann.com/2024/09/12/a-billion-new-developers-thanks-to-ai/ What Does It Mean to Be Human? By Tom Greenwood. "…I think the choice is very much in our hands. While I might disagree with Adam on the inherent neutrality of technology, I do agree that we have freewill and don't have to be passively swept away by the current. Paradoxically, while AI might seem to be dragging us into a less human future, it might just be the thing that wakes us up and prompts us to look deep within ourselves to ask what really makes us special and unique as human beings. If enough of us get that wake up call, then maybe, just maybe, it could actually be a catalyst for positive social change. We face a fork in the evolution of humanity and we must each decide which way we want to go." https://tomgreenwood.substack.com/p/what-does-it-mean-to-be-human Let's Bring Back Browsing By Christian Heilmann. "When the web started one of the best parts about it was the naming of things. To 'surf the web' implied fun and adventure and to 'browse' implied serendipity. And we seem to have lost that…" https://christianheilmann.com/2024/09/15/lets-bring-back-browsing/ +11: TOOLS. Introducing @bramus/caniuse-cli, a CLI Tool for "Can I Use…" By Bramus Van Damme. "Last week I scratched my own itch (again) and built a (offline!) command line tool for 'CanIUse …' and MDN's browser-compat-data…" https://www.bram.us/2024/09/14/introducing-bramus-caniuse-cli-a-cli-tool-for-can-i-use/ +12: USABILITY. How to Consider Non-Native English Speakers In UX (Video) By Anh Duong. "Anh Duong drew on her proud Vietnamese heritage to explore how UX practitioners and advocates can consider non-native English speakers in UX. Anh shared her personal experiences to show and discuss how empathizing with people who don't have English as their first language in your UX approach can really make a difference. This fun and interactive talk surfaced some really valuable takeaways including how considering a non-native English speaking point of view in your UX can actually improve digital experiences for everyone…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kraqhhFs3C8 Invisible Stigma and Its Influence on UX Research for Accessibility (Video) By Laura Wissiak. "Social desireablility bias is a well-know fiend in the UX Reserach field. But when doing research with persons with disabilities, there's a new threat coming into play: Stigma…" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsZ-kS9Ahmo Icons that Work (feat. Kate Kaplan) (Podcast) By Nielsen Norman Group. "Icons are popular components to incorporate into digital designs that can help simplify user experiences. But, not every icon is created equal. In this episode, Kate Kaplan shares the latest insights from her research on digital iconography which can be found in her new book, Digital Icons that Work." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEqKDvYKSoY UX Accessibility and Designing for Neurodiversity (feat. Stéphanie Walter) (Podcast) By Nielsen Norman Group. "Accessibility isn't a novel concept, but in the realm of digital design, it's rare to find a product or service that's truly accessible to a broad audience with many needs. In this episode, Stéphanie Walter shares a bit about what got her interested in accessibility to begin with, what accessibility truly means in UX, some common misconceptions, and how designers can create more inclusive experiences." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgwitYuGP7Y +13: WEBWASTE & SUSTAINABILITY. Reducing 'Business as Usual' Content on Platforms By Andy Davies. "…Can we legitimately call a site with a low carbon footprint 'sustainable' if the content on it doesn't help us move to a more sustainable future?…" https://www.wholegraindigital.com/blog/reducing-business-as-usual-content-on-platforms/ [Section one ends.] ++ SECTION TWO: +14: 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.]