According to the Office for National Statistics, there are over 10 million disabled people in the UK, representing around 15% of the population. More than ever before, the need to deliver inclusive, accessible digital products and services constitutes both a moral and a commercial imperative. Accessible products ensure that people with disabilities, whether they are cognitive, physical, visual or auditory can interact, navigate and contribute to the web. But that’s doesn’t really cover the whole picture. At some point in our lives we might all suffer from an impairment that will limit our abilities to interact with the world around us. This could be temporary or longer-term but as we grow older we are all likely to go through changes that will affect our sight, our hearing, and our overall mobility. We also need to consider the impact that poorly designed digital products and services can have on people’s confidence and independence. Rather than see it as a test before product release, accessibility should be built into your design and development approach from the start. Chris will guide you through the various challenges and obstacles that commonly prevent users from engaging with digital services and show you some easy to implement accessibility principles that will help you ensure you are providing the best possible experience for the widest range of abilities. After this session you will have a better appreciation of how you and your team can deliver fully inclusive solutions.

1. Chris Bush
Head of Experience Design
-
@suthen @wearesigma
How to design and develop
in an inclusive way

2. Thinking about accessibility

3. 1 in 7
1 Billion
People with long term disability worldwide

4. 20%
11.2 Million
People has some type
of disability in the U.K.

5. Everyone has challenges
► Disability is more common than you may imagine.
► We will all experience disability at some point.
► By the age of 45 most of us will need glasses
- glasses are considered as an assistive tech.
► Yet many websites do not support dynamic text.
► Many on iPhone use 'Large Text,' many apps are
still not compatible.

6. Acquiring a disability ≠
being born with a disability
► Molly was born deaf but sighted and then lost
vision.
► Molly is now registered blind however still rely on
the remaining vision I have left (5% in one eye)
► Many think if you are blind you use auditory tech
► Being born blind if different to being born sighted.
► Only 5% of blind people have no useful sight.
► The rest have some, however not completely
useful.

7. So, what is the best way to think about
designing for inclusion?

8. Exemplar examples of
inclusive design
are formed from
user needs
not just compliance

9. What’s wrong
with this
picture?

10. Designing for extremes

12. Vision
Ability to see, or
process visual
information
Hearing
Ability to hear, or
process acoustic
information
Motor
Ability to interact
with a device
accurately and
quickly
Cognitive
Ability in mentally
demanding areas;
reading, memory,
attention, complex
concepts or language
Types of impairment

13. Vision
Blindness,
low vision &
colour blindness
Hearing
Hearing loss
Motor
Dyspraxia,
RSI, arthritis
and
cerebral palsy
Cognitive
Down’s syndrome,
Asperger’s and
dyslexia, learning
difficulties
Types of impairment – long term

14. Vision
Forgot my glasses
Glare when using a
device in bright
sunlight
Hearing
Communication
within a noisy
environment
Motor
Temporary injury
such as a broken
wrist
Carrying a child
Cognitive
Medication,
Tiredness, Stress,
Hangover :D
Types of impairment – temporary & situational

16. Let’s normalise inclusive design

17. When we get it right, it’s invisible

18. Zoom on devices

19. Captions in videos

20. A lot of the issues we discover
from users of assistive technology
are usability issues

21. What can you do to make your products
more inclusive?

22. Consider colour and contrast
ChromeLens
to the rescue
2.7 million
people in the
UK are
colour blind

23. Design hit areas to be easy to click or tap
Standard
touch size of
7-10mm
Provide
3-5mm
inactive
space around
elements

24. Design for comfort
iPhone 4

25. Design for comfort
iPhone 4 iPhone 5 iPhone 6 iPhone 6+

26. Design for comfort
iPhone 4 iPhone 5 iPhone 6 iPhone 6+

27. Design for readability
Clear
visual
hierarchy
Headings,
headings,
headings
10-15
words on a
line
Reading age
of 11-12 years is
generally good
practice

28. Simulator: Funkify

29. Help users fix errors
Show;
What the error is,
Where the error is,
and
How to solve it

30. Think carefully before using custom controls
Custom
controls can
be very
empowering
or very
prohibitive

31. .
Design for the full spectrum of your users

32. .
Can you find any black holes?
Content can
be hidden if
you do not
use A tags
for actions

33. Then…
Supercharge your usability sessions

34. Getting started
► Try to include users with inclusive needs in
your usability sessions (1 or 2 per session)
► People are people - focus on needs first
► Remember that not all users will self-
identify as having an inclusive/accessibility
need
► Not every blind person uses a screen
reader
► Understand the users personal needs.
Treat them how they want to be treated
(Space, Time)

35. Why inclusive design really matters

36. Everyone will experience a real need for
inclusive services at least once in their
lives.
Consider everyone's journey.

37. Chris Bush
Head of Experience Design
@wearesigma @suthen
Thank you.

38. Prepared by Sigma: Putting users at the heart of our
solutions delivers better products to a happier audience
www.wearesigma.com
Prepared by Sigma: Putting users at the heart of our
solutions delivers better products to a happier audience
www.wearesigma.com