Imagine for a moment sitting down to pay a bill, put money in your child’s college fund or take a ‘quick look’ at your finances online. If you’re sighted, this may take seconds. If you are a person with vision impairment, there is nothing quick about it. The challenge in this study was to learn how people with vision impairment experienced the website of a digital investment company.
Ethnographic research revealed that this investment site lacked basic accessibility tools, and some of the language was non-inclusive. Referencing ‘snapshots,’ ‘envisioning’ financial goals or ‘seeing the big picture’ felt dismissive to participants.
We observed many tools and hacks people use to get around the website, and heard how that translated to their perceptions of the company. The result was a redesign of some vision accessibility features, and a greater focus on accessibility overall. This company created a goal to frontload accessibility into the design process for all user experiences, so it’s baked in from the start.