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Accessible design is a design process that specifically considers the needs of people with disabilities. Having empathy for your users means remembering that not everyone uses the web in the same way. Some users rely on assistive technology to help them access the web.
Common Assistive Technologies
- Screen reader: software that reads web content aloud to assist visually impaired users
- Screen magnifier: used to enlarge content for users with sight impairments
- Switch controls: a switch allows users with motor impairments to control your site without the use of a touchscreen, mouse, or keyboard
- Closed captioning: used to make videos accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing users, as well as users with Auditory Processing Disorder
Vocabulary
- Accessible design: a design process in which the needs of people with disabilities are specifically considered
- Curb-cut effect: the idea that accessibility has benefits beyond allowing people with disabilities to use your product
Further reading
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Hi, my name is Anwar.
0:09
I'm a designer, a developer,
and a teacher at Treehouse.
0:11
In this course we'll cover a vital part
of the UX design process that can be
0:15
easily overlooked:
0:19
designing with accessibility in mind.
0:21
Accessible design is a design
process that specifically considers
0:25
the needs of people with disabilities.
0:29
Having empathy for
0:33
your users means remembering that not
everyone uses the web in the same way.
0:34
Some users rely on assistive
technology to help them access the web.
0:39
Common examples include screen readers, or
0:46
software that reads web content aloud
to assist visually impaired users.
0:50
MARC SUTTON: What a screen reader does is for
example,
0:57
I'm gonna read this
start to read this page.
1:00
SCREEN READER: Navigation 1 item, link, University of California San Francisco link,
1:03
About UCSF, link, Search UCSF.
1:07
MARC SUTTON: And what I will now do
is slow down the speech rate.
1:08
SCREEN READER: Rate 80%, 75%, 70%,
65%, 60%, 55%,
1:11
50% 50% 55% 50% 45% 40%
link UCSF Medical Center.
1:15
MARC SUTTON: So as I was about to say,
1:19
a screen reader converts what is on
a computer screen into information that
1:21
can be displayed through synthetic
speech or Braille output.
1:27
And it does that by allowing
you to use a computer instead
1:32
of a mouse. A computer
keyboard instead of a mouse.
1:37
ANWAR: Screen magnifiers,
used to enlarge content for
1:42
users with sight impairments.
1:46
Switch controls, which allow users
with motor impairments to control
2:07
your site without the use of
a touchscreen, mouse, or keyboard.
2:12
TODD STABELFELDT: All right, starting from
my left to right, I have buttons and
2:18
I'm gonna use my tongue, and
you just all gotta handle it.
2:24
Button number one.
2:29
That's called move back, move previous.
2:32
Okay, middle button or
2:37
second button, select, right?
2:41
Third button, move next.
2:47
ANWAR: And closed captioning, used to
make videos accessible to deaf and
2:54
hard of hearing users, as well as users
with Auditory Processing Disorder
3:00
which refers to challenges
not with hearing, but
3:06
how the brain understands speech.
3:10
I've included an article in
the Teacher's Notes on the subject.
3:12
[MUSIC]
3:16
POE DAMERON: We're not alone.
3:21
Good people will fight if we lead them.
3:24
ANWAR: Making your content accessible to
all users is not just the right thing to do.
3:29
It's required by law.
3:34
In America Title III of the Americans with
3:37
Disabilities Act has been
applied to digital content
3:41
like websites and apps as
"places of public accommodation".
3:45
In other words,
creating inaccessible online content is
3:50
like designing a new building
without wheelchair ramps.
3:54
It's considered discriminatory
against people with disabilities,
3:58
and could leave your product
subject to a costly lawsuit.
4:04
Unfortunately, accessibility is
often given a lower priority
4:08
than other steps in the design process or
even forgotten.
4:13
To avoid this, let's dispel some of
the myths surrounding accessible design.
4:17
Starting with the idea that
accessibility benefits only
4:24
those with a permanent physical or
cognitive disability.
4:28
Microsoft is one company with
a firm commitment to accessibility.
4:34
I am looking at inclusive 101,
4:39
a manual downloaded from Microsoft's
inclusive design toolkit.
4:41
The PDF illustrates various types
of disabilities, including reasons
4:46
a user might only be able to operate
their mobile device with one hand.
4:51
Some of your audience might have
a permanent disability such as
4:55
having only one arm.
4:59
However, Microsoft notes there
are also temporary disabilities,
5:02
such as a broken arm that will eventually
heal and situational disabilities,
5:06
like using a smartphone one
handed while holding a baby.
5:12
These temporary and
5:16
situational disabilities can
impact your entire audience.
5:18
Not just those with permanent conditions
5:22
impacting their ability to see,
hear, move, think or communicate.
5:26
Accessible design makes things better for
users with all types of disabilities,
5:35
whether permanent,
temporary, or situational.
5:41
But is that the only benefit?
5:45
Actually, eliminating barriers
between your audience and
5:49
your product results in
better overall usability,
5:53
which sounds like a good part of your job
description as a user experience designer.
5:56
The notion that accessibility has
benefits beyond allowing people
6:03
with disabilities to use your product
is termed the curb-cut effect.
6:08
While cuts in elevated sidewalks were
originally developed to benefit
6:13
wheelchair users,
6:18
they also make life easier for
pedestrians pushing strollers or
6:19
bicycles, wheeling luggage,
using crutches, or
6:24
even distracted by a mobile device.
6:30
Similarly, while video captions
are critical for deaf users,
6:33
other viewers might use
them while in a noisy room,
6:38
to understand difficult vocabulary, or
6:43
to help them focus and retain information.
6:45
If you say to yourself, you know what,
6:51
my product isn't really usable
until everyone can use it,
6:53
you'll never omit accessibility
concerns from the design process.
6:58
But that's not all.
7:04
Accessible design is good for
business since it expands audience
7:06
reach to include users
of varying capabilities.
7:10
According to the 2011,
World Report on Disability,
7:14
over 1 billion people in the world, or
7:19
about 15% of the earth's population
have some form of disability.
7:22
Excluding them just doesn't make
sense from a business perspective.
7:27
And websites that are coded to
accessibility standards have greater
7:33
prominence on search engines,
7:38
making your product easier to find.
7:40
One final myth is
that accessibility stands
7:44
in the way of the creation
of innovative products.
7:48
In truth, innovation is frequently
driven by people with disabilities.
7:53
The first typewriters
appeared in early 19th
7:59
century Italy as a letter writing tool
for the blind.
8:03
Vint Cerf, a deaf American
computer scientist frustrated with
8:07
communicating over the telephone,
co-invented the communication
8:13
protocol that makes
the internet possible in 1973.
8:17
Even universally popular
features in today's mobile apps
8:23
such as Auto Completion
and Voice Control
8:28
were initially developed to assist
users with physical impairments.
8:31
So if we're going to make better products
by making more accessible products,
8:37
we'll need a set of rules to guide us.
8:42
We'll take a look at an internationally
recognized set of guidelines in our
8:45
next video.
8:50
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