This lecture was a nice refresh of inclusive and accessibility in design, which is especially helpful at the current stage I am at in my project (Begin designing).

Firstly the European Accessibility Act was mentioned (EAA) which is something I am familiar with from past modules. The EAA ensures that digital services are ‘perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. The EAA applies to products such as computers, smartphones, ATMs etc as well as services such as banking, e-books and transport.

The four principles of the EAA include

• Perceivable
• Operable
• Understandable
• Robust

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) was also mentioned which is also something I know of from previous lectures. WCAG are international standards ensuring digital content is accessible to people with disabilities.

WCAG focuses on making websites:

• Perceivable - Users must understand information presented, if users cant see, hear or detect the content they cannot use the product. Information should be available through more than once sense.
• Operable - The user must be able to operate the interface, people need to navigate and interact with a product regardless of their input method. Interfaces should work with different ways of interacting.
• Understandable - Users must be able to understand the information and interface. Content and interactions should be clear, predictable and easy to follow. It is also important to reduce confusion and cognitive load.
• Robust - Content must work across different technologies, digital products should work reliably with different devices, browsers and assistance technologies. It is important to build systems that remain usable as technology changes.