Pretty accessible epilogue

In my last two articles I have explored the topic from a sociological and practical viewpoint, hinting my own perspective in the role of one of the individuals to be targeted. Having given a presentation on this matter, it was an interesting experience for me to actually mention my own visual impairment, as well as for e audience dealing with a “legally blind designer” talking about accessibility.

But as much my particular audience found my presentation insightful, there’s still a lot of work to be done out there. One of the key critical points with the current accessibility guidelines is the the huge amount of ignorance to any feedback, even from people with disabilities. However, those who’d apply certain rules might reconsider certain aspects on what and how to implement, many also totally ignore any arguments on whether specific guidelines are actually helpful or not. One very common example is when clients ask for bigger font sizes, of which they think to be helpful for visually impaired. I wouldn’t blame them in the first place, they mean well. Many would be surprised to hear that huge font sizes are anything but helpful. The trick is to find a size that can be bigger than average, yet still fit into the layout leaving users the ability to resize them as they wish and how it suits them. Now it would be up to the client to actually take this under consideration, especially regarding the fact, that my own eyesight is way below of those who are being marketed, such as elderly individuals. Any related advice being ignored is a bit of a slap in the face, especially for those who are depending on accessible information. It looks like it is resulting from the attitude to speak for others, and not letting them to actually speak for themselves. According to my book, this is called discrimination.

I still haven’t given up hope that there are people out there who do care. You might want to take a look at my slides, that illustrate in word and images, what accessibility feels like in real life. But as I said, there’s a lot of work to do…

Originally published at www.designbypxlgirl.com on May 27, 2013.