Web Accessibility

The KUOW podcast discusses universal design and more specifically, web accessibility. Wendy Chisholm, a computer programmer and developer in the Seattle area, shares her thoughts and ideas about the current state of web accessibility as well as the changes that need to come in the future. In the early 1990s when the web was text based, it was a great avenue for those with disabilities to acquire more timely, accessible information and news. Unfortunately, as the web has transformed into a rich multimedia landscape, accessibility has suffered. Chisholm, who helped write a set of universal accessibility guidelines adopted by many countries, insists there must must be equivalent alternatives to all sounds and images online. Though you’d think in this technologically advanced society web accessibility wouldn’t even be an issue, this is definitely not the case. Chisholm demonstrates the lack of accessibility found within a Seattle metro bus website. The site was not constructed for the screen reader to effectively read the bus schedule aloud. This makes it nearly impossible for the visually impaired to know which bus to catch. Chisholm believes three things need to happen in order to produce successful, commonplace web accessibility. First, she proposes technology be developed to better integrate or automatically enable accessible alternatives. Second, there needs to be a cultural shift involving the understanding of the disabled. Just because a person has a particular disability doesn’t mean they don’t wish to view and interact with websites like the rest of us. They have the same intentions, just different needs. Finally, Chisholm is adamant about the disabled becoming active participants in the development of accessible technologies and web solutions.

This last point Chisholm made, incorporating the disabled into the development, is so important. A person who doesn’t struggle with these various impairments can never fully understand or appreciate how it affects web interaction. “Bringing them to the table,” as Chisholm puts it, can bring a wealth of valuable insights and solutions. Personally, I find web accessibility somewhat daunting. In my AAS degree, I didn’t cover much more than simple image alt tags. This barely scratches the surface of making a website accessible. Web accessibility involves considering usability for many different disability genres, such as visual, auditory, motor/mobility, and cognitive. From color blindness to dyslexia to seizure conditions (which can be triggered by flashing effects), how can I make sure my website is fully accessible? I agree with Chisholm, the technologies – whether it be the browsers or the design programs – need to be developed to make accessible alternatives more intuitive.

Web accessibility is of course very important, but it seems that it is not all black and white. Until it becomes better taught and better understood, it is the designer’s role to ensure a website meets the disabled person’s needs. Like Chisholm said, “the wheelchair doesn’t make the building inaccessible, it’s the stairs.” Surely, there is an effective solution for web accessibility which is currently inefficient within many websites. Honestly, I think inadequate accessibility within many sites boils down to laziness because it does add a lot more work. Google seems to enjoy taking on gigantic projects in their effort to take over the internet. Maybe they should venture on a new accessibility project. Surely if they can digitize every book ever written they can “accessitize” every website…

http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=18043

http://www.w3.org/WAI/

Interruptions & Interruptions as Emphasis

Anne Hornung & Andrew Matson

Definitions:

An interruption is a break in uniformity or continuity (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). As it applies to art and design, interruption can be described as the disruption of a composition’s uniformity, continuity, repetition, rhythm, or harmony. In art and design, emphasis exists when stress or importance is given to certain components (Landa). Therefore, “Interruptions as Emphasis” is when the disruption becomes the most prominent or the focal point. Interruptions can break up the monotony of a design and create visually stimulating variety.

Examples of Interruptions:

"Encourage Opinions" by Robin Cameron

Carry Me There by Amy Ruppel

Scheharazade Remix by Maja Sten

Poster For Peace by U.G. Sato

Unnamed Title & Artist - From "World Graphic Design" by Geoffrey Caban

Dessins by Jacques Camus

Interruptions in Graphic Design:

The Avon Gorge Fly Poster Graffiti by Heath Bunting

Galactic Tutorial Poster by Spoon Graphics

Hitchcock For Haiti by Matt Needle

Reasons to Stop Smoking

Anne & Andrew’s Designs of Interruptions:

(Andrew)

(Anne)

(Anne)

Sources:

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Graphic Design Solutions, Robin Landa

Art Deco Textiles, Alain-Rene Hardy

World Graphic Design, Geoffrey Caban

Over & Over, Mike Perry

http://irational.org/heath/avon_gorge_fly_poster_graffiti/

http://pikaland.com/2010/01/20/carry-me-there

http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/tutorials

http://designyoutrust.com/2010/02/11/hitchcock-4-haiti/

http://designyoutrust.com/2010/02/09/63-reasons-to-stop-smoking/

Gestalt Experiment

Gestaltism attempts to explain the psychology behind human visual behavior, especially the way we organize and group things. A concept related to these principles is the human’s tendency to see the whole rather than its individual parts. I subjected 3 people to an experiment to explore this tendency.

The experiment involved two parts. During the first session, the test subjects were shown five unrelated photographs. Then a screen appeared with what appeared to be a bunch of organic black shapes scattered randomly. What the test subjects would hopefully identify within these shapes was that they created a horse and rider. The participant was instructed to click through a series of 20 steps; after each step the black shapes moved slightly closer together. If at any point the participant recognized the black shapes forming an image, they were to say what they saw aloud.

For session two, the same process took place, except that the first five photographs shown were of animals. This was to see if the similar body forms to the horse and similar subject matter would trigger recognition of the horse and rider image earlier.

My first test subject was my mother. After clicking through the 20 steps in session one, she hadn’t identified any image from the black shapes. Then she mumbled, “Well, I thought maybe I saw a Santa Clause face or something…” I thought this was interesting because one of the five images prior to session one was Christmas related and had a couple Santa figurines in it. After clicking through the 20 steps again in session two, she still had not identified the horse and rider. She noted one of the individual black shapes resembled a duck bill to her. Again, it seems her perceptions were based on the previous five images which were of animals.

The second participant was a 28 year old male. After clicking through all 20 steps in session one, he hadn’t identified the horse a rider. His only comment was he thought he saw a face briefly. After looking at step 20 for about five seconds in session two, he identified the horse, but not the rider. He said it was the shape of the horse’s front legs that triggered his recognition.

My final test subject was a 30 year old female. She isn’t a designer, per say, but she has an excellent eye for good design, illustration, interior design, and is very crafty. She identified a horse and rider on step 16 from session one. After seeing the images of animals in session two, she found the horse and rider identifiable at step 13.

What I found most fascinating about this experiment was how my first two test subjects were really influenced by the first five images. What they saw in the black shapes were dramatically effected by the context of what else they had been seeing. This is an important takeaway as a designer. I must consider the visual context that will surround my designs and how that will affect people’s perceptions of what I create.

Ways of Seeing

In the first chapter of his book Ways of Seeing, John Berger provides fascinating yet somewhat harsh insights on the way art perception has evolved. More specifically, he notes how new media and art reproduction have negatively impacted our ability to see and translate an artist’s original meaning. A result of this distorted perspective is a phenomenon he calls “bogus religiosity.” Bogus religiosity is an extreme popularity and reverence towards an original work of art. As reproductions of a composition become overly plentiful, the original becomes highly coveted, desirable, and seemingly more valuable, increasing its monetary worth. “If the image is no longer unique and exclusive, the art object, the thing, must be made mysteriously so” (Berger, p. 23). This newfound admiration for the original piece does not stem from the work’s contents, materials, or artist. It is market value that drives bogus religiosity.

Berger concludes the first chapter by showing how art reproduction now creates complete misrepresentations of art. For example, a historical piece of art can now be cropped and placed in a magazine ad to serve a purpose that is completely unrelated to the art’s original meaning. Unfortunately, Berger believes this has transformed the image of art into something disposable and lacking value. However, he also believes a “new kind of power” is attainable if images are used with better intentions. “Within it [the new kind of power] we could begin to define our experiences more precisely…the experience of seeking to give meaning to our lives, or trying to understand the history of which we can become active agents” (Berger, p. 33).

He urges us to no longer focus so much on the meaning of art but rather on its purpose. I find this fascinating as a recently graduated graphic designer because it strikes a personal chord. Though I have always had a passion for art and I enjoy design, I have often been conflicted with the purpose I would be serving throughout my career. Often, modern design doesn’t have the best intentions; it doesn’t usually align with this new kind of power Berger speaks of. The majority of modern design really boils down to consumerism and encourages materialistic agendas. All of these products that design attempts to sell, in my opinion, often detract from living the kind of meaningful life Berger is encouraging. Berger’s perspective on the purposes art should serve truly make me ponder the realm of modern design, its integrity, and the personal role I want to play in it all as a designer.

Berger, J. (1972). Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Books.