Principles of Design

Standards-based code:
There are many good reasons and many benefits to working with standards-based code such as XHTML and CSS, here are two of the most meaningful and oddly enough, related reasons.
• Distribute content more easily and deliver to multiple user agents more readily due to separation of content and presentation. Content can be delivered to many different users agents (browsers, PDA’s and cell phones) by simply creating a different style sheet for each device/use.
• Easier to make site accessible and to meet legal requirements such as ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 506).

Why Accessibility Is Important: (thanks to accessify.com)
Because there is a significant proportion of people using the web who have one kind of disability or another. Making a site accessible to everyone is just the right thing to do.

• Visually Disabled Users: Visually disabled users ranging from color blind to fully blind have problems with images that do not provide a text description of what they show. Without a text description a user who can't see an image has no way of knowing what it is or what it represents. These users also have problems understanding sites that are not logically built when "viewed" using a non-visual browser such as a screen reader. A screen reader is a Web Browser that reads Web sites out loud so as to make them accessible to visually disabled users.

• Hearing Disabilities: In a similar way to visually disabled users not having any way of understanding an image, users with hearing disabilities have no way of understanding information that is communicated with sound, unless an alternative is provided that does not use sound, such as a text description (transcript) or an image.

• Physical Disabilities: Have you tried using a Web site without your mouse? Unless you were lucky with the site you chose then you probably found it very difficult. Physically disabled users are often incapable of using a mouse. Unless these users needs are taken into account when creating Web site navigation and input methods physically disabled users will sometimes find a Web site completely inaccessible.

• Cognitive and Neurological Disabilities: Web sites can be complex, and finding the information we want can be difficult for the most able of us. This is not helped by sites that use an overly complex design, navigation that works differently on different pages (inconsistent) and distracting repetitive animation. All of these problems are compounded for users with Cognitive and Neurological Disabilities and this makes some sites completely inaccessible for them.

Beyond Disabilities:
Accessible Web Design has benefits for other users too. Because going through the process of making a web site accessible makes a better site. A lot of the things you have to consider, and techniques you'll apply, will make your site easier for everyone to use. As such, making a website accessible is also a good business practice. Let's see who else can benefit.
• Users of mobile phones, Web-TV (slim browsers),
• Low bandwidth users,
• Users with "screen glare",
• Users who are driving,
• Users with a low literacy level,
• Second-language access and
• Dealing with accessibility issues also improves:
• Page transmission and site maintenance,
• Machine indexing of content and as such searching of content (SEO)

Accessible design means greater usability for all
"Accessibility" is used to describe how easy something is for everybody to use, regardless of impairment or disability. It is important for web designers to understand what can make sites difficult for some people to access, and what we can do to make it better.
• Greater usability for man and machine.
• Disabilityinfo.gov

WAI: (W3C Web Accessibility Initiative)
• Guidelines

Legal Requirement:
For certain Web sites, addressing accessibility can be a legal requirement. This is usually for government sites but can affect others. For more information on the requirements in different countries see the W3C page Policies Relating to Web Accessibility.
• US Government accessibility standards (Section 508) and accessibility over accommodation.
• Section 508 verifier, Cynthia Says

Screen readers:
• Demo Apple's "Univeral Access"
• JAWS for Windows
• Lynx browser

FYI:
According to current figures disabled users currently make up around 10% to 20% of the population in most countries. The average age of the population in many countries is also increasing. Aging results in a number of accessibility issues including vision and hearing changes and changes in dexterity and memory. If your market includes a significant number of elderly users then you can increase that 20% to a much larger percentage of users who will reap the benefits of accessible Web Design.

Homework:
Be prepared to present to the class what project you will be working on for your final project. Be it a website, application interface or digital video. The project should be screen based (any screen) and utilize several graphical elements such as typography, images and or animation/motion.