[webdev] Web Design Update: July 16, 2010

[Laura Carlson]

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 9, Issue 03, July 16, 2010.

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

++ISSUE 03 CONTENTS.

SECTION ONE: New references.
What's new at the Web Design Reference site?
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/webdesign/
New links in these categories:

01: ACCESSIBILITY.
02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.
03: EVALUATION & TESTING.
04: EVENTS.
05: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE.
06: JAVASCRIPT.
07: MISCELLANEOUS.
08: PHP.
09: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.
10: TOOLS.
11: USABILITY.

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

[Contents ends.]


++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

Content Strategy and Accessibility
By Steve Grobschmidt.
I’ve been thinking about how content strategy correlates with
accessibility. Effective content presentation most definitely helps
create a more accessible experience.
http://www.theaccessibility.com/2010/07/content-strategy-accessibility/

PDF Accessibility and Usability Issues
By Adnan Ansari.
"The Portable Document Format (PDF) may be one of the most popular
formats for posting documents to the Web, but it can also present a
variety of barriers to access for people using screen-reading
technologies. In this presentation, Sean Keegan, a premier expert on
document and web accessibility, will address usability and
accessibility issues of the PDF, strategies for the creation of
accessible electronic documents, and the appropriate use of software
applications to ensure accessibility of web documents..."
http://www.adnanansari.com/?p=961

Accessibility - Adobe Videos
"Join Adobe experts for a wide-ranging series of tutorials, demos and
discussions about the fundamental techniques and best practices for
making your PDFs, websites and RIAs compliant with the latest
Accessibility standards."
http://tv.adobe.com/show/accessibility-adobe


+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Flexible Web Layouts with CSS3 Media Queries
By Chris Mills.
"This article introduces you to media queries, a CSS3 module that
already works with most modern desktop browsers (including support
announced for Internet Explorer 9), as well as many browsers for
alternative browsing devices, such as Opera Mobile and Opera Mini and
Mobile Safari. With media queries, you can apply rules dynamically
based on screen width/height, resolution, aspect ratio, and other
browser/device properties."
http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1604236&seqNum=1

Font Metrics and Vertical Space in CSS
By Tim Brown.
We put a lot of effort into the quality of the fonts in the Typekit
library. As part of that work, we've been researching the relationship
between font math and CSS, and would like to share what we've found.
If you've ever wondered why some fonts look smaller than others at the
same typeset size, or why the vertical space between lines of text is
such a guessing game, this post is for you.
http://blog.typekit.com/2010/07/14/font-metrics-and-vertical-space-in-css/

Top 5 Mistakes of Massive CSS (Video)
By Michael Calore.
"Huge CSS files can gunk up your page loads, creating annoying wait
times for your readers and (if things get really bad) even driving
people away before the page fully loads...."
http://www.webmonkey.com/2010/07/video-top-5-mistakes-of-massive-css/


+03: EVALUATION & TESTING.

The Distance Between Maker and User
By Joshua Porter.
"...As the distance between the maker and user increases, so does the
difficulty of designing a great user experience..."
http://52weeksofux.com/post/800723783/the-distance-between-maker-and-user


+04: EVENTS.

World Usability Day
November 11, 2010.
Online.
http://www.worldusabilityday.org/


+06: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE.

Design Better And Faster With Rapid Prototyping
By Lyndon Cerejo.
"...Prototypes range from rough paper sketches to interactive
simulations that look and function like the final product. The keys to
successful rapid prototyping are revising quickly based on feedback
and using the appropriate prototyping approach. Rapid prototyping
helps teams experiment with multiple approaches and ideas, it
facilitates discussion through visuals instead of words, it ensures
that everyone shares a common understanding, and it reduces risk and
avoids missed requirements, leading to a better design faster..."
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/06/16/design-better-faster-with-rapid-prototyping/


+07: JAVASCRIPT.

Re-Evaluating How to Teach JavaScript
By Tom Barker.
"Last year my department brought in Douglas Crockford to do a deep
dive into the advanced features and uses of JavaScript. This training
had a profound impact on how I think about and use JavaScript..."
http://insideria.com/2010/07/re-evaluating-how-to-teach-jav.html


+06: MISCELLANEOUS.

Tim Berners-Lee. Confirming The Exact Location Where the Web Was Invented
By David Galbraith.
"I wrote to Tim Berners-Lee after exploring CERN last week, looking
for the location where the web was invented, his replies regarding the
exact locations are below..."
http://davidgalbraith.org/uncategorized/the-exact-location-where-the-web-was-invented/2343/


+08: PHP.

Three Advanced Object-Oriented PHP Features You Need to Know
By W. Jason Gilmore.
"In this article I'll introduce you to three of PHP's advanced
object-oriented features which seem to not have garnered the attention
they deserve. The topics discussed here should be useful whether
you're a relative newcomer to object-oriented development and are
looking to expand your knowledge, or have a background using languages
such as Java or C# and are trying to learn more about what PHP has to
offer."
http://www.phpbuilder.com/columns/Jason_Gilmore061510.php3


+09: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.

No Browser Supports HTML5 Yet. Part 1. The Rant.
By Lars Gunther.
Yes, you've read that headline correctly. There are so many websites
that measure HTML5 readiness in one way or another, and so many
marketing pitches that claim HTML5 support for browser X, Y or Z. But
the crux of the matter is this. Supporting HTML 5, regardless of
definition, is not a boolean proposition. I.e. It's not something you
do or do not, it is something you do more or less..."
http://itpastorn.blogspot.com/2010/07/no-browser-supports-html5-yet-part-1.html

No Browser Supports HTML5 Yet. Part 2. Technology.
By Lars Gunther.
"...My main gripe with browser vendors not using solid shipping
criteria for stable versions, but releasing flawed and incomplete
implementations of HTML5, is that it may lead to flawed and incomplete
web sites..."
http://itpastorn.blogspot.com/2010/07/no-browser-supports-html5-yet-part-2.html

Does Your Browser Really Support HTML5 and CSS3?
By Adrian Roselli.
"...remind people not to get caught up in the marketing hype and the
gee-whiz factor of the technology. Understanding your users, their
available browser features, and the business cases for implementing a
particular technology are the better methods for guiding how you
should build for the web. If you want to play with the cool new
gadgets and features, do it on your own time, don't make your users or
clients pay for it."
http://blog.adrianroselli.com/2010/07/does-your-browser-really-support-html5.html

Your Questions Answered #10
By Richard Clark.
"The clinic is getting busy with more HTML5 ailments. This week, we'll
cover using sections within a footer, <canvas> vs. Flash security, why
HTML5 elements are treated as inline, using offline with storage, and
marking up block quotes...
http://html5doctor.com/your-questions-answered-10/

The Vision Behind the <device> Element and the ConnectionPeer Interface
By Ian Hickson.
"Several people have asked me to elaborate on the vision I have for the
<device> element and the ConnectionPeer interface..."
http://lists.whatwg.org/htdig.cgi/whatwg-whatwg.org/2010-July/027129.html

Methods to Select an HTML5 Element
By Adrian Roselli.
"Right at the end of June, the HTML5 Doctor web site celebrated its
first birthday (Happy 1st Birthday us). As part of that birthday
celebration they have given us a gift: The Amazing HTML5 Doctor Easily
Confused HTML Element Flowchart of Enlightenment (320kb PDF)..."
http://blog.adrianroselli.com/2010/07/methods-to-select-html5-element.html

HTML5 Audio and Video Accessibility, Iternationalisation and Usability
By Silvia Pfeiffer.
Silvia's Mozilla Summit slides.
http://blog.gingertech.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/summit2010/


+10: TOOLS.

ResizeMyBrowser
By Chen Luo.
A web app that snaps your browser's width and height to a selected resolution.
http://www.resizemybrowser.com/


+11: USABILITY.

The Five Most Influential Papers in Usability
By Jeff Sauro.
"I compiled a list of papers that have had a large and lasting
influence on the field of Usability and User Experience. I then asked
Jim Lewis and Joe Dumas, two pioneers in this field for their top
five. There was considerable overlap in both the papers and topics
suggesting that while there may be some disagreement with the
conclusions of the papers there is strong agreement on their
impact..."
http://www.measuringusability.com/blog/five-papers.php

Putting Content Back on Top
By Felicity Evans.
"...Until we commit to treating content as a critical asset worthy of
strategic planning and meaningful investment, we'll continue to churn
out worthless content in reaction to unmeasured requests. We'll keep
trying to fit words, audio, graphics, and video into page templates
that weren't truly designed with our business's real-world content
requirements in mind. Our customers still won't find what they're
looking for. And we'll keep failing to publish useful, usable content
that people actually care about."
http://www.uxbooth.com/blog/putting-content-back-on-top/

Non Hover
By Trent Walton.
"Elements that rely only on mousemove, mouseover, mouseout or the CSS
pseudo-class :hover may not always behave as expected on a
touch-screen device such as iPad or iPhone."
http://trentwalton.com/2010/07/05/non-hover/

Does Great Usability Equal Great User Interface Design?
By Martin Metz.
"What is usability? At its most fundamental level, usability is
defined as the study of the ease with which people can achieve a
particular goal by operating a human-made tool or system..."
http://www.usabilitynews.com/news/article6698.asp

Innovation in Customer Experience
By Gerry McGovern.
"In a complex world, innovation shifts from creating and adding to
simplifying and removing..."
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2010/nt-2010-07-12-Innovation.htm


[Section one ends.]


++ SECTION TWO:

+12: What Can You Find at the Web Design Reference Site?

Accessibility Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/accessibility

Association Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/associations

Book Listings.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/books

Cascading Style Sheets Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/css

Color Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/color

Dreamweaver Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/dreamweaver

Evaluation & Testing Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/testing

Event Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/events

Flash Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/flash

Information Architecture Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/architecture

JavaScript Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/javascript

Miscellaneous Web Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/misc

Navigation Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/navigation

PHP Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/php

Sites & Blogs Listing.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/sites

Standards, Guidelines & Pattern Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/standards

Tool Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/tools

Typography Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/type

Usability Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/usability

XML Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/goto/xml

[Section two ends.]


++END NOTES.


+ SUBSCRIPTION INFO.

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+ TEXT EMAIL NEWSLETTER (TEN).

As a navigation aid for screen readers we do our best to conform to
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For TEN guideline information please visit:
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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.]