[webdev] Web Design Update: September 22, 2011

Thu Sep 22 06:49:25 CDT 2011

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 10, Issue 13, September 22, 2011.

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

++ISSUE 13 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: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.
03: EVENTS.
04: MISCELLANEOUS.
05: PHP.
06: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE.
07: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.
08: TOOLS.
09: USABILITY.

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

[Contents ends.]

++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

The Google Blog
By Mark A. Riccobono.
"Many improvements still need to be made before Google applications
are fully accessible to blind users, but the enhancements that we have
seen demonstrated indicate a commitment to accessibility by Google.
The National Federation of the Blind will continue to work with Google
to ensure that all who want to use the services of this company have
access to them.  We commend Google for articulating the goal that
accessibility will be baked into its products at the time of release.
We will be posting further technical information on this topic
shortly."
http://www.nfb.org/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=848

Response to Accessibility in Google Docs
By Dennis E. Lembree.
"Read Write Web recently published the article Google Announces
Sweeping Accessibility Improvements for Visually Challenged Users. On
one hand, this is great news. But on the other hand, Google's
accessibility efforts have been inconsistent..."
http://webaxe.blogspot.com/2011/09/response-to-accessibility-in-google.html

Accessibility in Google Apps
By Deborah Edwards-Onoro.
"At the September 21, 2011 webinar, Google staff discussed the
importance of accessibility at Google as well as the challenges. Naomi
Black of the Google Accessibility team shared the accessibility
features and functionality in Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Sites and
Calendar..."
http://storify.com/redcrew/accessibility?awesm=sfy.co_Haq&utm_campaign=redcrew

Google Announces Sweeping Accessibility Improvements for Visually
Challenged Users
By Jon Mitchell.
"Google has announced a new initiative to increase accessibility for
visually challenged users on its major Web services. In advance of the
upcoming school year, Google is rolling out accessibility improvements
to Docs, Sites and Calendars. Google is hosting a live webinar for
enterprise customers - which include educational institutions - on
Wednesday, September 21 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time..."
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_announces_sweeping_accessibility_improvemen.php

Proposed Regulations Address Airline Websites and Kiosks
By The Law Office of Lainey Feingold.
The United States Department of Transportation issued a press release
on September 19, 2011 announcing proposed regulations on airline
websites and airline kiosks. The proposed rules would require most
airlines to have accessible websites within two years of any final
regulation (which could be several years from now if at all). The
proposal, if enacted, would also require kiosks purchased after any
final regulation to meet accessibility standards. The full text of the
announcement is below.
http://lflegal.com/2011/09/dot-proposed-regs/

+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

A New Flexible Solution To A Responsive Layout Problem
By Steven Bradley.
"A couple of weeks ago I talked about a problem I was having in a
responsive layout along with my attempted solution to the problem. If
you remember that solution wasn't something I liked due to its
inflexibility. Fortunately in the days since I did work out a solution
that is flexible and one I'm happy with. I thought I would share it
with you."
http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/flexible-responsive-solution/

Quick Tip - A Crash-Course in CSS Media Queries
By Jeffrey Way.
"In the past, in order to create layouts based upon the width of the
user's browser, we had to use JavaScript - perhaps combined with a
server-side language. Fortunately, the process is now becoming far
simpler, thanks to CSS media queries..."
http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/html-css-techniques/quick-tip-a-crash-course-in-css-media-queries/

How To Use CSS Combinators and Simple Pseudo Class Selectors
By Steven Bradley.
"...This week I want to continue and talk specifically about
combinators before starting to cover pseudo class selectors..."
http://www.vanseodesign.com/css/combinators-pseudo-classes/

2D Transforms in CSS3
By John Allsopp.
"One of the most powerful features of CSS3 are transforms, which allow
us to take any element in an HTML document, and while not changing its
effect on the page layout, rotate it, translate it (move it left,
right, up and down), skew it and scale it. CSS3 provides both 2D and
3D transforms, but while 2D transforms are supported in all modern
browsers, including IE9 and up, 3D transforms are currently only
supported in Safari, Chrome and IE10..."
http://www.webdirections.org/blog/2d-transforms-in-css3/

How Do Browsers Render the Different CSS Border Style Values?
By Louis Lazaris.
"...Just like form elements, you'll never get these looking exactly
the same cross-browser, and neither should you want to. But if nothing
else, it's interesting seeing how the different browser makers
interpret these different values."
http://www.impressivewebs.com/comparison-css-border-style/

A Farewell to CSS3 Gradients
By Alex Walker.
"...While the idea of programmable gradients is great, using them is
seriously messy..."
http://designfestival.com/a-farewell-to-css3-gradients/

CSS3 Flexible Box Layout Explained
By Richard Shepherd.
"The flexible box layout module - or 'flexbox', to use its popular
nickname - is an interesting part of the W3C Working Draft. The
flexbox specification is still a draft and subject to change, so keep
your eyes on the W3C, but it is part of a new arsenal of properties
that will revolutionize how we lay out pages. At least it will be when
cross-browser support catches up. In the meantime, we can experiment
with flexbox and even use it on production websites where fallbacks
will still render the page correctly."
http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2011/09/19/css3-flexible-box-layout-explained/

+03: EVENTS.

Penn State Demonstrates Its Award-Winning Closed Captioning Workflow
October 6, 2011.
Online Webinar
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/936035798

UX Design - Preserving the UX Through Delivery
October 15, 2011.
New York, New York, U.S.A.
http://ixda-nyc-oct15.eventbrite.com/

PHP Barcelona Conference
October 28-29, 2011.
Barcelona, Spain
http://phpconference.es

Information Design Association 2012 Conference
April 12-13, 2012.
London, England, United Kingdom
http://www.infodesign.org.uk/news/2012-conference.php

International Conference on Natural Computation (ICNC'12)
May 29-31, 2012.
Chongqing, China
http://icnc-fskd.cqupt.edu.cn/

An Event Apart Boston
June 18-20, 2012.
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
http://aneventapart.com/2012/boston/

+04: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE.

Building Prototypes in HTML and CSS
By Anna Debenham .
"rototyping tools can be restrictive and it's becoming more important
that designers know how to code up their concepts, so Leisa Reichelt
organised a workshop teaching how to build prototypes in HTML and CSS.
Here Anna Debenham summarises what she taught on the Code Fitness
day..."
http://www.netmagazine.com/tutorials/building-prototypes-html-and-css

+05: MISCELLANEOUS.

The Web is a Different Problem
By John Allsopp.
"One of the most persistent criticisms of web technologies is that
they evolve slowly, indeed, too slowly. Often the argument is raised
that the process of standards is antithetical to 'innovation' (for
innovation read 'making cool stuff up')..."
http://www.webdirections.org/blog/the-web-is-a-different-problem/

Banishing Your Inner Critic
By Denise Jacobs.
"Everybody has one: the inner critic that tells you you're just faking
it, that others have more talent, that you'll never achieve the
success you seek. The inner critic is an unconscious deterrent that
stands between the seeds of great ideas and the fruits of achievement,
making you hate your designs, giving you 'writer's block' as your
deadline looms, keeping you stuck in a project's initial thinking
stage because something isn't quite right. Denise Jacobs anatomizes
and shows how to quash your inner critic, giving you the mental space
and energy to let your talent emerge..."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/banishing-your-inner-critic/

+06: PHP.

Variables in PHP
By Iain Tench.
"...Arrays are a very, very important and versatile data structure.
They are handy for grouping all sorts of related information together,
and are really easy to use once you get the hang of them. But you can
do much more with them than just adding prices. I am fond of using
them for customizing scripts, creating key/value pairs for data like
website domain name, description, keywords, database login
credentials, etc. Also note the PHP super global variables like $_GET,
$_POST, $_SESSION and $_SERVER are all arrays. Now that you're on your
way to becoming a proficient array user, you'll notice them all around
you!..."
http://phpmaster.com/variables/

Introduction to PHP Arrays
By J. Armando Jeronymo.
"...Tables organize data in such a way that we can easily find
correlations or perform straightforward computations. A array is
essentially a way to organize data in a table-like manner. The name
'array' comes from the same Latin roots as the word 'arrangement'..."
http://phpmaster.com/introduction-to-php-arrays/

+07: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.

On the (Abominable) Proposed HTML5 'scoped' Attribute for Style Elements
By John Allsopp.
"Over the last couple of years, I've had my fair share to say about
the direction HTML5 has been taking, in particular being quite
critical of the entire approach taken to adding richer semantics to
HTML, as well as specific language choices. It must be said though,
that nothing has quite riled me like the proposed 'scoped'attribute
for style elements. To learn about it, I recommend HTML5 doctor Jack
Osborne's much more readable version, with some thoughts (and lively
commentary)..."
http://www.webdirections.org/blog/on-the-abominable-proposed-html5-scoped-attribute-for-style-elements/

HTML Gurus Modernize Acid3 Browser Test
By Stephen Shankland.
"Two browser experts have pared back Acid3, a test that browser
standards fans held up to spotlight Internet Explorer's shortcomings,
so the test won't hold back development of those standards..."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20108418-264/html-gurus-modernize-acid3-browser-test

HTML5 - Briefing Notes for Journalists and Analysts
By Bruce Lawson.
"...Here are the most common questions we're asked, with non-technical
answers..."
http://html5doctor.com/html5-briefing-notes-journalists-analysts

+08: TOOLS.

Responsive Design Testing
By Matt Kersley.
http://mattkersley.com/responsive/

iPhone Emulator
http://iphonetester.com/

+09: USABILITY.

Boston Globe's Responsive Redesign. Discuss.
By Jeffery Zeldman.
"As every  we designer not living under a rock hopefully already
knows, The Boston Globe has had a responsive redesign at the hands of
some of today's best designers and developers..."
http://www.zeldman.com/2011/09/15/boston-globes-responsive-redesign-discuss/

Boston Global Scope
By Jeremy Keith.
"...In truth, a mobile site should be the standard, full, regular
site; you can still go ahead and add more stuff for the desktop
environment, but to think of it as the canonical instantiation isn't
helpful. It hinders our ability to think in a mobile-first responsive
manner..."
http://adactio.com/journal/4862/

Help People Do Things, Don't Keep Them on Webpages
By Gerry McGovern.
"Your objective should be to reduce the amount of time customers have
to spend on your website..."
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2011/nt-2011-09-19-Help-people.htm

Mobile Web Resources from Breaking Development
By Luke Wroblewski.
Luke's notes from the Breaking Development conference and links to
presenter's slides.
http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1406

Demystifying Design
By Jeff Gothelf.
"Mystifying design with jargon only we understand makes us feel like
heroes and creates a sense of job security. But it also creates an 'us
and them' atmosphere which excludes non-designers, obscures the true
value of design, and generates antagonism when only cooperation will
yield the best product. By revealing our process and inviting others
into our world, we can create a team that is invested in the success
of our work, and deliver better design. Jeff Gothelf discusses the
steps we can take to increase the value of our practice and of
ourselves as practitioners."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/demystifying-design/

[Section one ends.]

++ SECTION TWO:

+10: 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.]