[webdev] Web Design Update: August 20, 2015

Thu Aug 20 06:16:21 CDT 2015

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 14, Issue 08, August 20, 2015.

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

++ISSUE 08 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: DRUPAL.
04: EVALUATION & TESTING.
05: EVENTS.
06: HTML5.
07: JAVASCRIPT.
08: MISCELLANEOUS.
09: NAVIGATION.
10: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.

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

[Contents ends.]

++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

The American Foundation for the Blind Launches an Accessible HTML5 Video Player
By Jamie Pauls.
" Several years ago, AFB began working on an accessible Web player
that would allow blind people to easily play video content on the Web.
At the time, Flash-based content was the norm, and this standard
presented a lot of problems for screen readers. With the emergence of
HTML5, which is proving to be much more accessible to the blind
community, there is even more that AFB can do with its accessible
player..."
http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw160805

Visual ARIA Now Allows Anyone with Sight to Aee how ARIA Works, from
Anywhere in the World
By Bryan Garaventa.
"Having worked with ARIA for many years, and by observing how ARIA is
traditionally perceived and taught, I have finally come to the
realization that ARIA is impossible to teach to the vast majority of
mainstream developers around the world in a scalable manner by using
the technical specification for this purpose..."
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/visual-aria-now-allows-anyone-sight-see-how-works-from-garaventa

An alt Decision Tree
By W3C Web Accessibility Initiative.
"This decision tree describes how to use the alt attribute of the
<img> element in various situations. For some types of images there
are alternative approaches, such as using CSS background images for
decorative images or webfonts instead of images of text..."
http://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree/

Justice Department Applies ADA Title III to Carnival's Cruise  Ships,
Website, and Mobile App in a Landmark Settlement
By Seyfarth Shaw LLP.
"In late July, coinciding with the 25th Anniversary of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Department of Justice (DOJ) entered
into a landmark settlement agreement with Carnival Corp. to improve
the physical accessibility of 62 cruise ships sailing under the
Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, and Princess Cruise
brands. The agreement, also addresses the accessibility of Carnivals
website, mobile application, and reservation system..."
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=dd6a9c97-dbb7-4e06-98f3-c8faa1d06447

What Happens When You Get Sued for Your Inaccessible Website
By Karl Groves.
"In the United States, the primary motivator for paying attention to
accessibility seems to be risk avoidance...."
http://www.karlgroves.com/2015/08/16/what-happens-when-you-get-sued-for-your-inaccessible-website/

Why Colleges Need a Top-Down Approach to Accessibility (Video)
By 3Play Media.
"Korey Singleton, Assistive Technology Initiative Manager at George
Mason University, explains why he thinks colleges need accessibility
policy support from the top-down."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKnhXAP3lZw

The Ultimate Section 508 Guide for Students
By Kimberley Hagan.
"In 1973, the United States government passed a sweeping piece of
legislation known as the United States Workforce Rehabilitation
Act..."
http://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/student-section508/

A Case for Accessible Personal Health Records
By Adrian Roselli.
"There is a divide between the people building technology tools for
patients and the patients that may use them. Too often tools are built
in the same way one might build a social media app or a news web
site..."
https://medium.com/the-roundtable/a-case-for-accessible-personal-health-records-d20007e77c85

User Research with People who are Deafblind - It Makes Sense
By Joanne Schofield.
"Often the people who need to use government services the most are
those who find it the hardest to do so. They don't want to interact
with us - they have to..."
https://dwpdigital.blog.gov.uk/2015/08/07/user-research-with-people-who-are-deafblind-it-makes-sense/

+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

Working with Colour in CSS
By Ire Aderinokun.
"Similarly to how we have different units for font sizes, there are a
number of different ways we can define a colour in css."
http://bitsofco.de/2015/working-with-colour-in-css/

+03: DRUPAL.

HTML5 Validation is Not Fully Accessible
By Mike Gifford.
"The use of HTML5 'required' attribute in D8 has resulted in an
accessibility regression. Basic client-side validation now occurs
*before* hitting the server and running FAPI validation functions, so
the browser jumps in and provides an error as you attempt to submit
the form. In Drupal 7, the FAPI error messages include a) an icon +
alt tag to indicate their relative importance (e.g. warning/notice),
b) an error message which included the name of the field for
reference, c) a red outline on the field..."
https://www.drupal.org/node/1797438

+04: EVALUATION & TESTING.

Sharing Our Work - Testing and Feedback in Design
By Jessica Harllee.
"Showing your in-progress designs can be scary, but there's no better
way to keep your product in line with your users' needs. Research and
testing aren't just boxes to be checked off; they're methodologies to
be integrated into the entire design process-and the more, and the
more diverse, the merrier. Jessica Harllee explains how Etsy shares
their work with users every step of the way-and the benefits (and
surprises) that follow."
http://alistapart.com/article/sharing-our-work-testing-feedback-in-design

5 User Research Lessons I Learned From Making PB&J Sandwiches
By Spencer Lanoue.
"Have you ever written a test plan that made perfect sense to you, but
it totally confused your test participants?..."
https://www.usertesting.com/blog/2015/08/12/5-user-research-lessons-i-learned-from-making-pbj-sandwiches/

5 Types of Usability Tests
By Jeff Sauro.
"While we often talk about usability tests as if there is one type of
usability test, the truth is there are several varieties of usability
tests..."
http://www.measuringu.com/blog/five-types-usability.php

+05: EVENTS.

HTML5 Video Accessibility: Updates, Features, & Guidelines
August 27, 2015.
Webinar
http://info.3playmedia.com/webinar-registration-08-27-2015.html

An Event Apart Chicago
August 31-September 2, 2015.
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
http://aneventapart.com/event/chicago-2015

Online Video and the ADA: How a Landmark Case Changed the Legal
Landscape of Closed Captioning
September 16, 2015.
Webinar
http://info.3playmedia.com/webinar-registration-09-16-2015.html

National Association of Government Webmasters Conference
September 23-25, 2015.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A.
http://nagw.org/conference/2015

An Event Apart Austin
October 5-7, 2015.
Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
http://aneventapart.com/event/austin-2015

+06: HTML5.

Current State of HTML5/CSS3 Browser Support
By Jake Rocheleau.
"W3C standards have created a beautiful ruleset for web developers to
create ubiquitous behavior in website layouts. These rules are much
more commonplace and have been adopted by professionals in every
area..."
http://designm.ag/web-designs/current-html5-css3-browser-support/

+07: JAVASCRIPT.

The ES6 Conundrum: ES6 and the Evolution of JavaScript
By Christian Heilmann.
"ES6 is in a weird place when it comes to web development as a whole.
It is a standard, it is well supported, but it also breaks backwards
compatibility..."
http://www.sitepoint.com/the-es6-conundrum/

How About We Make ES6 the New Baseline?
By Christian Heilmann.
"During the recording of the web platform's 'Are Web Components
ready?' podcast one of the comments stuck with me..."
http://christianheilmann.com/2015/08/17/how-about-we-make-es6-the-new-baseline/

+08: MISCELLANEOUS.

The Language of Modular Design
By Alla Kholmatova.
"Goodbye, pages; hello, systems! When we break things down into atomic
units, design elements become more scalable and replaceable, easier to
test, and quicker to assemble. Alla Kholmatova emphasizes that a
shared vocabulary should be the jumping-off point for teams who want
to adopt a modular design approach. Let's start with language, not
interfaces."
http://alistapart.com/article/language-of-modular-design

The Digital Designer's Role
By Gerry McGovern.
"Most organizations don't trust people who think. They prefer people
who do what they're told. But a digital vision has never been more
important."
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/new-thinking/digital-designer%E2%80%99s-role

+09: NAVIGATION.

Supporting Mobile Navigation in Spite of a Hamburger Menu
By Amy Schade.
"Mobile sites that use the hamburger or three-line menu need to
support navigation activities throughout the site, in case users don't
locate or use the main site navigation."
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/support-mobile-navigation/

Hamburger Icon - How These Three Lines Mystify Most People
By Chris Stokel-Walker.
"The hamburger button has become a common symbol on our smartphones,
tablets and computers. But, Chris Stokel-Walker asks, what is it,
where did it come from, and do people really know what it means?"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31602745

+10: STANDARDS, GUIDELINES & PATTERNS.

Opening Standards
By Doug Schepers.
"Today, the XML Activity, with several Working Group charters, was
approved. This is a major milestone for W3C, not because of the
activities of these groups themselves, but for W3C's process of
developing standards...."
http://schepers.cc/opening-standards

+11: TOOLS.

The Visual ARIA Bookmarklet
By Bryan Garaventa.
"Right click the 'Visual ARIA Bookmarklet" button' then choose Add to
Favorites or Add to Bookmarks. The Visual ARIA Bookmarklet can then be
run upon any webpage by choosing the bookmarklet from within your
Favorites or Bookmarks menu."
http://whatsock.com/training/matrices/visual-aria.htm

+12: USABILITY.

The Scroll Hijacking Usability Nightmare
By Jake Rocheleau.
"...Scroll hijacking is typically accomplished through JavaScript, so
it's not controlled via the browser or the operating system. The
reason hijacking is so controversial is that browser scrollbars belong
to the browser window and they're meant to provide a uniform
experience..."
http://marketblog.envato.com/web-design/scroll-hijacking/

[Section one ends.]

++ SECTION TWO:

+13: 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

Drupal Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/drupal.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

HTML Information.
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/html.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.]