The touch device landscape is diverse, fast paced and changing every week, providing new challenges to designers with each new incarnation of device or operating system. But there’s more to challenge designers… thinking about inclusion of people who may have visual, cognitive, hearing, motor or speech impairments…or some of all of them due to age. So what do we mean when we say “designing for all” in the world of touch devices, what makes it so darn hard to do and how can we create user experiences that are inclusive for this hugely diverse group of people?
This presentation will explore:
- What is “universal design” in the context of the touch device landscape
- What universal touch design strategies work and why
- Cool tech: There are some really interesting new technologies being developed – for example buttons that appear and disappear on phone surfaces as needed for visually impaired users, new gestural tech such as Myo Gesture control and speech recognition.
- Practical how to: The examples of how to create an inclusive design for touch with real world applications.
2. 4 things in 20 minutes
What do we mean by „universal design‟?
People using touch devices are as diverse as
the devices themselves
There are easy things you can do to make a
touch experience universal & inclusive
Look at some new things coming up in the
future!
@inclusiveux
3. “
Universal design is the concept of
designing all products and the built
environment to be aesthetic and
usable to the greatest extent possible
by everyone, regardless of their
age, ability, or status in life
”
- Wikipedia
@inclusiveux
5. Universal Design Principles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Equitable use
Flexibility in use
Simple and intuitive
Perceptible information
Tolerance for error
Low physical effort
Size and space for approach and use
- Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State
University
@inclusiveux
6. “
There is nothing that
you can do on the
iPhone or iPad that I
can‟t do
”
@inclusiveux
8. Respect our elders
Our Australian population is aging.
Our respected elders (people aged 65 to 84 years)
are expected to more than double between now
and 2050
Our really venerated elders (people 85 and over)
is expected to more than quadruple
Older people are most likely going to have to
manage with a bit of all the disabilities
@inclusiveux
9. “
Mobile, by definition, is
disabling. Poor light,
small keyboards, glare,
touch, etc.
”
– Henny Swan, Senior Accessibility Specialist, BBC
@inclusiveux
11. Focus on inclusion and people
If we try to design for all these different
operating systems then we just end up
designing for mobile diversity, not for
inclusion.
Design for the human capabilities, not the
device
@inclusiveux
12. “
There is no Mobile Web.
There is only The Web, which we view in
different ways.
There is also no Desktop Web.
Or Tablet Web.
Thank you.
”
– Stephen Hay
@inclusiveux
13. Responsive design is #1
A well-executed responsive design should
solve a lot of our challenges.
If a website is already inclusive via the
desktop then it‟s most likely to be touch
friendly as well.
Responsive design is the very definition of
„flexible in use‟
Flexible
@inclusiveux
14. Think about text to speech
An app or site is not a book
People listen to enough to orientate
themselves and then move on.
There are different modes
Not just for visually impaired. People with
dyslexia also use text to speech to read
digital written content.
@inclusiveux
15. Design with text to speech in mind
The language used in labeling is really
important.
Don‟t be bossy.
Don‟t double up.
Equitable
Perceptible
Low
Physical
Effort
@inclusiveux
16. There’s more than one way to do things
Inform events in multiple ways.
Don‟t just have one way of achieving a
task
Equitable
Perceptible
Low
Physical
Effort
Simple &
Intuitive
Tolerance
for error
@inclusiveux
17. Mobile video? Make sure its captioned
There is a lot of video available on mobile
and its one of the most consumed types of
content.
People who are deaf or have hearing loss
want to access all this content accessibly,
which is tough on mobile devices.
Equitable
Perceptible
@inclusiveux
18. Supporting dexterity challenges
Make sure the touch targets are big enough
for people with dexterity challenges.
Allow tolerance for error.
Use alternate methods to input information &
exploit device capabilities
Equitable
Flexible
Size
Low
Physical
Effort
Simple &
Intuitive
Tolerance
for error
@inclusiveux
19. Choose smart defaults
The less choices, the less movements
required to make them.
Remember choices the person has made
before.
Equitable
Low
Physical
Effort
Simple &
Intuitive
@inclusiveux
20. Test, test, test
If you have a smart phone, you have a
screen reader. Test your designs. There is
no excuse.
Test with real people who have real
impairments
@inclusiveux
21. Open MI Tours from ACE
Open MI tours replaces the museum or
gallery audio guide with a smartphone
app.
Leverages existing technology
It delivers audio, audio and captions,
Audio Description, Auslan and foreign
languages.
@inclusiveux
22. 1. Open the app
download content
2. Choose your venue
3. Go to scan mode
@inclusiveux
23. 4. Tap play when the
image is recognised
5. You content is played
in the format you’ve
selected
@inclusiveux
24. This design benefits…
The 1 in 6 Australians who have some
level of hearing loss
The 1.2 million Australians who are blind
or have a vision impairment
International tourists and people for whom
English is their second language
Children
Actually…..all visitors!
@inclusiveux
26. Now you feel them…
images: http://www.news.com.au/technology/tablets/ces-2013-touch-screen-creators-invent-disappearing-buttons-for-tablets/story-fn6vigfp-1226553779581
@inclusiveux
27. The Future…might not even be touch
MYO
Leap Motion
images: http://www.geek.tv
@inclusiveux
29. So, to sum up…
Universal design benefits…EVERYBODY!
The mobile landscape is extremely diverse
and complex to navigate
We have to stay focused on inclusion, not
mobile diversity
The future of our touch devices is awesomely
uncertain. GET EXCITED!
@inclusiveux
