Topic: Architecting and Designing for Accessibility Information Architecture and Design (LIS 385T) Heejung Lim The University of Texas at Austin School of Information March 7, 2003

Architecting and Designing for Accessibility What is Accessibility?  Groundwork of universal information architecture for the people having various levels of physical, cognitive, and economic abilities.  Accessibility enables every the use of software and hardware no matter what people’s level of ability is, and where and when they use it

Architecting and Designing for Accessibility Accessibility is the Law Section 508 (Information Technology and People with Disabilities)  All federal agencies’ electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities.  All vendors providing information to federal sites be fully accessible to the disabled.  Websites are no longer the province of a few privileged people : “the Web has become obligatory for anyone who wants to succeed in our information-driven culture” (Lazzaro, 1998)

Architecting and Designing for Accessibility Who are the disadvantaged people?  People with visual impairment.  People who are blind..  People who are color blind.  People with hearing impairment.  People with a learning or cognitive impairment (such as dyslexia)  People who have outdated equipment (such as older computers, older version of browsers, and slower modems)

"The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect." -- Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web W3C and WAI  Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)  Pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work : Technology guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research development Architecting and Designing for Accessibility  World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)  Develops interoperable technologies to lead the Web to its full potential.

Guidelines for Accessibility 1.Text and Coding issues 2.Use of Colors 3.Textual link issues 4.Image, graphic, and chart on websites 5.Image maps and PDF file Architecting and Designing for Accessibility

Guidelines for Accessibility 1. Text and Coding issues  Use logical styles for tags Examples of logical tags : DFN(definition), EM(emphasis- italics), Strong (bold), H1, H2, BIG, SMALL Examples of Physical tags : Font size =14, B(bold), I (Italics)  Avoid fixed font size  No moving text Avoiding using BLINK and MARQUEE. Use another method to draw attention, such as text size or color. / Use clear and simple language. Architecting and Designing for Accessibility

2. Use of Colors Guidelines for Accessibility (Cont.)  Be careful of colors used against each other Test for color deficiency  Avoid color to convey meaning. Architecting and Designing for Accessibility

3. Textual link issues  Words on your links  Length of links : Keep your links less than 10 words.  Navigating without a mouse/The order of the links Guidelines for Accessibility (Cont.) Architecting and Designing for Accessibility

4. Image, graphic, and chart on websites Guidelines for Accessibility (Cont.)  ALT attribute of images  Animations : the animations should be stopped after one or two rotations. <IMG SRC=“fish.gif” HEIGHT=“45” WIDTH=“55” ALT=“A green animated cartoon fish swimming up and down the right side of the image boundary.”>  Use LONGDESC Architecting and Designing for Accessibility

5. Image maps and PDF file Guidelines for Accessibility (Cont.)  Client-side image maps : more accessible.  Server-side image maps  “Provide client-side image maps instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape”  Using the adobe access site  Provide equivalent HTML files Architecting and Designing for Accessibility

1.Bobby 2.Netmechanic 3.W3C HTML Validation Service 4. CSS Validator Testing in your website Architecting and Designing for Accessibility

“Much information architecture work is focused on helping people find information of complete tasks efficiently and effectively” ( Rosenfeld & Morville, 2002, p312) Conclusion Architecting and Designing for Accessibility Architecting and designing accessibility of the website will not involve any more expense if it is considered at the very beginning.

Brewer, J. (2001). How People With Disabilities Use the Web. Retrieved February 1, 2003 from Use-Web/. Use-Web/ Brewer, J & Chuter, A. (2003). Policy relating to Web Accessibility. Retrieved February 1, 2003 from Chisholm, W. & Vanderheiden, G. & Jacobs, I. (1999). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. Retrieved February 1, 2003 from Lazzaro, J. (1998). Web Accessibility. Retrieved February 1, 2003 from Rosenfeld & Morville (2002). Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. Sebastopol, CA: O ’ Reilly & Associates, Inc. Slatin, J.M. & Rush, S. (2003). Maximum accessibility. Boston: Addison-Wesley. Solomon, K. (2002). Building Accessible Web sites in Seven Steps. Retrieved February 1, 2003 from Usability by Design (2003). Benefits of Usability. Retrieved February 1, 2003 from Vaas, L. (2000). Web blind spots. Retrieved February 1, 2003 from Watchfire.com (2003). Website Accessibility. Retrieved February 1, 2003 from Wiebke, J. & Ffolliott, L. (2001). Web Site Accessibility. Retrieved February 1, 2003 from Williams, M. (1999). Accessibility. Adobe magazine: Summer, References Architecting and Designing for Accessibility