What does someone who’s hard of hearing, someone with a severe ear infection, and a commuter on a packed subway who forgot their earphones have in common? They would all struggle to interact with audio content in a digital interface. There are two primary ways to approach design that can solve problems such as this: accessible design and inclusive design.
Professor Bess Williamson in her book Accessible America: A History Of Disability and Design wrote that “Design is a hopeful practice, one that looks to improve the current state of things and connect to functionality with a human, creative, sensitive touch.”
The deaf experience is modeled in its own language for the first time in Deafverse.
The digital transformation of the world is happening. During this pandemic, and coming out of it, we are hearing from government partners at all levels from around the world that they are already expecting to be relying more on using technology in the future, which is significant.
INIT Innovations in Transportation, which has developed software for use with buses, light rail, and trains since 1999, designed ASSISTIVEtravel, passenger information, and journey planning app.
“These new options help fill a significant gap in the emoji keyboard,” Apple said.
From dark mode in iOS 13 to a redesigned user interface in tvOS to the dismantling of iTunes to the coming of iPadOS, Apple made a slew of announcements at its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday in San Jose. And accessibility was there in full force.
While this Starbucks looks like every other outlet of the coffee chain, mermaid logo, mugs for sale, baristas in bright green aprons, there’s one thing that makes it very special. Every single employee here is fluent in American Sign Language (ASL).
Universal design is an important concept in effective communication. Signage, for example, addresses people’s diverse abilities when it includes easy-to-recognize graphics, large print, raised or Braille lettering, and color combinations that people can see. “If a design works well for a person with a disability,” says Fletcher, “it probably works better for everybody.”
Universal Design (UD) is an approach to design that increases the potential for developing a better quality of life for a wide range of individuals. It is a design process that enables and empowers a diverse population by improving human performance, health and wellness, and social participation (Steinfeld and Maisel, 2012). It creates products, systems, and environments to be as usable as possible by as many people as possible regardless of age, ability or situation.