Participatory design is an approach to design that attempts to actively involve end users in the design process to help ensure that the product designed meets their needs and is usable. This approach is focused on process and is not a design style. For some, this approach has a political dimension of user empowerment and democratisation. For others, it is seen as a way of abrogating design responsibility and innovation by designers.
#26320
When you build websites that rely on cookies and they are expected to work with privacy settings other than default, you’ll have to deal with P3P. Read on to find out about the cornerstones of the Platform for Privacy Preferences, and get your hands dirty with an example guiding you from empty hands to a complete basic implementation.
Willerich, Matthias. Content with Style. Articles>Web Design>Privacy>Standards
#27724
ABBR and ACRONYM are for User Agents, Not for End Users
The WCAG (1.0) guideline 4, checkpoint 4.2, about ABBR and ACRONYM, has for a long time been too unclear to implement. The drafts for XHTML 2.0 and WCAG 2.0 seem to have solved most problems.
Tverskov, Jesper. Smack the Mouse (2004). Articles>Web Design>HTML
#20114
The ABC's of SGML/HTML: Understanding the Concept of CALS and SGML 
Many technical communicators have heard about Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistic Support (CALS), or Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), but some do not understand the concept. This paper introduces CALS, the relationship between CALS and SGML, the structure of SGML, and how SGML affects technical communicators.
Perry, Lynn A. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Information Design>SGML
#28426
I believe that the best way to design web sites is to bear in mind the goals of the site and its users.
Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2005). Design>Web Design>Planning
#21760
About Information Architecture
The word 'information architecture' is used quite a bit in the Web industry and is closely related to customer experience. Sometimes customer experience and information architecture will arrive at the same solution -- but they aren't quite the same thing.
Hurst, Mark. GoodExperience (2000). Design>Information Design>Web Design
#28431
Personas are an extremely powerful design tool, which help you to visualise an end-product that you can be confident will suit your users' needs by helping them achieve their goals, and help you test your success.
Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2005). Design>Usability>User Centered Design>Personas
#23247
About the Open Directory (DMOZ)
Learn all about the Open Directory and how to get listed there.
Craven, Phil. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Search
#20624
"About Us" -- Presenting Information About an Organization on Its Website
Study participants searched websites for background information ranging from company history to management biographies and contact details. Their success rate was 70%, leaving much room for usability improvements in the 'About Us' designs.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2003). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Writing
#21913
If you ever create shadows in your designs or illustrations, check out these tips for making them richer and more realistic.
Campbell, J. Scott. Adobe Magazine (1997). Design>Graphic Design>Image Editing
#10397
Academic Programs in Information Design: The Bentley College Approach 
The focus of Bentley College's information design programs is the user, addressing universal behaviors (human factors) and task-related behaviors (goal-driven needs). All too often in the past, professional communicators have rushed to design external information products (books, illustrations, online help systems, and the like) to support the information requirements of a system. Increasingly, however, solutions are found much deeper in the system design, a concept we call knowledge-infused design.
Gribbons, William M. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Education>Information Design
#20409
Accents and Accented Characters
Have you ever needed to set an accented character in copy but couldn’t find it on your keyboard? If these characters leave you feeling naïve, you’re not alone. Diacritic characters, as these accented letters are called, are essential to the proper pronunciation and meaning of many foreign words. When you come across an accented letter, don’t assume it can be eliminated without consequence, or you might end up misspelling a person’s name! Accent marks also turn up frequently in foreign-born words and phrases that have become part of common English usage, such as résumé, passé and tête-à-tête. Happily, diacritic characters can be accessed or created with most professional-quality fonts.
Strizver, Ilene. Upper and lowercase Magazine (2003). Design>Typography
#21452
Accentuation in Technical Illustration
There are various ways to accentuate a specific part in its installation position. However in order to keep the printing cost as low as possible, it is recommended to opt for stylistic devices that are all in black and white.
ITEDO Software. Articles>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration>Color
#25373
Access a MySQL Database Behind Firewalls with the LibMyWitch Control
Till now there was no efficient way to embed the access to the MySQL database into a VB application.
Richter, Dirk. VBMySQL.com (2004). Articles>Information Design>Databases>SQL
#21846
More and more Web surfers are vision-impaired. Can they understand your site?
Williams, Maxine. Adobe Magazine (1999). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#20059
If your company has a public website, it needs to be accessible - and that's the law.
Joseph, Cliff. Guardian Unlimited, The (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>United Kingdom
#23081
The Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities. It operates with about 30 staff and a governing board of representatives from Federal departments and public members appointed by the President.
Access Board, The. Organizations>Web Design>Accessibility>Government
#27725
Access Key, HTML Accesskey Generated by JavaScript
One of the great advantages of using first letter of the link text as access key is that it can be generated by code. Conventional wisdom states that it should be done server-side. Bad that it is much easier with JavaScript.
Tverskov, Jesper. Smack the Mouse (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>JavaScript
#19645
This site is a jumping-off point for information on the features and capabilities of Adobe products that enhance electronic document accessibility for people with disabilities such as blindness, low vision, and motor impairments. There are also links to resources that help people with disabilities work more effectively with Adobe software and aid authors in optimizing content for accessibility.
Adobe (2000). Design>Accessibility
#28329
Web sites should be designed to ensure that everyone, including users who have difficulty seeing, hearing, and making precise movements, can use them. Generally, this means ensuring that Web sites facilitate the use of common assistive technologies. All United States Federal Government Web sites must comply with the Section 508 Federal Accessibility Standards.
Usability.gov (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Section 508
#27300
Since the discourse over creating accessible Web pages began, the standards organizations that helped inform the new Federal rules have stressed the separation of design and content. If the Internet is to reach its full potential, content will need to be authored so that it can be rendered by a broad array of devices: browsers, assistive technologies, PDAs, and devices that have yet to be imagined. Only by separating content from design will this be possible. By following the rules in Section 508, you will be doing more than providing access for those with disabilities; you will be creating content that is available to all users, no matter what devices are used to read it.
Apple Inc. (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Section 508
#19644
Internet technologies have provided many Canadians with an enhanced sense of intellectual and economic freedom. But for many people, gaining entry to Web content is more complicated than clicking mouse and operating a modem. Some Canadians rely on assistive technologies such as text readers, audio players and voice activated devices to overcome the barriers presented by standard technologies. Others may be limited by their own technology. But old browsers, non-standard operating systems, slow connections, small screens or text-only screens should not stand in the way of obtaining information that is available to others.
Treasury Board of Canada (2000). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#23822
Accessibility and Cascading Style Sheets
An essay from an accessibility class, on the use of CSS to increase access to a page.
Bartlett, Kynn. HTML Writers Guild (1999). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>CSS
#20048
Accessibility and Macromedia Flash MX 2004
Macromedia Flash MX 2004 helps to accelerate accessible application development with a core set of UI components. These components can automate many of the most common accessibility practices related to labeling, keyboard access, and testing and help to ensure a consistent user experience across rich applications created with Macromedia Flash MX 2004. For each component, the designer or developer need only enable the accessibility object by using the command enableAccessibility(). This includes the accessibility object with the component as the movie is compiled. Because there is no simple means of removing an object once it has been added to the component, these options are turned off by default. It is therefore very important that the designer or developer enable accessibility for each component. This step needs to be done only once for each component; it is not necessary to enable accessibility for each instance of a component.
Adobe (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Flash
#14239
Accessibility and Usability of Information Technology by the Elderly
The population of elderly people and the use of computers and the Internet are both growing at extraordinary rates in the United States. The potential exists for elderly people to improve their own lives as well as the lives of others by making more use of this technology. However, the elderly are currently among the lowest users of computers and the Internet. The common belief that older people fear or are indifferent towards technology does not fully explain this low usage. Rather, the elderly are subject to the same income and education divisions that impede accessibility to the population as a whole, as well as certain physical, cognitive, and mental impairments that come with age and can impede usability. Thus, the keys to increasing the numbers of elderly people making effective use of technology are addressing both universal accessibility and universal usability. These solutions are applicable to many other people as well, making their implementation broadly useful and cost-effective.
Browne, Hilary. Universal Usability (2000). Design>Accessibility>Online>Elderly
#19037
Accessibility Arguments Revisited
Frontend has recently completed the delivery of the first version (1.1) of the Irish National Disability Authority (NDA) IT Accessibility Guidelines. In the course of our work for the NDA over the last year we’ve talked to a wide variety groups and individuals who have an interest in accessibility and as a result of their input, our approach has shifted a little. Here’s what we found out.
Poskitt, Henry. Frontend Infocentre (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
