Accessibility often gets pushed aside – it can be overwhelming to know where to start and how to make something great for users. For people with disabilities, the communication tools we take for granted are often denied to them. Through empathy-building exercises and examples, I want to show how accessibility should be at the core of everything you make.

1. CRAFTING GREAT
ACCESSIBLE EXPERIENCES
@mostgoodSally Shepard

2. HOW DO WE GET TO
GREAT?
PART 1:

3. IF YOU’RE SHIPPING APPS,
YOU’RE SHIPPING
ACCESSIBILITY EXPERIENCES…

4. …BUT ARE THEY GREAT
EXPERIENCES?

5. 1) KNOW YOUR USERS.

6. ACCESSIBILITY?

7. [Disability]…is a complex
phenomenon, reflecting the
interaction between features of a
person’s body and features of the
society in which he or she lives.
-World Health Organization,
definition of disability

8. Disability never holds anyone
back, disability is not something
that people need to overcome.
The barriers that exist are created
by society.
-Haben Girma,
WWDC 2016: Disability and Innovation: The Universal Benefits of
Accessible Design

9. DISABILITY ONLY EXISTS IF
WE DON’T PROVIDE WAYS TO
INCLUDE PEOPLE.

10. “BLINDNESS”

11. STOP MAKING
ASSUMPTIONS.

12. There is so much praise for the human
eye, but anyone who has seen the full
breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum
will recognise how blind we are.
- Neil deGrasse Tyson

13. Human range of hearing is 20 Hz to 20kHz
Cats can hear up to 79 kHz,
Would cats perceive humans as disabled?

14. How a human with
standard eye sight
views something
How a dog with
standard eye sight
views something

15. …but we rely on
dogs to help
visually impaired
users.

16. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
ARE NOT EXCLUSIVE TO A
PARTICULAR DISABILITY.

17. BY NOT MAKING YOUR APP
ACCESSIBLE, YOU ARE CREATING
BARRIERS.

18. 2) KNOW WHAT YOUR
USERS USE.

19. VoiceOver
🔨

20. Zoom

21. Invert Colors
❓🔨

22. Color Filters

23. Speech

24. Larger Text
(Dynamic Type)
🔨

25. Bold Text
🔨

26. Button Shapes

27. Reduce Transparency
❓🔨

28. Darken Colors
❓🔨

29. Reduce White Point

30. Reduce Motion
❓🔨

31. On/Off Labels

32. Switch Control
🔨

33. Assistive Touch

34. Touch Accommodations:
-Hold Duration
-Ignore Repeat
-Tap Assistance

35. Mono Audio
❓🔨

36. Subtitles & Captioning
❓🔨

37. Audio Descriptions
❓🔨

38. Guided Access
❓🔨

39. POWERFUL FEATURES,
A LOT OF HEAVY LIFTING
HAS BEEN DONE FOR YOU.

40. FEATURES -> EXPERIENCE

41. BAD EXPERIENCES
(NON-FUNCTIONAL)

42. OKAY EXPERIENCES
(FUNCTIONAL-ISH / MOSTLY USABLE)

43. GREAT EXPERIENCES
(USEABLE & DELIGHTFUL)

44. 3) INTEGRATE ACCESSIBILITY
INTO WHAT YOU DO.

45. WHERE SHOULD
YOU START?

46. NEW APP EXISTING APP
DESIGN FOR ACCESSIBILITY
IMPLEMENT DESIGNS
TEST FOR ACCESSIBILITY
TEST FOR ACCESSIBILITY
DESIGN FOR ACCESSIBILITY
IMPLEMENT DESIGNS

47. DESIGNERS

48. PROVIDE DESIGNS FOR
ASSISTIVE FEATURES.

49. LARGE TAP TARGETS.

50. DON’T RELY ON COLOUR
ALONE TO CONVEY MEANING.

51. .FILENAMES

52. PROVIDE ALTERNATIVES
FOR ANIMATIONS.

53. QUESTION CUSTOM
CONTROLS

54. HIERARCHY &
NAVIGATION

55. DEVELOPERS

56. LABEL EVERYTHING.

57. RESPOND TO LARGER
TEXT SIZES.

58. CUSTOM CONTROLS…

59. WATCH OUT FOR
ABBREVIATIONS.

60. GROUP ELEMENTS IN
TABLE/COLLECTION VIEWS.

61. THE ACCESSIBILITY INSPECTOR
IS YOUR FRIEND.

62. TESTERS

63. GET GOOD AT VoiceOver & Switch
Control,
LEARN HOW TO USE ALL THE OTHER
FEATURES.

64. ADD ACCESSIBILITY TESTING
TO YOUR TEST PLAN.

65. GET BETA TESTERS WHO
USE A VARIETY OF
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY.

66. 4) DON’T STOP.

67. ACCESSIBILITY IS NOT A FEATURE.
EVERY FEATURE SHOULD BE
ACCESSIBLE.

68. GETTING TO GREAT:

69. 1) KNOW YOUR USERS.
2) KNOW WHAT YOUR USERS USE.
3) INTEGRATE ACCESSIBILITY INTO WHAT YOU DO.
4) DON’T STOP.
GETTING TO GREAT

70. HAVE A CLEAR
PURPOSE.

71. BE LESS HUMAN.

72. TECHNOLOGY IS AN ENABLER
AND AN EQUALIZER.

73. STOP CREATING
BARRIERS.

74. NOT SHIPPING ACCESSIBILITY
MEANS SHIPPING DISABILITY.

75. YOUR APP SHIPS WITH
ACCESSIBILITY EXPERIENCES,
MAKE THEM GREAT.

76. WHO HAS AN iOS APP IN
THE APP STORE THAT IS:
-FREE
-NOT BEEN TESTED
PART 2:

77. THANK YOU!
@mostgood