Problem identification

In this project I will redesign The Irish Times mobile news app, incorporating principles of universal design to improve its usability for dyslexic users.

Dyslexia is a common neurological disability that negatively affects a person’s ability to read and comprehend text, affecting between 10-20% of the world’s population.

Secondary research will be carried out about accessibility and universal design principles with a specific focus on people with dyslexia. In addition, I will conduct research into the design of news apps to identify areas which can be improved to provide a better experience for dyslexic users. Popular reading tools will also be explored to understand how they design for accessibility.

Design guidelines for users with dyslexia

Embracing best practice for dyslexic readers has the advantage of making all written communication easier on the eye for everyone (British Dyslexia Association, 2018).

The W3C initiative categorises customisable text as an accessibility fundamental whose users include people with some forms of dyslexia and other cognitive and learning disabilities who need a particular presentation of text to read it. As every dyslexic reader will have their own preferences, highly customisable text and display will be essential in improving usability in the redesign.

Flexibility is a principle of universal design, and sites that offer a variety of options for locating specific content will be well designed for dyslexic users (Zusman, 2015). Search functionality is expected and is a vital cog in maximising flexibility.

Font recommendations are predominantly sans serif, with the exception of Times New Roman. There are also fonts designed specifically for dyslexia yet studies have concluded that they did not lead to a better or worse readability (Bigelow & Holmes, 2014).

Additionally, texts displayed on handheld devices (iPod, iPad) were read up to 27% faster by dyslexics when the text lines were very short in terms of number of characters, on the order of 16-18 characters per line, compared to 60 – 65 characters per line as recommended in traditional print book typography (Schneps, Thomson, Chen, Sonnert, & Pomplun, 2013)

There are a number of guidelines from the British Dyslexia Association (2018), and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, (2018), in summary:

Spacing
- Characters = average letter width x 35%
- Words = character spacing x 350%
- Lines = word spacing x 150%
Text
- Align text left, no justification
- No columns
- Line length max 60-70 characters
- Bold should be used for emphasis
- Avoid italics and underlining
- Avoid uppercase and small caps
- Short, simple sentences
- Break up long text with section headings
Use single colour backgrounds behind text – no patterns or images
Use off-white & soft colour backgrounds – white can appear dazzling
Facilitate lower brightness and colour differences among text and background
Leave space around headings and between paragraphs
Use images to support text
Avoid abbreviations

Accessibility Evaluation

Following is a heuristic evaluation of a number of mobile news apps based on design guidelines for accessibility. Amongst them, the Irish Times app illustrates there are a number of issues violating these guidelines.