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Re: UX design query for a11y and screen reader user

for

From: Brandon Keith Biggs
Date: Oct 18, 2019 9:34AM

Hello,
My philosophy is that there are a very limited number of widgets that are
used in UIs.
The team may have their terms they use, but ask what the functionality is
and match the functionality to the widgets in HTML or AccDC. You should
never need to go out of those widgets.
Separate the functionality that you experience with the visual
appearance they have of a widget. Visual appearance means nothing to the
functionality of a widget. Those cards may look like a card, but in
reality, they are a button that has a picture or CSS that make it look like
a card. it acts like a button, therefore it is a button.

Once I was told the design team had a component that was a filing cabinet.
When you clicked on a drawer, the drawer would open and content would show
somewhere on the page.
They thought this was some fancy new thing they made that had never been
seen before. But I broke down the functionality to:
click on item and content shows.
This is either a Tab List or a set of Accordions.
After that it is just deciding what UX you prefer on that page.
Have your whole team read:
https://24ways.org/2016/what-the-heck-is-inclusive-design/
Which is a fantastic article by Heydon Pickering that really summarizes
what a good design process is. I just tell people that this is my process,
and it works best for creating interfaces that are usable to the most
people.
Tip 2 is what I'm talking about in this email.
Thanks,

Brandon Keith Biggs <http://brandonkeithbiggs.com/>;


On Fri, Oct 18, 2019 at 8:08 AM Tim Harshbarger < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
wrote:

> Between the UX books and discussions with designers, you should be able to
> get a good understanding of what the patterns are and why they use them.
> One of the things you bring to the table is helping them figure out how to
> best express that UI and the information and functionality it provides in a
> manner that is accessible.
>
> Cards are a good example. What functionality and information is the card
> providing? Is that functionality and information adequately communicated
> through the current implementation? Would there be a better way to
> implement it accessibly? How do users expect it to work?
>
> I think you will greatly enjoy the work. Design is a great place for
> accessibility because you frequently have access to understanding why the
> UI
> is designed the way it is--and that can make it easier to figure out what
> is
> key to making the UI accessible.
>
> Thanks!
> Tim
>