I designed a poster portraying concerns of an online publication environment as it relates to those with movement disorders, specifically Tourette’s Syndrome. To evaluate this, I listed both do’s and don’ts that the target audience can use to improve online publication. For this project, the target audience is both Stevenson students, faculty, staff, and alumni. This target audience was chosen in particular to refine the Stevenson literary magazine, the Greenspring Review. To relate to the target audience, I used words, images, and information that would be useful for each of these individuals. In order to improve the online publication, it is essential to think about all possible viewers. Therefore, disability accommodations are necessary for the success of the literary magazine.
The accessibility poster includes both five do’s and don’ts to be considered when designing an online publication. Each is accompanied by an image to further explain the point that is stated. The do’s included are: use a simple background and font, have easy accessibility to articles, use organized text, consistent sizing of both text and images, and use clear heading. Proceeding are the don’ts that read don’t: use distracting colors, use links that are broken, use overwhelming information, use images of multiple sizes, and use multiple links to direct site. The Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy states that eLearning has proven successful for those with disabilities (jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu). However, in order to ensure this, the article titled “Disability, Mental Illness, and eLearning: Invisible Behind the Screen?” says that publishers need to pay close attention to specific areas of accessibility, flexibility, and disclosure (jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu). Therefore, these three aspects are what I focused on when designing this poster.
In terms of aesthetics, I chose to focus on one specific color scheme. It was important to do this because of the the information stated in the poster. It is particularly important to keep information displayed both simple and neat for those with Tourette’s Syndrome. Therefore, the poster does just that and is an example of how to design when considering movement disorders. This color scheme is light blue which is said to be calming and advantageous to the mind and body. The guide for this poster was an article titled “Do’s and Don’ts on designing for accessibility”. The article states that it is imperative for us to not solely design or build for our own “immediate needs” (accessibility.blog.gov.uk). Karwai Pun also mentions that when creating an accessibility poster, it should not be too much based on perspective but be a general guide (accessibility.blog.gov.uk). Therefore, as stated, I used both images and color scheme to portray this. I chose a white background for the text to further my point of organized information. Letting the images explain the point simply is one of the key tools for accessibility.
References
Kent, Dr. Mike. “Disability, Mental Illness, And Elearning: Invisible Behind The Screen? /”. Jitp.Commons.Gc.Cuny.Edu, 2015, https://jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/disability-mental-illness-and-elearning-invisible-behind-the-screen/.
Pun, Karwai. “Dos And Don’ts On Designing For Accessibility – Accessibility In Government”. Accessibility.Blog.Gov.Uk, 2016, https://accessibility.blog.gov.uk/2016/09/02/dos-and-donts-on-designing-for-accessibility/.