Designing for deaf people, for everyone actually

Websites are a very visual medium. You therefore might think that they will work for people who are Deaf. But is that true? Marie tells a personal and entertaining story about things you’ve never realised. About four-dimensional language, the pros and cons of video captions, the recognition of exclusion and, of course, the importance of inclusivity.

If you think about improving usability and accessibility of your website, there’s some points of interests that are already well known. For example, use enough contrast to make text readable. When using colours in your designs, consider people who are color blind. Do not write complicated text, and so on.

But there are so many more things you can do. In order to find out what these things are, you really need to listen to people who are dealing with a particular ‘disability’ or situation. People will tell or show you things that you never considered before.

If you want to reach a large or a specific group, you have to involve people from that group in the design process. Listen to the people who are the real experts, to those who are in a particular situation and run into their particular problems daily. They are the real experts.

In my presentation I will sign about how sign language is an intrinsically different language and how to make your website accessible for Deaf people, but actually for everyone.