Empathy, Education and Excellence in Inclusive Design David Sloan, UX Research Lead, @sloandr Sarah Horton, UX Strategy Lead, @gradualclearing
Jul 28, 2015
Empathy, Education and Excellence in Inclusive Design
David Sloan, UX Research Lead, @sloandrSarah Horton, UX Strategy Lead, @gradualclearing
Perceptions around accessibility influence empathy
A (Rough) Manifesto for Accessible User Experienceuxfor.us/aux-manifesto
Digital resources can reduce social and economic exclusion; without deliberate attention, they will increase exclusion
People’s capabilities and preferences are unique and variable; environmental factors influence accessibility needs
By concentrating solely on the bulge at the center of the bell curve we are more likely to confirm what we already know than learn something new and surprising.
Tim Brown, Change By Design
Empathy: Understanding the impact• Diversity: People and technology• Commonality: People are people• Accessible UX: Design meets disability
Learning how to apply standards to specific interactions
Error message not announced by screen readers
Form labels not programmatically associated with inputs
Principles of Universal Design• Equitable Use• Flexibility in Use• Simple and Intuitive Use• Perceptible Information• Tolerance for Error• Low Physical Effort• Size and Space for Approach and Use
North Carolina State University, uxfor.us/universal-design
Education: Knowing what’s needed• Accessibility: Specifications• Design: Principles and guidelines• User Research: Real-world perspectives
Excellence: Solving problems, not designing new ones
Photo credit: Tom Magliery https://www.flickr.com/photos/mag3737/6265874898/
An Accessible Design Maturity Continuumuxfor.us/mature-it
Details• 9 people over 2 days• Sessions lasting ½ to 1 hour• Low vision: Large monitor, ZoomText, large type,
high-contrast mode• Blind: JAWS, VoiceOver• Deaf: Captions• Limited mobility and dexterity: Dragon
Excellence: Designing for pleasure• Creativity: Using accessibility as a driver for
innovation• Maturity: Integrating accessibility into culture and
practice• Inclusivity: Caretaking the whole experience