Accessibility by Design: The Four Principles
Despite your best efforts, you’ve been ignoring your users.
Here’s a test. Go to Wired and see how long it takes you to find the first headline on the page that starts with the letter A, or lack there of. Now, go to FastCompany and do the same- but do it with your eyes closed. How much longer did that take you? Could you even complete it?
Here’s another test. Go to Google and time how long it takes you to type in a search for this year’s Super Bowl results. Now, try the same timed exercise for the last World Series results — but this time you can’t use your hands or arms to type. Which one took longer?
These exercises may seem silly, but the fact is: fifteen percent of the world lives with some sort of disability, and for some the above imitation is their reality. In the US alone, that equates to the population of New York state not being able to use your product. Does it make good business sense to create a product that only 49 out of 50 states can use? Today, broadband internet access is considered a human right, putting it in the same conversation as topics like the right to education and free speech. By ignoring accessibility considerations in web and app development, aren’t we being negligent towards the rights of 15% of the population?
As designers, we have both a business and ethical case to embrace accessibility. Luckily, the tools to solve a lot of these problems already exist. Code requirements, browsing plugins, OS settings and keyboard/mouse alternatives are all readily available. It’s sad then that for many, today’s common web design practices often avoid accessibility considerations until the final stages of development, at which point the criteria can become an annoying list of shoehorned-in roadblocks for developer and designer alike. The trick is, the products we design need to be built with these tools in mind in order for them to work properly. That’s where you, the designer, come in. By having a more comprehensive understanding of how disability can affect use, and the assistive tools available, we can make better informed decisions about everything from colour palette to page navigation from day one.
The Four Principles of Accessibility
A quick google search of “Web Accessibility” returns a landslide of coding information, regulations, and even an article titled “Don’t Wait To Get Sued.” This is all important- but overwhelming. There’s plenty of reference material out there, but our goal here is to making lasting changes in your design process as a whole. Jumping in and slamming you with a bunch of ARIA HTML tags probably isn’t going to stick! So let’s start with the basics. RGD Ontario has put together a great handbook on accessible print and web design, and we’ll be referring back to it a lot. In it, they present four “leading lights” that every designer should keep in mind:
#1 — Content should be PERCEIVABLE
Even if a user has visual deficits or has difficulty hearing, content and functional elements must be made clear and usable. This involves a whole number of strategies that include colour contrast, type sizing, and providing accurate and descriptive Alt text.
#2 — Content should be OPERABLE
Can any user operate and navigate through your site? Not everyone can use a mouse! There must be other ways of using your site. Important information must be shown slowly and deliberately, as some cognitive disorders can greatly slow reading comprehension.
#3 — Content should be UNDERSTANDABLE
Is the content on the page organized and presented in a way that avoids confusion? Is the site structured in a predictable, consistent way? Does it use clear language? Users can have a massive amount of variance in cognitive and visual abilities- whether it’s due to a physical disorder or a lack of education in rural areas.
#4 — Content should be ROBUST
The most accessible websites are those built with HTML, CSS and JS in a way that is compatible with the greatest number of browsers and works with the vast majority of assistive aids. Knowledge of future technology, as well as outdated aids that some users may still be using, is important.
Next Steps
A lot of these principles may seem like no-brainers: Use clear language? Build a site with HTML??? They certainly are obvious, but it illustrates an important point about how we think about users with disabilities. Often it’s not that websites are poorly accessible for certain people; they’re poorly designed for everyone. The goal then becomes creating an accessible site as a feature to be proud of, not an annoying footnote in the development cycle. If we embrace these important considerations as features that are an integral part of the design process from the very beginning we can ensure confidence in every choice we make as being inclusive and accessible. In the next posts, we’ll look at different disabilities and how they may affect use; some of the aids that exist and how they work; design guidelines that you can apply to your practice; and effective ways of auditing your work.
