Fundamentals of Graphic Communication 3.5 Accessible Design

Overview What is accessibility? Why is it important? Design guidelines Types of disabilities Accessibility testing

What is accessibility? Accessibility is the degree to which technology is usable by people with disabilities Universal access is the philosophy of designing technology and information to be usable by all people without specialized adaptations

Accessible technology Assistive hardware –Allow disabled users to interact with the computer –Examples Specialized keyboards Head trackers Braille terminals Matias Corporation

Accessible technology Accessibility software –Designed to provide an accessible interface between other software and the user –Examples Voice recognition Speech synthesis Screen readers Mouse / keyboard helpers We want software to be accessible; that is, to work transparently with accessible technology without sacrificing quality

Why’s it important? There are millions of disabled people in the US –Non-accessible products limit your audience It’s the law –Section 508 requires government-funded websites to meet accessibility guidelines It’s a nice thing to do –Share your creations with the world Accessible design often results in good design –Easy-to-use products benefit everyone

Good Grips Accessible design requires making products easier to use for everyone –Who doesn’t like that? Good Grips

Fred and Ginger Accessible technology often requires creative technical solutions –Mainstream products may benefit from these solutions DEKA

Design principles (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0) 1.Perceivable Ensure that all content can be presented in form(s) that can be perceived by any user - except those aspects of the content that cannot be expressed in words. 2.Operable Ensure that the interface elements in the content are operable by any user. 3.Orientation/Navigation Facilitate content orientation and navigation 4.Comprehendible Make it as easy as possible to understand the content and controls. 5.Technology Robust Use Web technologies that maximize the ability of the content to work with current and future accessibility technologies and user agents.

More principles Present information in a clear and straightforward manner –Limit large amounts of text –Structure documents clearly Express ideas in multiple media when possible –ALT text for HTML images –Transcripts for audio/video content You don’t need to sacrifice visual style for accessibility

Types of disabilities Visual –Blindness –Low vision –Color blindness Hearing Motor skills Cognitive disability –Reading disorders –Attention disorders –Memory impairments

Blindness User cannot see visual content –Pictures, diagrams, animations, etc. May use a screen reader to get information –Cannot scan a page quickly –Must navigate linearly through text Solutions –Provide structure to text for easy navigation –Add text or audio descriptions to images/video –Follow standards for maximum compatibility with screen readers

Low vision Many types –Poor vision quality –Partially occluded vision Very common in seniors Low-contrast text difficult to read Solutions –Allow font resizing –Allow color schemes to be changed –Add text or audio descriptions to images/video

Low vision Many types –Poor vision quality –Partially occluded vision Very common in seniors Low-contrast text difficult to read Solutions –Allow font resizing –Allow color schemes to be changed –Add text or audio descriptions to images/video

Color blindness Inability to distinguish between certain colors –Affects 10% of males –Often have problems with red and green Solutions –Allow color schemes to be changed –Don’t differentiate on hue alone Saturation Value Shape

Color blindness visibone.com What you seeWhat color-blind users see

Is this accessible? Big Fish Games

Better PopCap Games

Hearing impairment User cannot hear audio content This one is easy to test for –Turn off your speakers! Solution –Provide captioning for all audio content

Impaired motor skills Difficulty using mouse and keyboard –Inaccuracy while clicking –Slow input –May use specialized input device Solution –Do not require precise clicking –Allow alternate input methods Keyboard Mouse Voice

Color blindness tools Will send these out later

Resources Dive Into Accessibility – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 – How People with Disabilities Use the Web – UMass Disability Services – Assistive Technologies Center –