Overview

Research questions

How might the social inclusion of people with disabilities in new media like the WWW be achieved?
How effective are web accessibility guidelines as a means of achieving such social inclusion?
What factors affect the take up and application of the accessibility ethos and guidelines in the web design practices of new media designers?
What is the relationship between accessibility guidelines and the creative design process?
How effective are other approaches (such as the inclusion of disabled users in the design process or highlighting exemplary practice) in achieving accessible web design?
What is the relationship between (a) discourses about creativity in general, and creativity in new media work in particular, (b) designers and developers’ perceptions of their work and (c) the extent of their accessibility practice.

Some accessibility sites are downright ugly, but the problem lies with those sites’ designers and not with accessibility, which carries no visual penalty.

Jeffrey Zeldman, Designing with Web Standards, 2003

Although serving the needs of people with disabilities should of course be a concern, the far wider issue – that accessibility is a matter of usability – has rarely been discussed. As designer professionals, we should be designing our content so it is globally accessible and meets the needs of as many people as is possible and practical given our specific circumstances, regardless of their abilities or the type of device they choose to access the Web

Andy Clarke, Transcending CSS: the fine art of web design, 2006