Feature
unplug your mouse or disable your
trackpad and try to navigate your
company’s website using only keys
on your keyboard (namely tab, shift,
arrows, enter, and space bar). See
if you’re able to navigate through
your website and if you’re able to
interact with every element on the
page, just like you’d be able to with
a mouse. It’s even more powerful if
you’re a developer and you’re able
to experience your own creations
first-hand using only a keyboard.
GAAD
smartphone; whether on the web or
in software; and whether you’re a
developer, user, funder, or influencer,
there are important realities to be
aware of when it comes to inclusive
technologies. GAAD is an opportunity
to assess these realities and shed
light on how we can make the digital
world more accessible to more of
the population. GAAD is marked by
organized public events all over the
world, as well as individual activities
to bring awareness to this ever-
important issue.
2.
your company’s website from the
perspective of someone with a
visual impairment by resizing text in
your web browser to 200% of its
original size. Take notice of whether
anything has shifted dramatically or
if any content is missing after you
make the change.
3.
1.
Go Mouseless for an Hour: The
GAAD team suggests that you
@graphicarts
Check for Colour Contrast:
Sufficient colour contrast is an
important part of both printed
and digital inclusive design. The
greatest colour contrast is black text
on a white background, however if
your company website isn’t this
stark, the GAAD team suggests
using a colour contrast analyzer tool
(such as one from The Paciello
Group) to determine whether there
is sufficient colour contrast between
different elements on your website.
Experience Digital Accessibility
The GAAD organization does a great
job suggesting ways in which you can
experience digital accessibility for
yourself. Why not set aside some time
on May 16th to let your team participate
in experiential learning to increase
awareness of potential challenges faced
by co-workers and customers? Here are
some activities to try:
Enlarge Your Fonts: Experience
4.
Take the Screen Reader
Challenge: Screen reader tech-
nology is used by those with visual
impairments to navigate visual
interfaces. The screen reader will
read aloud and describe various
elements on screen. For Windows
users, there are a number of free
screen reader options available for
download, including the popular
NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA).
For Mac users, there is a tool called
VoiceOver built right into the OS.
With your screen reader enabled,
check out your company’s website
and other organization’s sites (both
big and small, inside and outside of
your industry). You may be surprised
to learn that even the big players
(I’m looking at you, Amazon) don’t
always get it right. For example,
when navigating Amazon’s home
page with a screen reader, several
of the recommended products were
not tagged correctly, meaning that
instead of describing the product,
the screen reader read aloud the
name of the image (“img_64877.
jpg”). This is a lost sales opportunity.
Take this challenge one step
further by disabling your mouse
and trackpad, using only your
keyboard to navigate. Take it even
further by either turning off your
monitor or closing your eyes to
navigate using only the screen
reader’s voice prompts. Finally,
take the whole challenge one step
further by increasing the speed of
the screen reader. Having had
the oppor tunit y to witness a
blind individual use his computer
solely through the assistance of a
screen reader, I can tell you that the
assistive voice was speaking so
GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE | May 2019 | 27