Designing for accessibility

From a talk at LXJS in October 2013

Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOM5eY5hG-Q&hd=1

Transcript

1. Designing for accessibility @laurakalbag laurakalbag.com AKA universal design AKA inclusive design
2. Are you are developer or a designer?
4. = =
5. designing for accessibility isn’t just for “designers”
6. What is accessibility?
7. Accessibility is the degree to which a website is available to as many people as possible.
8. accessibility isn’t just about screen readers
11. Shiny Shiny
12. Is it because we don’t understand who we’re trying to help?
13. Is it because we just don’t know what to do?
14. Is it because it’s too hard, and there’s too much to think about?
15. I’ve not got the answers
16. It’s not fair if the web isn’t accessible
18. Design decisions made in the name of accessibility will largely benefit everyone.
19. The business case £€$
20. http://www.wsi-ic.com/PConnolly/FileContent/improve_website.pdf Improvements in accessibility doubled Legal and General’s life insurance sales online
21. http://www.wsi-ic.com/PConnolly/FileContent/improve_website.pdf Improvements in accessibility increased Tesco’s grocery home delivery sales by £13M in 2005
22. http://www.wsi-ic.com/PConnolly/FileContent/improve_website.pdf Improvements in accessibility increased Virgin.net sales by 68%
23. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€
24. The four (main) types of disability that affect use of the web
25. Visual
26. Hearing
27. Motor
28. Cognitive
29. None of these disabilities are completely black and white
30. mild moderate moderately severe severe profound hearing
31. astigmatism sensitivity colour blindness akinetopsia blindness eyesight
32. Visual make it easy to read
33. Hearing make it easy to hear
34. Motor make it easy to interact
35. make it easy to understand and focus Cognitive
36. Good accessibility is good usability
37. Examples
38. Disclaimer
39. Text
43. Squinting does not make an enjoyable reading experience
44. 1. Make text content easy to read. 2. Ensure sensible font sizes. 3. Don’t prevent the user from resizing the fonts themselves in the browser.
48. What’s that supposed to mean?
49. 1. Good copy is a part of good accessibility. Keep your text simple and your meaning clear.
50. Colour
53. Your screen isn’t the same as everybody else’s screens
54. 1. Use colour contrast tools to ensure your text is high-contrast enough. 2. Beware of super-high contrast too.
55. Content hierarchy
56. This is a top-level heading This is a paragraph. It has some text in it. It’s a few sentences long. A lot of paragraphs look like this. This is a second level heading. This is a paragraph which has some links to other content and a button that allows you to take action.
57. This is a top-level heading This is a paragraph. It has some text in it. It’s a few sentences long. A lot of paragraphs look like this. This is a second level heading. This is a paragraph which has some links to other content and a button that allows you to take action
58. Randomly enlarging and colouring text does not make a hierarchy.
59. 1. Make the content structure clear and consistent. 2. Use semantic headings, labels, lists and other relevant elements for your HTML or native controls.
60. Links
61. Why should I click there?
62. Sometimes the links are the same colour and style as the rest of the text and you only find out it’s a link when you hover over it.
63. Sometimes the links are the same colour and style as the rest of the text and you only find out it’s a link when you hover over it.
64. Finding interactive elements should not be a game.
65. 1. Make buttons and interactive elements easyily distinguishable from non-interactive elements. 2. Make links easy to recognise by using an underline.
68. Why should I click there?
69. 1. Use link text that makes sense out of context. Don’t use “click here”. 2. Remember that not all your users are clicking.
70. Alt text
73. Unhelpful alt text has its place on XKCD
75. 1. Provide text alternatives for images that helps a user understand the context of the image.
76. Media
77. No, I don’t want to listen to your podcast or watch your video tutorial. Give me text!
78. 1. Provide text transcripts for audio. 2. Provide subtitles for video.
79. JavaScript
83. 1. Use JavaScript with care and load it in a sensible place. 2. If your web site or app needs JavaScript, ensure you use WAI ARIA to guide assistive technologies.
84. Navigation and way-finding
87. The days of flash are over, stop punishing me with your artsy navigation.
88. 1. Provide consistent ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are.
89. Forms
90. First name Last name Email address Laura Kalbag email@laurakalbag.com
92. Don’t make me guess what and where the error is.
93. Animations
95. Wait for me!
96. 1. Give users enough time to read and use content 2. Try not to distract users from their goals with unstoppable animations
97. Resources
109. I need proof that accessible sites aren’t just ugly
118. Consider accessibility at every point of planning. It is functionality, content hierarchy, copy, visual design and code.
119. Accessibility as default
120. Accessibility is easy to consider once you start caring about it.
122. Laura Kalbag @laurakalbag laurakalbag.com