Designing for The Edges - Accessibility Resources for Designers and Developers

Transcript

1. DESIGNING FOR THE EDGES Accessibility Resources for Designers and Developers Jason Hester - Bitcoin Design Community
2. WORKSHOP GOALS • Understand how accessibility improves usability • Learn common disability types & assistive tech • Explore basic methods to test your Bitcoin app • Resource guide for the Designathon / Hackathon
3. CORE HEURISTIC “Catering to the extremes in human variation can and often does improve usability for the average user." • A.K.A. “The curb cut effect” • Key part of Universal Design / Human Factors • Especially relevant in high-stakes, irreversible systems like Bitcoin
4. THE BITCOIN CONTEXT Boating accidents happen with bad UX High friction = high risk Poor UX can make security and privacy unusable One mistake can cost everything Who’s left out today? (older adults, people in the Global South, people with disabilities)
5. Why Accessibility Matters for Bitcoin Key aspects of an inclusive Bitcoin design Accessibility helps make Bitcoin usable for all: Accessibility benefits everyone, including individuals with disabilities. It is a fundamental aspect of universal design. Accessibility helps prevent irreversible errors: Including accessibility in design helps prevent serious errors caused by common issues like unlabeled buttons and forms. Accessible design is resilient design: Tools that work across diverse abilities, devices, and environments are often more robust and reliable in general.
6. Hal Finney Had a Disability • Diagnosed with ALS in 2009 • Continued working on bitcoin despite his diagnosis • Wrote about his use of assistive technology • Bitcoin and Me - Hal Finney (2013)
7. DISABILITY CATEGORIES TO DESIGN FOR Visual: Blindness, low vision, colorblindness Cognitive/Neuro: ADHD, dyslexia, autism, memory issues Auditory: Deafness, hard-of- hearing Temporary/Environmental: Broken arm, noisy café, bright sunlight Motor: Limited mobility, tremors, paralysis
8. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES YOU SHOULD KNOW • Screen readers (VoiceOver, NVDA, TalkBack) • Screen magnifiers • Switch controls & alternative input devices • Voice control (e.g., Siri, dictation) • Captions / transcripts
9. WCAG POUR PRINCIPLES The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 define four essential principles for accessible Bitcoin design: Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. (e.g., text alternatives, captions, adaptable formats). Operable: UI components must be operable by all users (e.g., keyboard navigation, seizure-safe designs, clear wayfinding). Understandable: Information and the operation of the user interface must be understandable (e.g readable, predictable, and help users avoid mistakes) - critical in Bitcoin apps. Robust: Content must work reliably with current and future user agents and assistive technologies using clean, standards-compliant code.
10. Accessibility Examples in Bitcoin Apps 01 Sufficient contrast for text (4.5:1) and meaningful UI elements (3:1) 02 Large touch targets (24x24px+) and keyboard support for motor accessibility 03 Descriptive labels for controls and alerts / status messages for screen reader users 04 Text alternatives for QR codes and images 05 Screen-reader friendly recovery flows with clear instructions
11. Designing for the Edge Cases Accessibility Feature Who it Helps First How It Helps Everyone Captions & Transcripts Deaf or hard-of-hearing users Quiet or noisy environments, faster information parsing Voice Control / Keyboard Nav Limited mobility Hands-free convenience, power-user efficiency High Contrast / Text Size Vision impairments Sunlight use, aging eyes, general readability Simple UI & Terminology Cognitive impairments Reduces mistakes, speeds up onboarding Colorblind-friendly design Colorblind users Clearer and more distinguishable for everyone Larger tap targets / gestures Motor impairments Fewer mis-taps on mobile, faster transactions Offline & Low-bandwidth Support Remote or resource-constrained users Global access, better performance everywhere
12. Security Through Accessibility • Clear language - fewer irreversible errors • Accessible backups (visual, verbal, multi-device, NFC) - safer recovery options • Human-proof defaults - less address reuse, metadata exposure, etc. • Testing with edge users - helps find critical flaws before it's too late
13. Mobile Accessibility Testing Checklist Enable VoiceOver (iOS) or TalkBack (Android) ⚬ Test navigation, labeling, and reading order with a screen reader. Navigate without touch gestures ⚬ Use only keyboard shortcuts, external switches, or voice commands to test non- touch interaction. Check color contrast ⚬ Use WCAG 2.2 contrast checkers to verify readable text and controls. Zoom the display to 200% ⚬ Ensure the UI remains usable and intact at large text or zoom settings. Turn on grayscale or colorblind modes ⚬ Simulate colorblindness to check that meaning isn't conveyed by color alone. Enable Large Text settings ⚬ Increase system font size to test if text reflows properly without breaking layouts. Use voice-only control ⚬ Navigate the app entirely with Voice Control (iOS) or Voice Access (Android), without touching the screen.
14. How to setup VoiceOver (iOS) Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver Optionally Live Recognition
15. How to setup TalkBack (Android) Settings > Accessibility > Talkback > Toggle Use Talkback and Talkback shortcut
16. Tools & Resources Bitcoin Accessibility Guide https://jason-me.github.io/bitcoin-universal-design/
17. Screen Reader Demo Sparrow Wallet w/ NVDA
18. Final Thoughts • Solve for one. Extend to many. • Designing for the edges strengthens the core
19. Q&A and Where to Find Us @johnjherzog and @jsonbits on Discord @jason-me on github @Decentra11yze on x / nostr