WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Making Content Accessible to Sighted Users?

for

From: JP Jamous
Date: Oct 6, 2016 7:17AM

I agree with Karen that a blind individual should be able to write a visually appealing document. I do recommend certain things though.

1. If the person was born blind and has no sense of colors, the person cannot be blamed for that. I was not born blind and had full vision for the first 12 years of my life. However, I still run the colors by someone sighted to ensure they appeal to the reader's eye. Even that part can be tricky as some sighted people can have their own favorite colors and like to stick with those all the time. The most important thing is to know your audience. For example, when I am working with Executives, I am strictly black font on a white background. They could care less about colors. Just bold the information they want or throw a bullet before it. That is sufficient. If the audience is younger managers, I might add blue, red and other colors.

2. With all of the tools that a screen reader offers, there is no reason why a blind person should not be able to create a nicely looking document. I have written documents that were 65 pages in length and have kept the right font, bullets, bold and other attributes.

3. I make my own resume with MSWord and after I am done I run it by my sighted wife. Mostly, to ensure that visually things align properly since JAWS screws that up sometimes. She even has to use a ruler to check as even Word does not give her an accurate measurement.

So as you see, for the most part a blind individual can create a nicely written document. Just follow a sequence that works for you to keep track of your changes.

I write at first and do not concern myself with spelling, or font stuff. As I am done I review to ensure the document is written properly without any spelling errors and with proper grammar. After That, I worry about the styling part of it.