#26037
Can Color-Blind Users See Your Site?
Information that will help you to create more readable Web sites.
Hess, Robert. Microsoft (2000). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Color
#18286
Can Expanding Targets Make Object Selection Easier for Older Adults?
Given the proliferation of computers and rapidly aging demographic trends, there is a critical need for user interface designs that accommodate older adults. It is known that many adults in this age group experience declines in cognitive, sensory, and/or motor capacities that may interfere with their ability to interact effectively with current user interfaces. Motor behavior slows with age. Compared to younger adults, older adults take longer to complete the same movement, and their movements are more variable, less smooth, and less coordinated (Seidler & Stelmach, 1996). The loss of fine motor skills makes it difficult for older adults to position cursors on computer screens, particularly when interacting with small objects (Chaparro, et al., 1999; Walker et al., 1996). This can lead to greater frustration and possibly increased risk of cumulative trauma due to prolonged periods of time in awkward postures. This article describes one of a series of studies designed to explore alternative interaction techniques to make object selection easier for older mouse users.
Bohan, Michael and Deborah Scarlett. Usability News (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Elderly
#22988
There are two methods for adding captions in QuickTime. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. The first allows you to maintain a single file, making the captioned video easier to distribute. The second approach allows you to easily deliver a captioned and non-captioned version of your movie, but requires an understanding of SMIL (it's not too hard).
WebAIM (2003). Design>Multimedia>Accessibility>Video
#22990
RealPlayer uses SMIL to combine media content with a RealText (.rt) file. The .rt file contains the captions themselves and information about how and when they should appear. The SMIL file is really just a pointer file. It contains information about where and how your captions and media content should display.
WebAIM (2003). Design>Multimedia>Accessibility>Video
#22989
Windows Media Player adds captions using Microsoft's Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange (SAMI). SAMI, like SMIL, which is used by Quicktime and RealPlayer, is an XML-based text language. A SAMI file contains the captions and definitions for how and when the captions should display.
WebAIM (2003). Design>Multimedia>Accessibility>Video
#25969
Captions and Audio Descriptions for PC Multimedia
This article discusses the various types of captions, when to use captions, as well as the various types of audio descriptions.
Microsoft (2002). Design>Multimedia>Accessibility>Audio
#19191
Cognitive Behavior Learning Disabilities: Being Different Shouldn't Mean Being Discriminated Against
I view my son's early school years in the 90s as a nightmare. I asked if my son could submit homework done on the computer due to his awful handwriting - weren't his ideas the key issue? - and 'NO!' was the reply.
Mardahl, Karen. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Usability>Accessibility
#18439
Color blindness is mostly neglected, even most of the people do not consider this as a serious problem. However, color blindness can be a problem that disrupts many tasks.
Karagol-Ayan, Burcu. Universal Usability. Design>Usability>Accessibility>Color
#21120
You might do a lot of usability testing on your web site but you still might lose up to 10% of your audience because of some simple mistakes with colors. Specifically, your web site may be designed in a way that doesn't work well for people with colorblindness. Generally the fix is quite simple: be sure to provide excellent contrast between your various web page elements.
Follansbee, Todd. WebWord (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Color
#19320
Colour is used in interface design for a variety of purposes. Not only can colour convey meaning or highlight content, it is also an important part of corporate identity and branding. Where would the Coca Cola brand be without its distinctive red and white livery? All well and good, but the reality is that the use of colour can cause more problems than it solves. Interface designers must treat colour with caution for a variety of reasons - most importantly the huge variety of ways in which any given colour can be perceived. It is well known that older users and those with colour-deficit vision may have difficulty in perceiving certain colours. Different monitors may be poor at maintaining colours the same across displays, and of course many users are still working on black and white displays. In this environment, poor use of colour may mean that text is hard to read, eyestrain occurs, and users become frustrated. With this in mind, designers should consider the following guidelines relating to the use of colour in interface design.
Gaine, Frank. Frontend Infocentre (2000). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Color
#26849
Communication Challenges in the WC3's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 
In the first part of this article, we analyze a number of communication challenges and relate them to problems in conveying the November draft of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. Based on our analysis, the second part of our article offers a number of recommendations for improving the comprehensibility of the WCAG 2.0 for its various intended audiences. Although our discussion has the November draft as its focal point, the recommendations are more widely applicable to other complex documents with diverse audiences. In the final part, we propose a new vision for the WCAG.
Brys, Catherine M. and Wim Vanderbauwhede. Technical Communication Online (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Standards
#18740
Cómo Hacer Más Accesibles los Gráficos SVG
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) es un lenguaje de etiquetado que nos permite la descripción con XML de gráficos vectoriales en dos dimensiones. En este artículo se resume brevemente como los gráficos SVG pueden ser más accesibles siguiendo las directrices del W3C.
Fernandez, Francisco Jesus Martin and Oscar Martin Rodriguez. Nosolousabilidad.com (2002). (Spanish) Design>Accessibility>Graphic Design>Usability
#22704
Comprendiendo la Accesibilidad
una completa guía para crear sitios Web, que consigan la conformidad con las normas federales de Estados Unidos para la accesibilidad del contenido Web
Yonaitis, Robert B. HiSoftware (2002). (Spanish) Design>Accessibility>Web Design
#19226
Computer-Mediated Communication and Disability Support: Addressing Barriers to Study
The case study reported here formed part of a linear series of studies undertaken as doctoral research at the Institute of Educational Technology of the Open University between 1994 and 1999. It explored ways in which computer-mediated conferencing (one type of computer-mediated communication [CMC]), could address barriers to study encountered by undergraduate distance learners with long-term health problems, identified by a large scale postal survey of volunteers. These problem areas include: difficulty with handwriting, academic and social isolation and fatigue, together with a need for better interactive communication with support agencies. The approach taken was designed to maximise student autonomy in relation to their studies. Thirteen participants were provided with access to the services of an on-line educational counsellor, both by e-mail and in a confidential peer group conference in the environment of a 'Virtual Campus'. The findings suggest that informal contact with the counsellor in the group environment helped to build rapport and develop confidence for these students to approach her by e-mail when more private advice or help was needed.
Debenham, Margaret. TechDis (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#31571
The Concept of Universal Design
The idea that environments can support human function is not new to designers. But, the perception that design can enable one’s abilities and participation in society is something relatively new from a consumer perspective.
Steinfeld, Edward. uiGarden (2008). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#20662
Recently, I was surprised to learn that about 8 percent of men and 0.5 percent of women have some form of color blindness. For some Web sites that could translate to 1 in 12 visitors. That's a larger proportion of visitors than some other groups I consider when designing Web sites. The ratio of visitors viewing the Web with only 256 colors or a 640x480 pixel screen is usually less than 5 percent these days. Now include cross-browser support, older browsers, style sheets, and JavaScript in the mix. If you consider those issues when you design Web sites, you should consider your color-blind visitors, as well.
Newman, Chuck. New Architect (2000). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Color
#23013
Considering the User Perspective: A Summary of Design Issues
A table which indicates some accomodations web designers may choose to build into accessible websites.
Bohman, Paul. WebAIM (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#26365
This paper outlines the requirements for console accessibility in Microsoft Windows XP.
Microsoft (2001). Design>Accessibility>Software
#19643
Could Helen Keller Read Your Page?
The 'line-at-a-time' approach of screen-reader software complicates navigation on text lines that contain multiple hyperlinks (such as navigation bars). Thus, in an ideal world, accommodating visually impaired readers would move an author to place each link on its own separate line. But individual lines for each link can make for long scrolling pages, which, in turn, compromises navigation speed for sighted readers.
Sullivan, Terry and Krystyn Manning. All Things Web (1997). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#25972
Create More Accessible UI with Dynamic Annotation
This article discusses dynamic annotation (DA), a feature that allows developers to improve the accessibility of their user interface.
Microsoft (2000). Design>User Interface>Accessibility
#22958
Creating Accessible Cascading Style Sheets
For years, the only way to format HTML in a visually appealing way was to use tables, even though tables were originally created to display tabular data. As the Web evolved and became more sophisticated, designers wanted to do more than just display text, they wanted to emulate printed documents. They wanted to make an artistic statement. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, tables can be used for layout without ruining the accessibility of a Web site. Yes, it's ok to use tables for layout. Still, you can take your Web design to a higher level by eliminating tables entirely. The way to do this is through CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Bohman, Paul. WebAIM (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>CSS
#22992
Macromedia Flash is a vector-based, interactive animation creation program designed to enable the addition of dynamic characters, scenes, interfaces and motion graphics animations to Web sites. Macromedia Flash materials are created using the Flash authoring program, the most recent version of which is Flash MX.
WebAIM (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Flash
#22959
When we talk about the accessibility of forms, we are usually referring about their accessibility to screen readers and the visually impaired. People with other types of disabilities generally are less affected by 'faulty' forms that are missing some of the HTML accessibility features.
WebAIM (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Forms
#22960
A frameset is a Web page which defines a collection of at least two other separate Web pages, which are combined in the same visual space. Visual users usually experience framesets as a cohesive entity. They can scan the contents of multiple pages all at once. Those using screen readers cannot quickly scan the contents of multiple pages. All of the content is experienced in a linear fashion, one frame at a time. Frames are not inaccessible to modern screen readers, but they can be disorienting.
WebAIM (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#22961
Some people think that graphics are bad for accessibility. The truth is that graphics can be of great benefit to the accessibility of a Web page by providing illustrations, icons, animations, or other visual cues that aid comprehension for sighted individuals. Too often we forget that when we design for people with disabilities, we are not designing only for the blind. We must consider disabilities of all types. Graphics can be especially useful to individuals with certain reading disabilities, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, or cognitive disabilities.
WebAIM (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
