Awareness of accessibility is again growing in the web industry. We’ve recently reported on Nomensa’s accessibility declaration tool, GAAD 2013, and Web Axe urging designers to keep link underlines.
.net: Why is colour accessibility important and why do you think more designers aren’t thinking about it?
GC: I don’t think most people realise how common conditions like colour-blindness really are. Close to five percent of the population have some degree of reduced colour vision, and that’s not counting the even larger percentage of people who have poor vision in general. Design trends these days are all about subtle details and many websites feature text or other page elements that have insufficient contrast or inappropriate colour combinations. Designers are designing for what they can see, not realising that it may be incredibly difficult to read for others.
.net : What would you say to a designer concerned about sacrificing creative freedom when following colour accessibility guidelines?
GC : It’s a common misconception that ‘accessibility’ equals ‘boring’. It reminds me of the same misconception about responsive design; some people say it restricts designs into visible grids and everything ends up looking the same. Taking that attitude is a way to blame the tools or requirements when we are the ones in control of the final outcome. Plus, guidelines for making a design colourblind-friendly are completely reasonable. There’s simply no excuse. Striving to make our work more creative is important, but we also need to think about real-world considerations and understand that not everyone is blessed with perfect vision. We need to be inclusive and provide an enjoyable experience for as many people as we can.
Read full story here : http://www.netmagazine.com/news/web-industry-urged-embrace-colour-accessibility-132779
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