Collaborative Research: HCC: Small: Creative Accessibility Design Tools for Mobile App Creators: Enhancing Inclusion through Innovative Design Methods

Mobile apps are a vital part of our daily lives, serving billions of users worldwide. However, many apps remain inaccessible to people with disabilities. For example, if there is not enough contrast between the color of text and its background, it may be difficult to read for someone with low vision.

Inaccessible apps can lead to exclusion, lost customers, and potential legal issues for businesses. Still, many app designers do not consider accessibility. In fact, they may believe considering accessibility will disrupt their creative process.

This project will work with app designers and digital accessibility specialists to explore tools that can link accessibility and creative design, with the goal of improving both the accessibility of apps and designers' experience of designing for accessibility. The project outcomes can also support other mobile app creators with access to fewer resources, such as students and self-employed designers, to ensure they are also supported in creating accessible mobile apps.

This initiative will not only improve the accessibility of mobile apps for people with disabilities but also promote a more inclusive digital world by enhancing the usability of mobile apps for everyone.

This research project aims to develop Creative Accessibility Design Tools (CADTs) to assist under-resourced professional mobile app creators in incorporating accessibility into their early design stages. Using qualitative and user-centered methods, the project team will identify the critical features necessary for effective CADTs, focusing on visual design and navigation accessibility.

The methods will include diary studies, interviews, and design workshops to understand current design practices and challenges faced by mobile app creators. Insights from these activities will guide the development of CADTs, which will be iteratively prototyped and evaluated with feedback from accessibility experts and target users. The research will explore how CADTs can support creativity while ensuring accessibility, resulting in new guidelines and exemplar tools that academia and industry can use to develop their own CADTs.

Outcomes will include improved support for accessible design among under-resourced mobile app creators and contributions to educational resources for teaching accessibility in design courses. The results will be disseminated through academic publications, workshops, and public repositories, ensuring broad access to the tools and knowledge generated.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.