Designing for Situational Visual Impairments

Abstract

Mobile devices are a substantial part of our lives, supporting communication, work, and play. However, situational visual impairments (SVIs) can make completing tasks a challenge (e.g., browsing online in bright sunlight) and poorly designed content can cause or exacerbate SVIs. We surveyed 43 mobile content designers and ran four follow-on interviews to understand what designers currently do regarding SVIs, what resources they know of, and what is required to best support them in designing to reduce SVIs. Our findings highlight key similarities and differences between accessibility and designing to reduce SVIs. Our participants requested improved guidelines, education, and digital design tools for SVIs. To accommodate the growing number of people affected by SVIs and improve the inclusion of accessibility in design, we introduce recommendations that leverage the overlap between accessibility and SVIs to minimise the effort required in extending current design processes.

Developing Accessible Services

“…Previous work has discussed how it is important to include representative users when conducting research and that an induced situational impairment does not constitute the same experience as a permanent disability [48]. However, temporary and situational accessibility challenges can be used as a method to create empathy within developers [46] and also exists as an area where design challenges exist due to the increasing range of situations where technology is now used [52]. In our work we have shown that developers are aware of a large number of permanent challenges that users face within the areas of visual, communication, physical, cognitive, and emotional accessibility.…”

Household Surface Interactions: Understanding User Input Preferences and Perceived Home Experiences

“…Prior work has investigated SVIs when using mobile devices under different lighting conditions [47]. Although designers are not well supported there are proposals for supporting them in addressing SVIs [48], which would be relevant for improving HSI. There is an opportunity here for designers of HSI to consider, and address, these concerns from the outset before they become issues for future applications.…”

It's not just the light

“…Poorly designed content may also result in SVIs. Early-career designers typically do not address SVIs and require better support than what is currently available [52]. Reinecke et al [41] also identified that designers are under-supported when trying to understand a user group's varied perception of colour (influenced by inherited and acquired colour vision deficiency, as well as SVIs).…”

“…Early-career designers feel that current support for designing to reduce SVIs is lacking and they want improved guidelines, education, and digital design tools [52]. Although accessibility guidelines impose restrictions on design, it is possible to maximise creative freedom with a design tool [51].…”