Accessibility Before Aesthetic

We’ve always talked about universal and inclusive design, but while we’ve always cater to this concern, it’s never a top priority. We’re tasked to design a solution for athletes of different abilities.

Currently, the council has to call their athletes or caregivers one-by-one, to inform them of new events or training, and to ask them for their interest. The council also keep a data sheet of athletes’ contact details which needed to update manually. There’re many instances where athletes changed their contact without updating the council, resulting in lost of communication. The council also need a better way of tracking athletes’ attendance and performance, and a channel for coach to record progresses.

We would never be able to cover all disabilities, and some wouldn’t be able to even use a mobile phone, relying on their caregivers. As a first iteration, I focused on autism and ADHD, as we have network with young adults with these symptoms. The interface consists of an easy access menu which holds several settings – colour contrast, font size, image preference, information density, and language. I tested the design on users with autism and ADHD. They do not have major issue using the app and getting around to achieve what they want. They ranked colour contrast and font size as the most useful features when they use them.

I’ve handed over the project to my colleague who will be focusing on visual impaired users. Making sure the solution is usable via a screen reader.