Hello friends! This post is primarily for those attending our workshop at SXSW 2017 to follow along or refer to later. I’ve compiled a bunch of resources, guidelines, tools, additional reading, and videos to check out. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and ping me directly if you want to chat more!
March 11, 2017
3:30pm - 5:00pm
Westin Austin Downtown Hotel
Room Paramount 3
How Deep Is Your Accessibility Empathy?
http://schedule.sxsw.com/2017/events/PP60429
WHY SHOULD I CARE?
15% of the world’s population (approximately one billion people) experience some form of disability, and each of us will likely encounter some form of disability in our lives. Keep in mind while some of us may experience temporary disabilities, understand that many live with a disability 24/7. There are many different types of disabilities, such as vision, movement, thinking, remembering, learning, communicating, hearing, mental health, social relationships, etc.
LAWS AND REGULATIONS
Much of the information technology we know and see today requires legal compliance. Many regulations, laws, and guidelines have been implemented over the years to enforce accessibility.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities. This act was implemented before the Internet was commonplace for people to communicate/ get information.
Section 508 is an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires all electronic information presented by federal or government agencies to be accessible to people with disabilities.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published WCAG 1.0, which are the web content guidelines for creating accessible websites. WCAG 2.0 is the latest and updated version.
The 21stCentury Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CCVA) requires all videos used for communicating on the web and on mobile devices and all video programming to communicate emergency information to include captioning.
Outside of the U.S., Canada has government Web Standards (previously known as Common Look and Feel Standards). Australia, Ireland, and UK has laws against disability discrimination. The British Standards Institute issued a Code of Practice for Web Accessibility in 2010. Japan has their web content guidelines under the Japanese Industrial Standards.
WHY EMPATHY?
In this video, Brene Brown briefly discusses the difference between empathy and sympathy. As creative technologists of the future, in a rapidly advancing digital world, we have the power to change the course of how we interact with interfaces and emerging technologies to be more inclusive of everyone.
In order to think of or provide innovative solutions for customer pain, we must first understand the pains that people with disabilities may face in the digital space, beyond today.
Apple did a great job with a video on their website and accessibility page showcasing a few of their accessibility features. I encourage you to play around with the features to experience how other might use the features and perhaps even enhance your own workflow and device experience.
W3C also launched a series of Web Accessibility Perspectives Videos, which offer a glimpse into how what you do from now on, design or development-wise, can have a significant impact on the lives of people with specific disabilities.
GET DEEPLY ROOTED IN EMPATHY
Here are some resources to get your more deeply rooted in customer empathy. Don’t lose the empathy after this workshop - remember to keep practicing empathy!
Spark Innovation Through EmpathicDesign
Design for Delight EmpathyMap
Girls Who Code Summer Camp atIntuit
Special Needs and AbilitiesNetwork
Deer Valley Disability Awareness Packet
Enabled by Design
GET INSPIRED THROUGH INNOVATION
Check out some of these articles and videos to get a better grasp and understanding of how some products and services are innovating in the digital space and often beyond the computer or mobile screens to improve people’s lives.
Example Accessible Apps
Vibeat Wearable
Color Scale Demo
The Bradley Watch
Voice Access Beta
Bone Conduction Headphones
Wayfindr
PLATFORM GUIDELINES
If you’re designing or developing for mobile platforms, it’s worth taking a look at each platform’s accessibility guidelines to get a grasp on rules, existing built-in features, and other resources.
iOS Accessibility Guidelines
iOS Human Interface Guidelines
Android Accessibility Guidelines
Windows Accessibility Guidelines
IHENI’s Curated List of Mobile Accessibility Resources
EXTRAS There are many accessibility tools available to test or validate your code or designs. Simulators are also helpful to understand visual implications when creating new designs. Here is a list to get you started.
W3 HTML/CSS Validator
Deque’s Website Accessibility Checklist
WebAIM Color Contrast Checker
Firefox Accessibility Evaluation Toolbar
Readability Test Tool
Color Oracle
Soft-proofing for colorblindness in Adobe Photoshop
Color Contrast Analyser
Luminosity Color Contrast Ratio Analyser
See Chrome Extension
WebAIM Low Vision Simulation
Eye-Sim
Chromatic Vision Simulator
VisionSim App (iOS only)
PLATFORM GUIDELINES
If you’re designing or developing for mobile platforms, it’s worth taking a look at each platform’s accessibility guidelines to get a grasp on rules, existing built-in features, and other resources.
iOS Accessibility Guidelines
iOS Human Interface Guidelines
Android Accessibility Guidelines
Windows Accessibility Guidelines
IHENI’s Curated List of Mobile Accessibility Resources
// POST EDIT
Thank you so much for attending the workshop on such a rainy day! We really appreciate your time and enthusiasm.
Here are the presentation slides:
https://www.slideshare.net/yvonniks/how-deep-is-your-accessibility-empathy-sxsw-workshop-2017