TECHNOLOGY FOR ME AND MY GRANDMA

Both private companies and the government are using this resource. But what does the digitalisation of services mean, anyway? When we say “digitalisation”, we mean transferring a reality (usually a service) from one medium to another. And the fact is that this is what must be done, as everyone is doing it. If we make everything digital, there will be no problem, since everyone will have access to everything they need, right?

Wrong. That’s not how it works. This is because, if the transfer of that reality to the digital world isn’t done correctly, there are always people who will get lost along the way. Why is this? Because in the real world, the digitalisation of services is usually not very accessible.

We discussed this topic with José Pajares, director and Accessible Design expert at Accenture Song’s design studio. He’s in charge of creating tools that fit with everyone. In a world of inflexible iron where everything is very pragmatic, technical, and technological, he upholds the role of birds and flowers, the more sensitive and empathetic side. Thus, we wanted him to give us his opinion on this topic.

But… we may be going too fast. Let’s back up a bit… What do we mean when we speak of “accessible design?” In a nutshell, it’s the kind of design that seeks to leave nobody behind. Its goal is for everybody – regardless of their origin, disability, level of schooling, or age, among other things – to be able to do what they need to do, easily and clearly. To put it even more simply, it’s about making sure that your aitona (grandpa) can see how much money he has in the bank without leaving his home, or ensuring that a woman who has just arrived from another country can easily get the paperwork she needs to start her working life here.

Accessible design is the key for society to move forward without leaving anyone behind.

TECHNOLOGY THAT EXCLUDES THOSE WHO IT INCLUDES

While the idea may be great, the reality of accessible design is far from ideal. Nowadays, no one has to go to an office to pick up paperwork, a certificate, or any other document they require, because everything has been digitalised. Transferring everything printed to the Cloud is a great idea for everyone to have access to whatever they need. Even so, a few mistakes were made when carrying out this digitalisation process. Even if everything one requires is there, if browsing those pages is a difficult and tedious process, in general, people at risk of exclusion will suffer even more complications.

Pajares has observed three trends in the digitalisation of services. He calls the first trend the “scanner philosophy”, which denotes how we transfer documents to the Internet just as they’re written on paper, without making any changes to their language or design. The issue with this is that all the problems that the physically written form has are transferred to the Cloud, which generates even more confusion. Pajares believes that sometimes we lack a bit of empathy. And this lack of empathy, this failure to talk to those who are really going to use and deal with the digital solution, causes us to make basic mistakes; basic, but as glaring as designing a solution meant only for PCs when the person who needs to use it only has a mobile phone, and their data plan is limited. These “little mistakes” end up producing frustration and constituting a lack of respect towards people, as they unintentionally ignore those who are negatively affected by them.

The second problem arises from digitalisation itself, since there is a tendency to digitalise everything just because we can, without taking into account the intended use and the needs of those involved. As an example of this, he talks about the “App Factory” phenomenon, referring to the compulsion to turn every webpage into an app. At times these entities, often due to demand and production speed, don’t ask themselves the necessary questions that should be posed when creating an app, such as: Why? What’s the goal? What type of user is it for? Etc. Consequently, we end up with thousands of apps that are not used in the long run.

The last issue that Pajares comments on is the well-known question of saving money. Unfortunately, more importance is often attached to this than simply coming up with a good design that is accessible to everyone. This, generally, consists of slashing costs that organisations consider “unnecessary” at the expense of app users’ consumer experience. Banks are an example of this. Why are they closing so many branches daily? How do we explain to an 80-year-old woman who has always interacted with her bank in the same way for the last 60 years that she now has to change and use an app? She may not even have the tools necessary to do so, like a mobile phone or a laptop computer.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO PRODUCING ACCESSIBLE DESIGN

Since there’s always a solution to every problem, Pajares points out some ways to make the accessibility process more efficient. Are you interested in finding out how to produce design that leaves no one behind?

First of all, and probably the most important thing, is empathy. Do you remember what we talked about? The thing about the birds and flowers? Although this sounds a bit like a “hippie” philosophy, putting yourself in other people’s shoes completely changes your perspective when devising a design. Let’s face it: without this exercise in empathy, users may feel hurt and insulted. The “I’m older, not an idiot” social movement is a clear example of this. This protest originated in Valencia with the aim of criticising the differences created by the technological divide. Shortly after it began, the movement’s petition had already garnered some 350,000 signatures, revealing design deficiencies.

The movement focused on banks’ prioritisation of money over empathy. This movement’s popularity gave rise to a social debate about accessible design, which has spotlighted another factor: the important role of companies’ reputations.

Pajares’ second piece of advice for achieving accessible design is to be inclusive when creating. This level of inclusion can be achieved in two ways: the first is to have people who are at risk of exclusion on the design team itself. This way, any problems that arise throughout the process can be evaluated internally. The other way to include these groups is to seek external advice. If we ask for guidance from people who have nothing to do with the project, they’ll be able to tell us how much of a problem the design we are working on poses for them. Thus, besides helping us comply with the law, they’ll help us to be better designers…achieving a much better product as a result.

The next step is to study closely the law that we’ve just mentioned. The law of September 2018 (Official State Gazette, Royal Decree 1112/2018), which governs everything that has to do with the design, building, maintenance, and updating of a webpage, is the Spanish adaptation of a European Parliament Directive (Directive UE 2016/2102). Both are a reflection of how pressing this issue of accessibility and inclusion is. It’s a law that changes experiences for the better. Sometimes it’s not only necessary for people to be sure about the topic and to call for accessible design, but certain guidelines are also needed, like those that can be found in the aforementioned Directive:

• Audio and video pieces must be accompanied by subtitles and transcripts.
• All graphic elements should have descriptive texts.
• Webpage and app layouts must be orderly and clear.
• There should be a number of ways to interact with a webpage: voice, mouse, keyboard, etc.
• The text and background colours of a webpage or app must have the proper contrast.

In addition, beginning in 2022, private companies will also be regulated by law, which, until now, only affected governmental bodies, subsidised private companies, and private companies working on public projects.

Pajares’ final recommendation is aimed directly at designers. Many of the suggestions given so far require a decision from top officials to move forward. If the person in charge doesn’t give their approval, the project doesn’t go ahead. Or does it? In design, it’s essential to consider accessibility. Discussions, research, and even testing with users are some of the ways to make a difference.

DESIGNING A MUCH MORE INCLUSIVE WORLD

It’s clear that technology has done a lot for people at risk of exclusion. One only has to look at the progress we’ve made: today, the visually impaired can read newspapers thanks to screen readers, and the hearing impaired are using cochlear implants to be able to hear.

Even so, Pajares believes that much remains to be done. First of all, he speaks of the law, which has to continue to evolve and adapt, just as we all have to evolve and adapt to it. Additionally, he insists that we have to put ourselves in other people’s shoes more often. Although the philosophy of “nobody tells me whether or not to have a glass of wine” that Prime Minister Aznar became known for is widespread in society, we need to reflect and debate more on matters of accessibility. In this way, just like what is happening with women’s rights and gender-based violence, we can raise awareness and, in turn, change things.

The conclusion is that accessible design is a plus for everyone: immigrants, disabled people, seniors, the uneducated, and for you. The truth is that when we design without leaving anyone behind, we design better.

Doing things this way, let’s see if we can get the “bird and flower” revolution to be important enough to make inroads in our “iron” world.