Angela Delise

PORTFOLIO | LINKEDIN | GITHUB

• Hello, my name is Angela Delise and I am a creative problem solver that is interested in exploring the intersection of psychology, art, design and technology. I have a background in Information Systems, Psychology, Design and Technology and Digital Art. I follow an iterative design process of conducting research, creating prototypes and user testing design solutions. I firmly believe that great design relies on the usability of the product and the satisfaction of both the user and the business needs. I want to create the best human centered designs for the best user experiences.

Felt

Felt aims to increase the awareness of web accessibility for designers and developers by creating a screen reader web experience. In this immersive experience, the users are stripped from their visual sense and must navigate through an online shopping web design by only using auditory cues to navigate. When the user completes the experience they are given information about the importance of inclusive design, what accessible design is and how to include the correct tagging system in their own work.  

• • The internet has revolutionized how we conduct our lives and is fully embedded within our culture. Now imagine not being able to access all the information on a website. Imagine being able to know there is an image on a site but not seeing the content. Image not being able to buy a shirt online or complete a job application. This is the situation that individuals that rely on screen readers face everyday. Screen readers are audio interfaces that convert web content into speech so users can navigate digital spaces with sound. Although this technology has increased accessibility for websites, there is an overall lack of accessible web design. The World Wide Web Consortium and Web Accessibility Initiative created guidelines for accessible designs. Web designs that do not follow this protocol can be incomprehensible and prevents users from participating in the digital culture of our society. Popular retail websites have been involved in accessibility lawsuits including Ace Hardware, Aeropostale, Bed Bath & Beyond and Estee Lauder. Inaccessible web design are the results of several factors including: the lack of awareness, the lack of knowledge on accessible design and the lack of development budget. 

    Felt is a screen reader experience for designers and developers to increase awareness about web accessibility and the interaction between screen readers and digital information. Sighted individuals rely on the visual hierarchy to quickly interpret a site’s navigation system; however, individuals that rely on screen readers navigate by jumping from particular elements in the HTML code. Felt gives the user the ability to understand the process of navigating a website with this method by being stripped of visual cues. By conducting research, interviewing and creating prototypes, the flaws of modern web design has been discovered and highlighted through this experience. Web designers and developers will be able to experience what it feels to navigate through a web design with this assistive technology. The goal of Felt is to increase awareness and interest of web accessibility by creating empathy from creators in this community. Felt is a representation of one type of web accessibility experience with the intention to bring other accessibility issues to the forefront of design thinking.

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