WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Graphic symbols for people with low or no literacy

for

From: Terrill Bennett
Date: Nov 16, 2010 8:21AM

Carol,

Karen's question got me started. I find it interesting in the studies
I've been reading... it seems estimates are that over 43% of the
people in the USA are classified as being "low literacy," according
to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy:
http://nces.ed.gov/naal/

Are they using the web? A google search finds over 389,000 results:
http://www.google.com/search?q=low+literacy+design

They must be using the web - there are numerous articles in those
results that cover design of health-related sites for people with low
literacy!

I'm finding a lot of information which says graphics play an
important part in web design for low literacy. What I'm NOT finding
is research specifically on designing those graphics (Karen's
original question).

A link to get you started, from Jakob Neilsen on "Low-literacy users":
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20050314.html

Enjoy!

-- tb --


At 09:40 AM 11/16/2010, you wrote:
>On Mon, Nov 15, 2010 at 8:14 PM, Karen Henry
><mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >< <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>>>
>>>Has there been any research or does anyone have experience
>>>designing a website for those with low or no literacy and the best
>>>type of graphic symbols for navigation, etc.?
>
>I find the topic interesting, but am puzzled, how could some one
>with "no literacy" use a Web page regardless of what icons are used.
>To I misunderstand the term?
>
>-- Carol
>
>Carol E. Wheeler
><mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> > <EMAIL REMOVED>
>Web Department
>American Institute for Cancer Research
>1759 R Street NW
>Washington DC 20009
>Tel: 202-328-7744
>Fax: 202-328-7226
><http://www.aicr.org>;http://www.aicr.org
>