A couple of weeks ago, I commented on a LinkedIn post by Jacob Wood about yet another inaccessible design tool. I used the phrase ‘gatekeeping by assumption’. It’s something I’ve talked about before, but not something I’ve ever written about.
That LinkedIn conversation has led to a collaboration - read Jacob’s article about his experiences of gatekeeping by assumption, linked from ‘learn more’.
Designing for accessibility, accessibly
For years designers have known that what we design should be accessible. But what about how we design it? Shouldn’t that be accessible, too?
The Center for Disability Rights defines ableism as “a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities”.
Using inaccessible tools for a particular profession discriminates against disabled people and creates a barrier to joining that profession.
Making assumptions is dangerous
There are 2 main assumptions in the design world that can keep disabled people firmly on the outside.
1. Assuming design tools are accessible
It starts out like a snowball. A couple of designers request access to a certain tool, platform or piece of software. The design tool is purchased by someone in the procurement department. There’s an ‘accessible product’ badge on the listing, so nobody checks whether it really is accessible. By the time someone else points out that the design tool is not accessible, it’s too late. The number of people using it has become an avalanche. If you can’t use it, you can’t take part in the design work.
Many design tools aren’t accessible. This list is not exhaustive, but for example:
- some productivity tools display text downwards in thin columns for users who change their resolution, scaling settings or use browser zoom
- only one digital whiteboard tool allows screen reader users to contribute in real time (but with very limited functionality)
- the space between items on a digital whiteboard, and their ‘edgeless’ nature, makes them a nightmare to use with magnification
- some digital whiteboard tools use ultra bright sticky notes by default which can cause physical pain to users who experience visual stress
- some digital whiteboard tools override users’ magnification settings so they do not work with assistive technology
- the editable window size on digital whiteboard and prototyping tools is unusable with browser zoom over 250%
2. Assuming there are no disabled designers
I’ll never forget the story my friend told me when she worked at a large UK government department several years ago. She pointed out to her senior manager that their content management system would not be accessible for visually impaired people. The response was:
“Why would a blind person want to be a content designer?”
Ignoring the blatant ableism in that sentence for a minute, there are a couple of scenarios that department needs to prepare for:
- Someone working there develops a visual impairment.
- A visually impaired person is successful in getting a job which they can’t do because of the design tools used in the organisation.
I know several visually impaired content designers. Not being able to scan or skim read is our super power. We’re really good at reviewing. And when every word you read means eye strain, you make every word worth it.
Assuming that disabled people wouldn’t want to be designers? That’s not a choice for other people to make.
Including disabled people in design
If you shut the door on disabled designers, you lack the lived experience needed to design accessible products and services. Like the global disability rights movement’s principle says:
“Nothing about us without us.”
Discounting what disabled people bring to design is a mistake for your whole team’s performance. Ron Carucci at Forbes highlighted that when you have diverse teams, you benefit from:
- diverse ways of thinking
- better problem-solving from a diverse range of perspectives
- higher employee engagement
- enhanced innovation, learning and creative thought
The potential of creating a profession that can only be done by non-disabled people is dangerous. It suggests that disabled people don’t belong in this job. It’s not for us.
According to the World Health Organisation, most disabled people acquire their disabilities later in life. What happens to a non-disabled only profession as people age? Does that mean that, along with losing disability representation, the profession loses people over the age of 40? Do people have to leave their job if they become disabled?
These questions should make us feel uncomfortable enough to stop them becoming reality.
Going back to basics
Often, the most basic tool is also the most accessible. Using a document tool like Microsoft Word or Google Docs with a proper heading structure is usually much easier and faster to navigate for assistive technology users.
We often hear “could that meeting have been an email?”. Well, could that whiteboarding session have been a document?
Learn more
To find out more about being a disabled designer, book Content Design Ireland to speak at your next event.
Read about Jacob Wood’s experiences in his blog post Gatekeeping by assumption: How we unintentionally exclude.
Read Ron Carucci’s article - One more time: Why diversity leads to better team performance.