Check out my more comprehensive post on accessibility here.
Bad UX isn’t just looking at ugly designs on a disorganized website. While not pleasing to look at, bad UX can be inaccessible, further alienating disadvantaged populations. Right now, 1 in 5 people have a disability, excluding situational disabilities. Poor design can make it nearly impossible for those with a myriad of disabilities to experience apps or websites as they should. A few obvious examples include background colors and fonts being nearly identical, pictures without descriptive text, or videos without captions. For someone who is losing their eyesight, hard of hearing, or in a situation where they need captions, this content is completely inaccessible. While there are laws in place to protect accessibility, it’s still unclear how to translate different types of accessibility onto a website or app. To properly identify pain points, organizations need a solid team with distinct training in accessibility.
As content creation becomes more popular, like videos on TikTok or Instagram Reels, accessibility depends on the creator, but often falls by the wayside. This is when it can get tricky – is it up to the creator to understand accessible content, or the platform to enforce accessibility standards? Placing captions on TikToks can be aesthetically displeasing, especially when creators are following current trends, hurting the creator while alienating groups of people. Maybe, a solution for TikToks and Instagram Reels could be including a caption option that does not appear directly on the video. Using talk-to-text technology, captions can be placed over the video or in the comments, depending on what the user needs. This way, the videos are not immediately covered in text, but it’s still easy to access and utilize. These little details may not mean a lot to the majority, but gives everything to those affected. Overall, solving a problem for a group with disabilities will extend the solution to all.
Here’s a better view of the infographic.
Sources:
Common Accessibility Problems: Good and Bad Examples in Modern Websites
Leave a Reply