1 00:00:09,436 --> 00:00:11,771 Hi, my name is Anwar. 2 00:00:11,771 --> 00:00:15,154 I'm a designer, a developer, and a teacher at Treehouse. 3 00:00:15,154 --> 00:00:19,908 In this course we'll cover a vital part of the UX design process that can be 4 00:00:19,908 --> 00:00:21,298 easily overlooked: 5 00:00:21,298 --> 00:00:25,022 designing with accessibility in mind. 6 00:00:25,022 --> 00:00:29,423 Accessible design is a design process that specifically considers 7 00:00:29,423 --> 00:00:33,038 the needs of people with disabilities. 8 00:00:33,038 --> 00:00:34,415 Having empathy for 9 00:00:34,415 --> 00:00:39,930 your users means remembering that not everyone uses the web in the same way. 10 00:00:39,930 --> 00:00:46,609 Some users rely on assistive technology to help them access the web. 11 00:00:46,609 --> 00:00:50,701 Common examples include screen readers, or 12 00:00:50,701 --> 00:00:57,500 software that reads web content aloud to assist visually impaired users. 13 00:00:57,500 --> 00:01:00,218 MARC SUTTON: What a screen reader does is for example, 14 00:01:00,218 --> 00:01:03,177 I'm gonna read this start to read this page. 15 00:01:03,177 --> 00:01:07,592 SCREEN READER: Navigation 1 item, link, University of California San Francisco link, 16 00:01:07,592 --> 00:01:08,676 About UCSF, link, Search UCSF. 17 00:01:08,676 --> 00:01:11,584 MARC SUTTON: And what I will now do is slow down the speech rate. 18 00:01:11,584 --> 00:01:15,387 SCREEN READER: Rate 80%, 75%, 70%, 65%, 60%, 55%, 19 00:01:15,387 --> 00:01:19,717 50% 50% 55% 50% 45% 40% link UCSF Medical Center. 20 00:01:19,717 --> 00:01:21,600 MARC SUTTON: So as I was about to say, 21 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:27,539 a screen reader converts what is on a computer screen into information that 22 00:01:27,539 --> 00:01:32,551 can be displayed through synthetic speech or Braille output. 23 00:01:32,551 --> 00:01:37,779 And it does that by allowing you to use a computer instead 24 00:01:37,779 --> 00:01:40,500 of a mouse. A computer keyboard instead of a mouse. 25 00:01:42,463 --> 00:01:46,351 ANWAR: Screen magnifiers, used to enlarge content for 26 00:01:46,351 --> 00:01:49,223 users with sight impairments. 27 00:02:07,442 --> 00:02:12,431 Switch controls, which allow users with motor impairments to control 28 00:02:12,431 --> 00:02:18,000 your site without the use of a touchscreen, mouse, or keyboard. 29 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:24,286 TODD STABELFELDT: All right, starting from my left to right, I have buttons and 30 00:02:24,286 --> 00:02:29,119 I'm gonna use my tongue, and you just all gotta handle it. 31 00:02:29,119 --> 00:02:32,288 Button number one. 32 00:02:32,288 --> 00:02:34,316 That's called move back, move previous. 33 00:02:37,228 --> 00:02:41,393 Okay, middle button or 34 00:02:41,393 --> 00:02:47,438 second button, select, right? 35 00:02:47,438 --> 00:02:49,932 Third button, move next. 36 00:02:54,932 --> 00:03:00,153 ANWAR: And closed captioning, used to make videos accessible to deaf and 37 00:03:00,153 --> 00:03:06,448 hard of hearing users, as well as users with Auditory Processing Disorder 38 00:03:06,448 --> 00:03:10,105 which refers to challenges not with hearing, but 39 00:03:10,105 --> 00:03:12,726 how the brain understands speech. 40 00:03:12,726 --> 00:03:16,482 I've included an article in the Teacher's Notes on the subject. 41 00:03:16,482 --> 00:03:21,359 [MUSIC] 42 00:03:21,359 --> 00:03:24,572 POE DAMERON: We're not alone. 43 00:03:24,572 --> 00:03:28,000 Good people will fight if we lead them. 44 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:34,734 ANWAR: Making your content accessible to all users is not just the right thing to do. 45 00:03:34,734 --> 00:03:37,716 It's required by law. 46 00:03:37,716 --> 00:03:41,181 In America Title III of the Americans with 47 00:03:41,181 --> 00:03:45,834 Disabilities Act has been applied to digital content 48 00:03:45,834 --> 00:03:50,790 like websites and apps as "places of public accommodation". 49 00:03:50,790 --> 00:03:54,860 In other words, creating inaccessible online content is 50 00:03:54,860 --> 00:03:58,940 like designing a new building without wheelchair ramps. 51 00:03:58,940 --> 00:04:04,090 It's considered discriminatory against people with disabilities, 52 00:04:04,090 --> 00:04:08,304 and could leave your product subject to a costly lawsuit. 53 00:04:08,304 --> 00:04:13,120 Unfortunately, accessibility is often given a lower priority 54 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,496 than other steps in the design process or even forgotten. 55 00:04:17,496 --> 00:04:23,124 To avoid this, let's dispel some of the myths surrounding accessible design. 56 00:04:24,624 --> 00:04:28,400 Starting with the idea that accessibility benefits only 57 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:34,386 those with a permanent physical or cognitive disability. 58 00:04:34,386 --> 00:04:39,256 Microsoft is one company with a firm commitment to accessibility. 59 00:04:39,256 --> 00:04:41,769 I am looking at inclusive 101, 60 00:04:41,769 --> 00:04:46,546 a manual downloaded from Microsoft's inclusive design toolkit. 61 00:04:46,546 --> 00:04:51,342 The PDF illustrates various types of disabilities, including reasons 62 00:04:51,342 --> 00:04:55,990 a user might only be able to operate their mobile device with one hand. 63 00:04:55,990 --> 00:04:59,851 Some of your audience might have a permanent disability such as 64 00:04:59,851 --> 00:05:02,110 having only one arm. 65 00:05:02,110 --> 00:05:06,983 However, Microsoft notes there are also temporary disabilities, 66 00:05:06,983 --> 00:05:12,530 such as a broken arm that will eventually heal and situational disabilities, 67 00:05:12,530 --> 00:05:16,576 like using a smartphone one handed while holding a baby. 68 00:05:16,576 --> 00:05:18,068 These temporary and 69 00:05:18,068 --> 00:05:22,640 situational disabilities can impact your entire audience. 70 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,092 Not just those with permanent conditions 71 00:05:26,092 --> 00:05:33,014 impacting their ability to see, hear, move, think or communicate. 72 00:05:35,690 --> 00:05:41,678 Accessible design makes things better for users with all types of disabilities, 73 00:05:41,678 --> 00:05:45,506 whether permanent, temporary, or situational. 74 00:05:45,506 --> 00:05:48,068 But is that the only benefit? 75 00:05:49,068 --> 00:05:53,246 Actually, eliminating barriers between your audience and 76 00:05:53,246 --> 00:05:56,998 your product results in better overall usability, 77 00:05:56,998 --> 00:06:03,064 which sounds like a good part of your job description as a user experience designer. 78 00:06:03,064 --> 00:06:08,107 The notion that accessibility has benefits beyond allowing people 79 00:06:08,107 --> 00:06:13,420 with disabilities to use your product is termed the curb-cut effect. 80 00:06:13,420 --> 00:06:18,376 While cuts in elevated sidewalks were originally developed to benefit 81 00:06:18,376 --> 00:06:19,811 wheelchair users, 82 00:06:19,811 --> 00:06:24,000 they also make life easier for pedestrians pushing strollers or 83 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:30,049 bicycles, wheeling luggage, using crutches, or 84 00:06:30,049 --> 00:06:33,292 even distracted by a mobile device. 85 00:06:33,292 --> 00:06:38,817 Similarly, while video captions are critical for deaf users, 86 00:06:38,817 --> 00:06:43,000 other viewers might use them while in a noisy room, 87 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:45,603 to understand difficult vocabulary, or 88 00:06:45,603 --> 00:06:48,556 to help them focus and retain information. 89 00:06:51,056 --> 00:06:53,832 If you say to yourself, you know what, 90 00:06:53,832 --> 00:06:58,055 my product isn't really usable until everyone can use it, 91 00:06:58,055 --> 00:07:03,458 you'll never admit accessibility concerns from the design process. 92 00:07:04,458 --> 00:07:06,038 But that's not all. 93 00:07:06,038 --> 00:07:10,913 Accessible design is good for business since it expands audience 94 00:07:10,913 --> 00:07:14,644 reach to include users of varying capabilities. 95 00:07:14,644 --> 00:07:19,232 According to the 2011, World Report on Disability, 96 00:07:19,232 --> 00:07:22,321 over 1 billion people in the world, or 97 00:07:22,321 --> 00:07:27,954 about 15% of the earth's population have some form of disability. 98 00:07:27,954 --> 00:07:31,902 Excluding them just doesn't make sense from a business perspective. 99 00:07:33,702 --> 00:07:38,242 And websites that are coded to accessibility standards have greater 100 00:07:38,242 --> 00:07:40,361 prominence on search engines, 101 00:07:40,361 --> 00:07:43,966 making your product easier to find. 102 00:07:44,966 --> 00:07:48,869 One final myth is that accessibility stands 103 00:07:48,869 --> 00:07:53,896 in the way of the creation of innovative products. 104 00:07:53,896 --> 00:07:59,275 In truth, innovation is frequently driven by people with disabilities. 105 00:07:59,275 --> 00:08:03,334 The first typewriters appeared in early 19th 106 00:08:03,334 --> 00:08:06,909 century Italy as a letter writing tool for the blind. 107 00:08:07,909 --> 00:08:13,205 Vint Cerf, a deaf American computer scientist frustrated with 108 00:08:13,205 --> 00:08:17,297 communicating over the telephone, co-invented the communication 109 00:08:17,297 --> 00:08:23,517 protocol that makes the internet possible in 1973. 110 00:08:23,517 --> 00:08:28,205 Even universally popular features in today's mobile apps 111 00:08:28,205 --> 00:08:31,860 such as Auto Completion and Voice Control 112 00:08:31,860 --> 00:08:37,501 were initially developed to assist users with physical impairments. 113 00:08:37,501 --> 00:08:42,777 So if we're going to make better products by making more accessible products, 114 00:08:42,777 --> 00:08:45,307 we'll need a set of rules to guide us. 115 00:08:45,307 --> 00:08:50,218 We'll take a look at an internationally recognized set of guidelines in our 116 00:08:50,218 --> 00:08:51,070 next video.