New report sheds light on inclusive design for apps
Regular readers of my blog, know I have a passion for inclusive design. Plus, I’m a big fan of apps. Now, a new report combines both of these topics. And in my opinion, everyone involved with apps should read it.
Whether you’re designing cars, phones or software, inclusive design is great design. Why? Because inclusive design means more people can use it.
The report Moving together: mobile apps for inclusion and assistance is published by the OneVoice for Accessible ICT Coalition – an umbrella of likeminded organisations that acts as a single voice for ICT accessibility and usability.
Sponsored by BT, it takes a comprehensive look at the whole lifecycle of using apps – from turning on a device right through to how to use them. Crucially, it contains heaps of information for app developers and designers.
For instance, here are just three of the report’s key messages:
Mobile apps
“Mobile apps, like all new digital technologies, can be useful, valuable and liberating for disabled and older people or they can be yet another barrier to their enjoyment of ordinary everyday activities taken for granted by most other people”.
Mixed accessibility
“App accessibility is currently very mixed, ranging from extremely inclusive to disastrously unusable: different mobile devices offer wildly different levels of “out- of-the-box” accessibility for users with different access needs”.
Accessibility basics
“The easiest way for an organisation creating an app to ensure it is accessible is to build accessibility into the decision-making processes from top to bottom. This means that many different types of people in an organisation need to be aware of, at least, the basics of accessibility”.
I couldn’t agree more. Even better, the authors of the report have also published a short guide outlining the ‘first seven steps to accessible mobile apps’. It’s definitely worth a read.
You can download both from the OneVoice website.
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