Jan Vanalphen

Do you dare to watch your product through a screen reader?   From what I see,  in general people still don’t involve users with disabilities in their design / develop process. Some know the words “WCAG” and “accessibility” and feel comfortable saying them. But the step from talking about it to testing with real users often never happens.   For others it feels complicated. Not because it’s expensive or impossible, but because it’s new. Reaching out to people with disabilities can feel uncomfortable the first time. How do I even start? How do I invite them in? That hesitation is enough to stop it.   And then there’s fear. Fear of doing something wrong. But it’s not dangerous. The designers who grow are the ones who push through that fear. The curious  and brave ones.   At Acquia, I’ve just reintroduced something to our R&D I’ve used with success before: Screen Reader Open Office Hours.   Any team can bring the product or service they’re working on. I share my screen and walk through it with my screen reader. They get to see – in real time – how I experience their UI/ digital product as a blind user.   That’s my perspective. But it could just as well be someone with dyslexia, low vision, or limited mobility. Different disabilities reveal different barriers and different insights.   For me, it feels almost banal and simple. I’ve worked with accessibility for many years. But the reality is that it’s still one of the most effective things we can do. Because there are still so many teams, new designers and new developers who have never seen what it actually means to use a website or app without sight.   It’s such a simple concept. And yet, every time, it creates aha-moments. It makes accessibility less abstract and more real.   👉 Have you ever invited people with disabilities into your design / development process? What surprised you the most? And if not, what’s been holding you back?

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The design profession has been on decline for the last years. A number of reasons. Design becoming commoditized as more and more companies have democratized the concept of design thinking. Design advisory suffering from work going to in house teams. The evolution of information and content consumption from websites to Apps and then to Video led interfaces. But more importantly the growing perception that anyone can create content and design anything with prompts is undermining the perceived value that designers bring. The Open Ai announcement gives renewed energy to the design industry on their stand behind the importance of good design to build the next level of AI powered interfaces, physical but also at the level of the human centered AI personalities, tone of voice, etc. https://lnkd.in/gFg5svu7

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How can you use systems thinking in design? This is a great piece (link 👇) from the Interaction Design Foundation, which lists systems thinking as the third principle of Human-Centred Design: ➡️ Consider everything as a system. ➡️ Untangle as many parts of the problem as possible. ➡️ Evaluate feedback loops. ➡️ Dig past the obvious to understand root causes. 📌 "By looking beyond apparent problems to consider a system as a whole, designers can expose root causes and avoid merely treating symptoms." 🌍 This applies to big (societal & community) problems and small ones too. 🧭 It's relevant for product design, user- and employee-experience design as well. 👉 Here's the link: https://buff.ly/3FnZdV4 (Where you can also learn more about IxDF courses). 🎤 What might you change about these principles? Is there anything you would add? #SystemsThinking #DesignThinking 🚴‍♂️ Enjoy posts like this? 👉 Sign up to receive my quarterly roundup: https://buff.ly/3uK9Qvk

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