SXSW 2011: Accessibility for the Visually Impaired
Note: Presentation available at http://www.w3.org/2011/Talks/03-15-SXSW-MC/
Presented By
Genevieve Wilkins
Creative Director at DCI Group LLC
Michael Cooper
Web Accessibility Specialist with W3C/WAI
Introduction
The 50+ demographic is the new target market on the web. Our vision decreases as we get old and people are living longer. Therefore, there are more people over 50 that are on the Internet.
WAI – Web Accessibility Initiative
Focused on making the web accessible to people with disabilities. Part of the W3C. The goal of the W3C is to make the web accessible to all, so the WAI springs out of that. Founded in 1997, 3 years after the W3C.
How the Web Impacts People with Disabilities
- Perception of content; the output from the computer
- Interaction with content; can you input into the computer?
- Understandability of content; complexity, structure of content.
- Some people may have learning disabilities.
- Visually impaired people use a 1-dimensional approach to the Internet, while visual users use 2-dimensions.
Assistive technologies sometimes but not always used to help with these issues
- Output
- Screen reader
- Screen magnifier
- Braille display
- Captioning
- Input
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- Speech
- Switches
WAI Guidelines
- Guidelines
- Authors: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
- Authoring Tool Developers: Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG)
- Browser and assistive technology developers: User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG)
- Technologies
Designing for Accessibility
- Accessibility is both a design and technology issue
- Some issues are principally design (e.g. color scheme, page layout)
- Some issues involve good use of technology (e.g. proper encoding of features like headings, regions, lists, etc)
- A good design reduces need for technological accessibility features, and makes it much easier to implement them when needed
- Universal design: designing for all users makes a better experience for even those without identified special needs
Guidelines Support Materials
- Background
- Guidelines
- Support materials
How Often to Standards Change?
Guidelines change as technology changes, however the guidelines are written to be as technology independent as possible. The techniques change often, depending on the technology.