Users with Special Needs

Users with special needs who are not sufficiently visually impaired to require assistive technologies can still be frustrated by poor contrast, problematic colour schemes, or tiny, unreadable text. Up to 10% of men are colour blind to some extent, and the increasing number of older users are less likely to have 20/20 vision than those designing the pages.

Why are many web and application interfaces so badly designed for those with special needs? Whilst it is now fashionable to at least pay lip service to the concept of designing interfaces for these groups, too many users still find themselves struggling with over-complex and confusing designs that do not take into account the varying needs of the population.

An element of the problem is in the common perception of disability as an 'all or nothing' phenomenon. Many companies quite rightly go to great lengths to ensure that their website is accessible to blind users through assistive technologies such as screen readers. But many users, who are not sufficiently visually impaired to require these technologies and consequently do not have them to hand, can still be frustrated by poor contrast, problematic colour schemes, or tiny, unreadable text. And these user groups are significant; up to 10% of men are colour blind to some extent, and the increasing number of elder users are less likely to have 20/20 vision than those designing the pages.

With this in mind, it is important to understand the potential difficulties that these user groups may encounter, and design accordingly. In the case of colour-blindness, for example, designers should ensure that text and links are well contrasted with background. Neither should colour be used as the sole basis for navigation or categorisation if possible - the green and red lines in Microsoft Word, which denote spelling or grammatical errors, are indistinguishable for some users. For those with vision that isn't what it used to be, try to avoid such features as moving or flashing text, fuzzy definition, or small font sizes.

Unfortunately these simple rules often go unheeded, probably because too many interface designers believe that the world consists of themselves and their peers (an easy mistake to make). The reality, especially as the world moves over to the online environment, could not be more different.