This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Canada, which closed in 2021.

Designing For Disability Adds Diversity To Your Web Audience

Accessibility has become a scary word for a lot of businesses, especially in Ontario with the looming deadlines of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), which requires that web content pass WCAG 2.0 level AA accessibility guidelines by 2021. It might be less intimidating to think of accessibility as a design philosophy.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
Creating /Designing Website - Concept. EPS 10, only transparencies used. Elements are on a different layers.
DrAfter123 via Getty Images
Creating /Designing Website - Concept. EPS 10, only transparencies used. Elements are on a different layers.

This is me: There's a cool event I'd like to go to, so I'm trying to buy tickets online. But it's 11 p.m. and I'm tired, so the intermittent minor tremor in my hands is acting up. Tiny radio buttons and check boxes become frustrating targets, and the tab button doesn't work to navigate me through the web forms, so I have to try to click on buttons and fields.

Finally I get to the end, but the "cancel" and "submit" links are stacked right on top of each other, and I accidentally cancel my entire order. I want to call the company -- "You want me at your event, don't you? Why are you making it so hard for me to give you my money?"

Let's look at this differently...

Some disability activists are using the term "temporarily-abled" to highlight that disability isn't something that only ever affects a subset of the population.

Many of us will break or sprain a limb, requiring us to use crutches, canes or wheelchairs. We may get concussions that impair our cognition, or illnesses that lower our mental and physical endurance.

As we age, most of us will experience joint stiffness and pain, lowered visual acuity or hearing loss.

The argument is that we often think of the world as divided into "able-bodied" and "disabled" people, but it's not us versus them, it's just "us."

It's not hard to make accessible sites, we just have to remember that it's part of a universal design philosophy, not an afterthought.

We had better design an accessible world, because we're all going to need it one day. Disability isn't a quality of a person. It's a failure of their environment to meet their needs.

The looming spectre of AODA

Part of my job as a UX designer is to work with graphic designers and developers to make sure that the digital spaces we're creating are accessible.

Accessibility has become a scary word for a lot of businesses, especially in Ontario with the looming deadlines of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), which requires that web content pass WCAG 2.0 level AA accessibility guidelines by 2021.

It might be less intimidating to think of accessibility as a design philosophy. Accessibility awareness simply asks us to remember that at least 15 per cent of Canadians currently have a disability, representing 1.7 million people in Ontario, and these numbers are steadily increasing.

Disabled persons represent a potential $3.9 to 9.6 billion in retail spending over five years. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) notes that case studies show that accessible websites have better search results, reduced maintenance costs and increased audience reach, among other benefits.

The business case for accessible web spaces is clear. Those of us with physical or cognitive impairments? We want to go to your events and subscribe to your feeds... we want to sign up for your services, we want to buy your products. We want to recommend you to our friends, to tweet about you and link to you. Don't you want that, too?

Accessibility ruins design!

The most common issue I hear from graphic designers and clients when accessibility comes up is that accessibility is ugly. They refer to accessibility design as being clunky, inelegant, awkward... they experience accessibility as compromising good design. My experience says otherwise. Let me show you some examples of accessible and elegant design.

Here's an easy one from everyday life: doorknobs don't seem like a big deal, unless you can't grip something or can't twist your wrist (or if you're carrying an armful of items, or just put lotion on your hands).

Door levers are just as elegant, and can be opened by just pushing down with a hand, an elbow, a cane or a service dog. There's some pretty cool design options too. Easy!

Moving to web, the first thing to note is that accessible design principles are often better for everyone, not just people who require accessibility features. For example, the requirement to provide captions for audio media doesn't just help deaf and hearing impaired users, it also allows us to watch videos with the sound turned off -- useful for those times at work or on transit when you've forgotten your headphones.

University of Washington has an attractive site with clean navigation -- it has clear headings, simple iconography, and a clean design that highlights images and content. The site is developed in such a way that headings and site items are clearly labelled and navigable by a screen reader. Simple additions such as a "skip to content" button and landmarks make keyboard navigation easy.

Gov.uk has an information-first design -- it aims to use accessible language, intuitive structure and straightforward navigation to get visitors to the information they need.

It may not include stunning photography or animation, but it's one of the most elegant and well-constructed information resources I've found, and it's completely accessible, from visual design to screen readers and keyboard navigation.

Accessibility is not a step, it's a process

It's not hard to make accessible sites, we just have to remember that it's part of a universal design philosophy, not an afterthought.

It's not a burden when baked into design from day one, but if it is a consideration that only comes up in late design and development, the costs to address AODA significantly increase. We have to consider accessibility when crafting content, when designing site structure and page templates, when incorporating media and developing interactions.

We can do it elegantly, and in the process, engage a broader, more diverse audience, and build trust and loyalty. Don't let AODA scare you -- this is a great opportunity!

K Andrews is a UX designer with Q30 Design Inc., a brand and digital design studio in Toronto. K has professional expertise in socially responsible design, including accessibility, digital privacy, and inclusive information design. Follow K on Twitter @q30design.

Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook

MORE ON HUFFPOST:

Seattle, WA

The Most Handicap-Accessible Destinations Around The World

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Canada. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.