麻豆约拍

Access 2.0 interview - Richard Cranfield

• By Paul Crichton
• 26 Jan 07, 02:19 PM

Richard Cranfield (45) has dyslexia. It is often called the 鈥渉idden disability鈥� because it can go undiagnosed despite the problems that it causes with reading and writing. For web developers, too, it presents challenges on how they design pages, and unlike other accessibility issues, relatively little material is available to help. For example, whilst most are aware that contrast is an issue, not everyone knows that an off-white background can be better than white, or better even the yellow on black as established as the typical 鈥渉igh visibility鈥� colour scheme by Betsy.

Question: There are a variety of tools available that can read out the text of a web page for you. Do you use any of those tools?

Richard: I sometimes use , it depends on the website. If it is a new website that I am looking at then I like to use it then.

Question: What are some of the problems that you often come across that drive you mad?

Richard: When the text on a web page is too small and you cannot change the size or the colour. Also, when the page background is white and you cannot change that. I find a white background to be most un-user friendly. I find that all of the words run into each other, and I can鈥檛 make them out clearly. Those websites are too difficult to use, and I would rather go to another site. I prefer yellowy, creamy or a pale blue colour for the page background. I like a large font in blue, depending on the background. That won鈥檛 suit everyone though, as other people find different colour schemes suit them better.

Richard cited the Court Service website a being one that he finds difficult to use. Being a Government website, it does offer some accessibility features. It doesn鈥檛, however, provide the means to change the colour scheme, but instead has instructions on how to change them using the browser settings. Research has shown that most users are not aware that they can change the browser set-up, which is why it is important for designers to make provisions of their own.

Question: What would you like to see web designers do to make their websites better?

Richard: I wish that when people design websites that they would think more about people with disabilities. They should make websites more user-friendly for people with disabilities like dyslexia or visual impairment. If that means going out and talking to people and listening to what they have to say and then putting into practice what they learn then things will be a lot easier for everyone!

Question: What are the websites that you like and find easy to use?

Richard: There are many websites I like and use. I really like Key 4 Learning, as I can choose the background and text colours that suit me best, and change the size of the font. I also like , , and .

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