In the start-up phase of the development of a new website or mobile application, for various reasons – be it budget issues, meeting deadlines, internal expectations or even lack of knowledge of the subject – universal design concepts end up being put aside. side.
Many state companies and organizations are still not fully aware of the benefits of incorporating universal design principles into their digital products and services. The adoption of universal design in an early project start-up phase, using the appropriate strategy and mindset on the part of development teams, has a wide range of benefits:
- Ensures that information and interactions are more perceivable, understandable, operable and robust
- It reaches a greater number of people, as it creates more inclusive solutions for people with disabilities
- Projects a better image of the organization, as it ensures inclusiveness
- Avoid legal risks by not excluding anyone
- Reduces project cost, namely maintenance and upgrade costs
- Allows better programming structure and a better developed code
Universal design helps create better solutions
O universal design ou design for everyone, created by the American Ronald L. Mace, founder of the Center for Universal Design, consists of creating products, objects, equipment and structures from the physical world so that they can be used by most people, regardless of age, education level, limitation physical and/or cognitive. This concept can and should also be transposed to digital, since its purpose is to ensure that all people, even those with special needs, even if temporary, can have equal access, and contribute to a more inclusive society.
Universal design involves seven principles:
1. Equitable use (inclusion)
Design is for everyone, so it needs to be functional and adaptable for people with different abilities. When using certain functionality, the result obtained should be the same for all.
Example: Make menu navigation available on the website also via keyboard for those who can only access it that way.
2. Flexibility of use
Each person interacts differently with digital applications. In this sense, a digital product must be able to adapt to the preferences and particularities of use of each individual.
Example: Allow increasing the size of the text on the page in order to ensure greater readability; or activating high contrast mode.
3. Simple and intuitive use
The design must be easily understood by everyone. You will be able to use visual analogies through objects in the physical world and associate them with similar tasks in the digital world.
Example: To delete an action, use the trash icon accompanied by its description with caption and audio description, so that its function is clear to everyone.
4. Perceptible information
Inform clearly in the sense of being understandable by the greatest number of people and, when necessary, explain the complex or more technical terms that have to be used.
Example: Availability of a glossary for complex terms, audio descriptions, or other resources that facilitate understanding or passing on information to everyone.
5. Error tolerance
Minimize the chances of error for the user in case of accidental or involuntary actions.
Example: Through alert boxes, confirm whether you really want to carry out a certain action, and provide backtracking mechanisms, such as re-editing, and viewing the status of the process.
6. Minimal physical effort
The design must allow the interaction to have a minimum of physical and cognitive effort on the part of the users.
Example: Ensure that the action buttons are properly identified and with a minimum size, to be easily recognized and activated.
7. Size and space for approximation and use
Allow sufficient size and space to ensure easy handling and user mobility. Although this principle is aimed at physical spaces, it is also applicable in the digital world, by ensuring that all elements of the website are easily accessible and that there are no barriers to their use.
Example: Allow accessibility support technologies to circulate correctly and without barriers in reproduction in page elements.
How can companies and organizations adopt universal design and accessibility practices?
1. Have an inclusive mindset in your team and organization
The first step comes from a change in the mindset of development teams, so that they are more inclusive in their ideas and development processes.
By promoting and raising awareness of universal design practices across your team and organization, you are also driving more innovation and creativity by identifying new insights within each of these principles.
For this, it is necessary to involve researchers, designers, UX experts, developers and other team members in all development phases, so that they understand the value of the decisions to be taken and the tasks to be carried out in order to create more effective solutions and guarantee good results. practices after launching these same solutions.
2. Ensure accessibility and digital inclusion in the initial phase of projects
Compliance with usability and accessibility rules on existing sites is a greater challenge compared to building new sites. For this reason, it is necessary to ensure that universal design points are ensured from the initial prototypes. These guiding principles will also help in the decision process and make better and faster design decisions.
3. Involve people in the construction process
Do not save usability and accessibility tests for people with and without disabilities until the end of the project. The tests should be carried out throughout the construction process, through prototypes and/or functionalities that already have some level of interaction. By carrying out these tests, it is possible to identify errors not detected by the development teams or points to be improved in the interaction process even at an early stage – without these issues being translated into a deviation from the schedule or an increase in costs in the development of the project.
Nuno Duarte, Lead UX&UI Designer at LBC
LBC has extensive experience in developing user-centered portals in line with universal design principles. This knowledge allows us to develop a set of methodologies and work processes that allow a quick analysis of the maturity of websites, define the best alternatives for action and implement an evolution strategy to reach the desired levels of usability and accessibility.
To get our accessibility document click here.