Universally usable design

If I don't relax with a cup of tea and the latest news on the Web, I feel something's missing from my day. So it shocked me to learn that there are people who must copy and paste Web content into Microsoft Word to make it large enough to read. But why should low-vision folk be forced to read this way?

We can design readable Web sites for the visually handicapped. Notice how easy it is to read this content even with the largest online fonts:

The design below isn't acceptable because it can't be easily read by everyone. In other words, it's not "universally usable" :

 

A Rich Niche

In the US alone at last count there were 16.5 million people with special vision needs. And as the population ages, this market segment can only grow. It makes sense to cater to this section because they control around US$756 BILLION of discretionary income in the US! Every site they land on and can't read, loses.

Opportunity

Only three of one hundred Web sites tested for the UN met design standards for disabled users! US law merely requires disabled people to have the same access to online federal documents as everyone else. More hasn't been done, I'm sure, because few people know of the problem. I only learnt about the plight of the disabled when, due to unfortunate circumstances, I had more time than usual to poke around on the Web. Luckily, the Muses of Web design are already at work, influencing their faithful to action.

Contact

I'm available at frontender[AT]veeryani[DOT]com. Replace the brackets, and words in them, with the usual symbols.

Links

The Global Audit of Web sites for the UN

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VEERYANI: universally usable Web sites

Cost-effective * Colorful * Oh-so-easy-to-read