It takes a lot of thoughtful consideration, research, and testing to build robust interfaces, but once that work is done, you can share your findings and make it simple for others to follow in your footsteps. Sara has kindly done the hard work here and has lovingly provided you with a guided tour on how to make an accessible help tooltip. Thank you Sara!
This is an excellent introduction to some of the things you should be considering when writing JavaScript. There is tons of practical and actionable advice in here.
If you travel abroad for work, you may have some concerns about border crossings, based on recent news coverage. I know I do. I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve been researching quite a bit and asking for opinions and recommendations. Below is a summary of the advice I’ve been given. I’m providing it here in case it might be of use to you.
Screen readers are a great alternative to reading your work aloud!
Excellent overview of the current state of voice UX (or headless UX as I often call it). Choice quotes:
[T]he voice user experiences consumers are learning to use today are usually FAR from conversational. We are still in early days.
and
VUIs are life-changing for those who can’t easily adapt themselves for traditional computer use.
Start thinking about this stuff now!
Typography nerds: variable fonts are the future!
This is an excellent breakdown of general “ethical” philosophies with a solid example of their concrete application in software.
“Treat personalisation as progressive enhancement,” Chris recommends. “Start with good content and a good information architecture that works for all of your audiences. Then start with basic personalisation and build up from there.”
It’s easy to get upset when we feel like the things we care dearly about—accessibility, translations, etc.—don’t seem to register with others. But appearances can be deceiving, as Tom Cochran—a former director of digital for the White House—points out with respect to the changes to WhiteHouse.gov:
It’s no secret that my political allegiances lie with Obama’s administration, but I can be very objective with this. First off, I think that the media is reading a little too much into the digital transition. You have to think of it in terms of moving into an apartment: The previous tenant moves out, and a new tenant moves in. When the previous tenant moves out, he or she will take his or her possessions, furniture, and paintings, and the new tenant comes in and starts over and hangs their stuff up wherever they want to. Someone who had been in that apartment before would go in and say, “Whoa, wait, where did the couch go? There used to be a couch here.” Well, yeah—but there’s a completely new tenant in here.
Excellent piece from Andrew Smyk:
We are starting to live our daily lives in the post screen world. The advent of smart and contextually aware devices have changed how we interact with content. Data is a snapshot of our contextual connectivity to our physical and digital environments. Designers will need to build screen-less experiences that leverage data and algorithms to create value for users.