In this document from 2004, then recent, relevant research about Web site design and older adult users are reviewed. From the research reviewed here, the authors developed a set of heuristics to use in persona-based, task-based reviews of 50 Web sites that older adult users are likely to go to.
Designing Web Sites for Older Adults: A Review of Recent, Relevant Research (PDF, 380 kb)
This document was published on December 14, 2004.
In this document from 2005, findings from an expert review of 50 Web sites are presented. In a variation on the traditional heuristic evaluation methodology, heuristics were derived from research about older adults and Web design to perform persona-based, task-based reviews of Web sites that older adult users are likely to go to. The heuristics are extracted from our findings in Designing Web Sites for Older Adults: A Review of Recent, Relevant Research.
Designing web sites for older adults: Expert review of usability for older adults at 50 web sites (PDF, 1.7 mb)
Colblindor is a website where content focuses on color blindness. One can learn a lot of colorblind facts while browsing through the articles, try one of the tools or take a color vision deficiency test. Have a look at the most frequently asked questions or else contact the author in case any unanswered questions remain.
The free report by Nielsen Norman Group (otherwise valued at $124) based purely on empirical evidence from user testing contains:
The report is richly illustrated with 46 screenshots of designs that worked well or that caused difficulties for users with disabilities in the usability tests as well as 23 photos of assistive technology devices. The examples and guidelines are directly based on empirical observation of actual user behavior.
This report addresses the usability of websites and intranets and addresses the second level (good usability after ensuring technical accessibility).
Beyond ALT Text: Making the Web Easy to Use for Users With Disabilities
This overview of Steppingstones Cognitive Research provides a brief overview of the findings and observations of a cognitive accessibility survey.
Creating accessible websites for users with learning and cognitive disabilities is an area with little research and few concrete recommendations. While web developers can apply universal principles of web accessibility to benefit all users with sensory or physical disabilities, the application of cognitive accessibility is varied and complex. Due to the limited research and complexity of cognitive web accessibility, common techniques to increase usability for those with cognitive and learning disabilities are hard to come by, despite the fact that the number of users with these disabilities far exceeds the number of people with other types of physical and sensory disabilities.
Population is rapidly aging and becoming a larger share of the marketplace. Thirteen percent of the population is currently over 65 years old. In 30 years that group will double to 66 million people.
People change as they age. Sensory, cognitive and motor abilities decline. The built environment is not typically created with the needs of the aging population in mind. How does the choice of typeface in signage systems, for example, impact the older viewer who is experiencing vision problems typical to that age group? Are certain typefaces more suitable to the aging eye?
Typography and the Aging Eye: Typeface Legibility for Older Viewers with Vision Problems
A key aspect of successful User-Centered Design (UCD) is evaluating early and throughout the UCD process. The Background: Accessibility & User-Centered Design (UCD) chapter introduces the User-Centered Design process.
This section provides information on incorporating accessibility into the following evaluation methods:
A blog with podcasts about the blind and the writers’ quest for the greatest possible access to all the information available in the world around them.The authors chronicle their experiences dealing with a variety of issues as a blind couple and show how they have dealt with various blindness situations and seek comments on ways to constructively address the concrete concerns of accessibility and transportation faced on a daily basis.
From accessible train stations, elevators, cellphones to beer cans, read this interview with a blind programmer- Masafumi “Max” Nakane, who talks about online and offline accessibility and how it connects with his life in Japan.