Visualizations that speak to you: Our journey through inclusive design

Description

Accessibility and Inclusive Design is rapidly becoming table stakes for products that are considered to have strong user experiences. For teams that prioritize such best practices early on, it doesn’t even need to be all that hard to incorporate. But, what of tools that are inherently visual such as data visualizations or even drag-and-drop scenarios? Surely, there must be some way to address the needs of users even in these situations. This was precisely the situation the team I support found itself in. I joined a product team with a fully designed and built UI, and we now needed to “add in” accessibility compliance. To truly support an inclusive design though, a new strategy was needed.

In this talk, I will review how we started to address these concerns in our tool. I will review how screen readers work so that we can do more than just support a WCAG checkbox and go deeper into providing an experience that delights for low-vision and non-sighted users. I will also review concerns for mobility-impaired users that were impacted by the design. Lastly, I will also touch briefly on IBM's history of staying committed to accessibility at the heart of the products we build. I hope you can walk away with a better understanding of inclusive user experiences and the technology that supports them.

About Our Speaker

Will Ryan

Lead UX Designer

IBM

Will Ryan is a UX leader and service designer building organizational capability in research, design, and UX strategy. He views the user experience as an opportunity to provide not just delight, but a more meaningful context surrounding the work users do or the products they consume. He currently works in the modernization effort in z System Mainframes at IBM, where he specializes in the intersection of UX, AI, and Accessibility.

Previously, Will held roles at CBORD, NCR, and numerous startups and has also taught research and design methods at Indiana University and Ithaca College. He has authored dozens of published peer-reviewed articles on design methods, learning to use novel technology, game design, and social media.

Schedule

• 5:30 pm - 5:45 pm: Sign In 
• 5:45 pm - 7:15 pm: Introduction & Talk, Q&A
• 7:15 pm - 7:45 pm: Networking

Giveaway Sponsor

• Several attendees will receive free Sketch licenses. 

Location

We will be using an online networking and conference tool called Airmeet to deliver this live presentation. 

Join us Online - https://www.airmeet.com/e/a8c76350-cb00-11eb-930f-d1b89cc0076f

This event will be recorded and Triangle UXPA members will have access to the recording post-event.