Inclusive Design in Digital Musical Instruments

This talk has been given at DICE festival in Berlin 2018 and at Monki Gras 2019.

It looks at a small snapshot of inclusive design, citing the four principles of web accessibility as outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) as a good place to start. You can read more about WCAG here: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/

If you would like to join the Accessible Instruments community, you can sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/mrJahCsTiRdC1umA3

Please feel free to contact me about any of the content in this workshop.

Transcript

1. Inclusive Design in Digital
   Musical Instruments
   Making music accessible to EVERYONE
   Amy Dickens
   @RedRoxProjects
   

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2. I started out as a curious
   Musician
   then I studied to become an
   Audio Engineer
   not long after I became a
   Computer Scientist
   I found a voice as an
   Ambassador for Women in Tech
   and a job as
   Web Developer Advocate
   @RedRoxProjects
   

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3. Accessibility in Digital Musical Instruments
   What does it mean to be “Inclusive”?
   The affordances of technology in music making
   Barriers that need breaking
   Current “Accessible” Technologies
   Design a DMI
   Showcase
   What the research is telling us...
   @RedRoxProjects
   

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4. Inclusive?
   What does it mean for technology designers?
   @RedRoxProjects
   

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5. Building accessible products is the right thing to do. As
   technology becomes more ingrained into everyday life, the
   ability to use digital products is a necessity; therefore,
   from an ethical perspective, ensuring that a diverse set of
   customers can use your product is a moral imperative.
   Emily Tate, Mind the Product
   |Putting Accessibility First, Interactions 2018
   @RedRoxProjects
   

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6. @RedRoxProjects
   The overall goal should be… Making sure that everyone has
   equivalent access… If it takes the average person who can
   see 10 seconds and the average person with a visual
   impairment 5 minutes, that is not equivalent usability…
   That is not equivalent access
   Jonathan Lazar, recipient of SIGCHI Social Impact Award
   |Putting Accessibility First, Interactions 2018
   

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7. A quick nod towards web standards:
   Web Content
   Accessibility Guidelines
   WCAG 2.0
   @RedRoxProjects
   

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8. #1 PERCEIVABLE
   @RedRoxProjects
   

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9. Information and user interface
   components must be presentable to
   users in ways they can perceive.
   It must not be invisible to all of their
   senses.
   @RedRoxProjects
   

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10. #2 OPERABLE
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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11. User interface components and
    navigation must be operable.
    It cannot require an interaction that a
    user cannot perform.
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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12. @RedRoxProjects
    #3 UNDERSTABLE
    

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13. Information and the operation of user
    interface must be understandable.
    The information nor operation of the
    interface should be beyond the user’s
    understanding.
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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14. @RedRoxProjects
    #4 ROBUST
    

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15. Content must be robust enough that it
    can be interpreted reliably by a wide
    variety of user agents, including
    assistive technologies.
    It shouldn’t break easily.
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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16. 19%
    of the world’s population is estimated to suffer from some
    form of disability at some point in their lives.
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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17. 1 in 5
    of potential users.
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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18. Inclusive Design considers these users throughout the
    entire design process
    Walkthroughs with Personas
    Walkthroughs using Assistive Technology
    Paid user testing - by people with a range of accessibility requirements
    Using the Microsoft Inclusive Design Tool Kit as a guide
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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19. Affordances
    of digital technologies in music making
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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20. Technology has come a long way since
    the 1930s
    From Synthesizers to Apps the range
    of Digital Musical Instruments is vast.
    Some are sound generators, some are
    MIDI controllers, some can be both.
    Technology allows us to interact with
    sound in many ways.
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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21. @RedRoxProjects
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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22. Touch-able interfaces
    Sensitivity
    Malleable
    Visual Independence
    Familiarity of Devices
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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23. Gesture interfaces
    In-air Gestures
    Wearables
    Thresholds
    Tailorable
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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24. Apps
    Familiarity of Device
    Generative Audio Scapes
    Gamification
    Integration with Assistive
    Technologies
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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25. What does the technology tell the user?
    How to interact with it?
    How soon they can interact with it?
    What kind of sound it will generate?
    Seeing vs feeling
    What can be changed about it?
    What it can’t do?
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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26. Barriers
    to music making with digital musical instruments
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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27. @RedRoxProjects
    

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28. Non Visual
    Interaction
    Orientation &
    Positioning in Space
    Unconventional scores & creating
    common understanding
    Multiple User
    Requirements
    Different Devices,
    Networks & OSes
    Roles that change
    throughout the process
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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29. @RedRoxProjects
    

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30. The Research
    stuff the data is telling us...
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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31. Field study - a quick overview
    A group of
    students with a
    range of abilities
    (Aged up to 19)
    5 days
    Recording found sounds,
    instrument parts &
    creating music together
    using traditional & digital
    instruments & a
    technology probe
    Record some parts,
    create “scores” or
    section notes & a
    mix in Ableton from
    which the
    performance is built.
    A live performance,
    with pre-recorded
    backing & live section
    solo parts played
    using technology
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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32. Three
    Interaction
    Modes
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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33. Two
    Interaction
    Cycles
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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34. @RedRoxProjects
    

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35. There is no “one
    size fits all” solution
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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36. Provide options :
    “tailorability” is key
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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37. What now?
    The FAME framework (Facilitating Access to Musical
    Experiences)
    The Accessible Instrument Finder & Community
    Exploring the tailoring of DMIs
    Taxonomy of Musical Gestures
    Industry Partners & Research Collaborations
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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38. and YOU
    @RedRoxProjects
    

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39. Let’s build better
    things!
    Amy Dickens
    Samsung Internet | The Mixed
    Reality Laboratory
    amy.dickens@nottingham.ac.uk
    Twitter :: RedRoxProjects
    GitHub :: RedRoxProjects
    Website :: adickens.co.uk
    

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