Web Design Update: August 5, 2020

[Laura Carlson]

+++ WEB DESIGN UPDATE.
- Volume 19, Issue 06, August 5, 2020.

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

++ISSUE 06 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: COLOR.
04: EVALUATION & TESTING.
05: EVENTS.
06: HTML.
07: JAVASCRIPT.
08: MISCELLANEOUS.
09: NAVIGATION.
10: TYPOGRAPHY.
11: USABILITY.
12: XML.

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

[Contents ends.]


++ SECTION ONE: New references.

+01: ACCESSIBILITY.

W3C Publishes Cognitive Accessibility Task Force Publication
By John Eric Brandt.
"Perhaps the most difficult challenge in digital accessibility is
making content and applications accessible for people with cognitive
disabilities…"
https://jebswebs.net/blog/2020/08/w3c-publishes-cognitive-accessibility-task-force-publication/

Why Sound Matters in Captioning Videos
By Meryl K. Evans.
"I've been captivated by 'Mystic Pop-up Bar,' a Korean series on
Netflix. However, this is a subtitled series, not a captioned one.
What that means is the sounds of phones ringing and when they speak
English aren't captioned. And sound effects play a big role in the
series…"
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/meryl_video-captioned-merylvideo-activity-6691396322848755713-BjLF/

YouTube Axes Community Captions Feature, Citing Low Usage
By Liam O'Dell.
"The tool, which enables viewers to contribute subtitles to a
channel's videos, will be retired in two months' time…"
https://liamodell.com/2020/07/30/youtube-axes-community-captions-feature-citing-low-usage-rikki-poynter-creator-insider-deaf-accessibility-pewdiepie-jacksepticeye-no-more-craptions/

Write Good Alt Text to Describe Images
By Harvard University.
"Alternative (Alt) Text is meant to convey the 'why' of the image as
it relates to the content of a document or webpage…"
https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/describe-content-images

Annual OCR Report, Touting Dedication to Website Accessibility,
Delivered with Major Accessibility Flaws
By Jack.
"…It's an unfortunate fact that this report can't be confidently or
independently used by many members of the public or students with
disabilities; however, there are key lessons to take away for others
interested in delivering accessible PDF documents…"
https://www.boia.org/blog/annual-ocr-report-touting-website-accessibility-delivered-with-major-accessibility-barriers

Using Chrome to Generate More Accessible PDFs
By Dominic Mazzoni.
"Starting in Chrome 85 (scheduled to go to stable in late August),
Chrome will automatically generate a tagged PDF when you print a web
page and choose the "Save as PDF" destination…"
https://blog.chromium.org/2020/07/using-chrome-to-generate-more.html

PDF Accessibility Tools & Resources Roundup
By Raghavendra Satish Peri.
"Some resources to help you get started with PDF Accessibility. Please
use the comments to alert us to any resources that need adding to the
list…"
https://www.digitala11y.com/pdf-accessibility-tools-resources-roundup/

Angela Hooker: Make Sure Your Work is Accessible (Video)
By Microsoft.
"Creating accessible content from the start saves time, money, and
reaches the largest audience possible."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nElxOBiUpck

Three Starting Points for Making Accessible Digital Content
By Ashlee M Boyer.
"…I hope you find this short list useful to help your first dive into
making accessible digital content…"
https://ashleemboyer.com/three-starting-points-for-making-accessible-digital-content

Making Facebook.com Accessible to as Many People as Possible
By Tatiana Iskandar, Dominic Gannaway, Ankit Sardesai, Jonathan Yung.
"We recently shared the work we did to rebuild our tech stack to
support the redesigned Facebook.com…"
https://engineering.fb.com/web/facebook-com-accessibility/

Inclusive Design 24 Returns September 17, 2020.
By Deborah Edwards-Onoro.
"Winning strategies for digital inclusion, testing mobile sites and
native apps for accessibility, and designing digital assistants for
those who need it most are among the the topics for this year’s
Inclusive Design 24 conference…"
https://www.lireo.com/inclusive-design-24-september-17-2020/


+02: CASCADING STYLE SHEETS.

On the Origin of Cascades (Video)
By Hidde de Vries.
"A presentation at CSS Café…"
https://talks.hiddedevries.nl/2gDDUr/on-the-origin-of-cascades

10 Modern Layouts in 1 Line of CSS (Video)
By Una Kravets.
"In this dynamic talk, Una goes over the power of modern CSS layout
techniques by highlighting a few key terms and how much detail can be
described in a single line of code…"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm0IfG1GyZU

What Does 100% Mean in CSS?
By Amelia Wattenberger.
"One of the CSS units I use most is the wonderful % — so handy for
positioning elements on the page. Unfortunately, the rules aren't
exactly straightforward…"
https://wattenberger.com/blog/css-percents

Introspecting CSS via the CSS OM: Getting supported properties,
shorthands, longhands
By Lea Verou.
"For some of the statistics we are going to study for this year's Web
Almanac we may end up needing a list of CSS shorthands and their
longhands…"
https://lea.verou.me/2020/07/introspecting-css-via-the-css-om-getting-supported-properties-shorthands-longhands/

The Cicada Principle, Revisited with CSS Variables
By Lea Verou.
"Many of today's web crafters were not writing CSS at the time Alex
Walker's landmark article The Cicada Principle and Why it Matters to
Web Designers was published in 2011…"
https://lea.verou.me/2020/07/the-cicada-principle-revisited-with-css-variables/


+03: COLOR.

Pale Text on a Light Background
By Neil Milliken.
"Pale text on a light background is minimalist in only one way - it
minimises the number of people that can use your website or app…"
https://twitter.com/NeilMilliken/status/1290995793743286274


+04: EVALUATION & TESTING.

UX Series: Digital Accessibility and the UX Testing Process
By David Sloan.
"When we design with users in mind, we should evaluate our designs
from the user perspective at the earliest possible opportunity…"
https://www.paciellogroup.com/ux-series-digital-accessibility-and-the-ux-testing-process/

Understanding Users by Going Beyond Personas, Demographics, and Affinity Groups
By Kate Matesic.
"Getting through the user research phase of a design project can seem
daunting, but in reality it's just the beginning…"
https://uxmag.com/articles/understanding-users-by-going-beyond-personas-demographics-and-affinity-groups

Remote Research During the COVID-19 Crisis
By Jeff Lindsay.
"…Testing remotely has unique challenges but also has unique advantages…"
https://www.uxbooth.com/articles/remote-research-during-the-covid-19-crisis/

What is the Mean Opinion Scale (MOS)?
By Jim Lewis and Jeff Sauro.
"…In this article, the first of a two-part series, we provide more
detail about the MOS transitioning from a version with some
psychometric weaknesses into a psychometrically stronger
questionnaire…"
https://measuringu.com/evolution-of-mos-part1/

Are Within-Subjects Designs Invalid?
By Jim Lewis and Jeff Sauro.
"A key decision in the design of UX studies that involve more than two
interfaces is whether participants will experience just one interface
(between-subjects experimental design) or all interfaces
(within-subjects experimental design)…"
https://measuringu.com/are-within-subjects-studies-invalid/

User Fountain's 2020 Usability-Testing Industry Report
By Lydia Wright.
"…The majority of respondents were working in a UX role (58%), but
other roles included digital, conversion optimization, user research,
design, product, sales, and insights…"
https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2020/08/user-fountains-2020-usability-testing-industry-report.php


+05: EVENTS.

Accessibility & Inclusive Design Q&A with Derek Featherstone
August 6, 2020.
Omline.
https://levelaccess.zoom.us/webinar/register/4915954452977/WN_OZppBGSiTqigXyRB2MIoJg

A11y Talks (August 2020): If It's Interactive, It Needs a Focus Style
August 11, 2020.
Omline.
https://groups.drupal.org/node/536051

Inclusive Research: Applying UX and qualitative research methods to
meet the needs of individuals with limited health literacy skills
August 12, 2020.
Online
https://uxpa.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_l3bob5QVQvaJqDm1-obmkA

Panel Discussion on Accessible Education
August 13, 2020.
Online
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/2515959508109/WN_KnKVDH62QAmjhXQGURQSAA

Accessible PowerPoint
August 13, 2020.
Online
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEldOitqjooHNw2Sx9QBKpKLVPyfQKMzFAJ

The Future of WCAG: Introduction to WCAG 3.0
August 25, 2020.
Online
https://www.levelaccess.com/the-future-of-wcag-introduction-to-wcag-3-0/

Global Inclusion Online Forum
September 3-10, 2020.
Online
https://inclusionforum.global/

Smashing Freiburg Conference
September 7-8, 2020.
Online
https://smashingconf.com/freiburg-2020/

Accessible InDesign
September 24, 2020.
Online
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcof-ugpj8sHtUXNYQRTRhAzDxKUY9xfWx_


+06: HTML.

Hello HTML Accessibility
By Steve Faulkner.
"The articles here will be about platform/browser/AT accessibility…"
https://html5accessibility.com/stuff/2020/08/03/hello-html-accessibility/

HTML: How to Make Loveliness (Video)
By Bruce Lawson.
Bruce's GOTO Chicago 2020 presentation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L83LVfhTbzg

#21 Legendary legend!
By Nicolas Steenhout.
"Context: A button that expands and collapses a section of text…"
https://www.htmhell.dev/21-legendary-legend/

SVG Title vs. HTML Title Attribute
By Chris Coyier.
"You know the title attribute?…"
https://css-tricks.com/svg-title-vs-html-title-attribute/

Quick Tip: Caution with the Title Attribute
By WebAIM.
"…There are almost no appropriate uses for the title attribute in
HTML. On one hand, it must not be used to present important
information because it is totally hidden from keyboard and touchscreen
users. On the other hand, it should not be used to present unimportant
information because it is usually read by a screen reader, often
resulting in repetition if it's identical to the element's text,
label, or alternative text…"
https://webaim.org/newsletter/2020/july


+07: JAVASCRIPT.

The Amazing Power of Service Workers
By Chris Ferndinandi.
"Today, I want to talk about service workers: what they are, and when
and why you'd use them…"
https://gomakethings.com/the-amazing-power-of-service-workers/

What the Heck is this in JavaScript?
By Chris Ferndinandi.
"Of all the concepts in JavaScript, wrapping your head around the this
keyword is one of the most confusing…"
https://gomakethings.com/what-the-heck-is-this-in-javascript/

Overview of Accessible JavaScript
By WebAIM.
Recently updated.
https://webaim.org/techniques/javascript/


+08: MISCELLANEOUS.

Tom Harkin: Accept Each Person as a Human First (Video)
By Microsoft.
"Former US Senator and sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act
on treating everyone with humanity."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peZMn5QaSGs

On Equal Terms: Lucy Greco, Web Accessibility Evangelist
By UC Berkeley.
"The first woman to be honored is Lucy Greco, UC Berkeley's web
accessibility evangelist…"
https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/07/30/on-equal-terms-lucy-greco-web-accessibility-evangelist/

Web History, Chapter 1: Birth
By Jay Hoffman.
"Tim Berners-Lee is fascinated with information…"
https://css-tricks.com/chapter-1-birth/

Why Medium is Not the Home for Your Ideas
By Rahul Chowdhury.
"Building a blog for the long run? Avoid Medium. This is why…Until you
host your content on your platform, you will always live at the mercy
of the company hosting the platform…"
https://hulry.com/medium-vs-own-blog/


+09: NAVIGATION.

A Skip Link on Squarespace and a Little About z-index (Part Two of Two)
By Derek Jackson.
"Although the skip link I developed in part one worked, it was not a
perfect solution. In this post I will discuss some potential drawbacks
of my Squarespace skip link…"
https://knowbility.org/blog/2020/squarespace-skip-link-2/


+10: TYPOGRAPHY.

Rethinking Accessible Drop Caps
By Justin Gagne.
"…What started as a work-related step later turned into an after-hours
detour. I became distracted by the markup of accessible drop caps.
Thinking back to the Sliding Doors of CSS days à la A List Apart, I
wanted a more artful solution. Something with all the semantic brevity
of HTML and visual magic of CSS. And a more accessible separation of
content from structure…"
https://justingagne.design/words/rethinking-accessible-drop-caps/


+11: USABILITY.

Proximity Principle in Visual Design
By Aurora Harley.
"Design elements near each other are perceived as related, while
elements spaced apart are perceived as belonging to separate groups."
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/gestalt-proximity/

Tips for UX Writing
By Chanchal Agawal.
"UX writing is the practice of crafting text that help users interact
with digital products more conveniently…"
https://uxmag.com/articles/tips-for-ux-writing

Building Narrative into Your User Interface, Part 2
By Jonathan Walter.
"…in Part 2, I'll pick up the story where I left off-pun intended-and
present the following techniques: 1.) invoking appropriate
consequences, 2.) reinforcing themes, 3.) maintaining a consistent
tone, 4. providing clear orientation clues…"
https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2020/08/building-narrative-into-your-user-interface-part-2.php

Changes in Important Information-Seeking Behavior on the Internet Over 22 Years
By Feifei Liu.
"We studied the most important activities users perform on the
internet, repeating an old classic study. Users' most critical
behaviors have shifted substantially over 22 years, due to more
information available online and the constant presence of mobile
devices…"
https://www.nngroup.com/videos/changes-information-seeking-behavior/

Mobile App UX Design Process
By Vitaly Kuprenko.
"…Each stage of the process is vital, but flexible, to accommodate
changes and ensure we test our ideas…"
https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2020/08/mobile-app-ux-design-process.php

New Realities: Mobile VR Design
By Constantin Kuleshov.
"Virtual reality is becoming mainstream, with small and medium
companies in multiple industries embracing the technology…"
https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2020/08/new-realities-mobile-vr-design.php

Print Culture is Holding Organizations Back
By Gerry McGovern.
"Many organizations have not really adapted to the Web but rather have
made the Web adapt to them and their print processes, their print
thinking and their print culture…"
https://gerrymcgovern.com/print-culture-is-holding-organizations-back/

Crafting Product-Specific Design Principles to Support Better Decision
Making (Video)
By Maria Rosala.
"Product design principles (or, in short, design principles) are value
statements that frame design decisions and support consistency in
decision making across teams working on the same product or service."
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-principles/

Remote Work and Play: The Most Important UX Challenge (Video)
By Jakob Nielsen.
"At the virtual UX Conference, Jakob Nielsen was asked 'What's the
most interesting UX topic at the moment?' Answer: better support for
remote lifestyles."
https://www.nngroup.com/videos/remote-work-play-ux-challenge/


+12: XML.

How Would I Improve RSS? Three Ideas
By Matt Webb.
"RSS should be how we read our favourite content on the web. But it's not…"
http://interconnected.org/home/2020/07/29/improving_rss

[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.


+ SUBSCRIPTION INFO.

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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:lcar...@d.umn.edu


[Issue ends.]