Dissertation research journal, editorial design

Design for Accessibility and Inclusion

My degree dissertation, designed as a book that practises what it argues.

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Front cover: Design for Accessibility and Inclusion, with the title also set in Braille, on hot pink
Opening endpapers: grey colour blindness test dots
Contents: the word Contents spelt out in a grid of squares beside the twelve numbered sections
Spread of colour blindness test dots, a nod to the Daltonism test in Figure 1
Abstract: a woman framing her face with her hands beside text size samples that pass or fail
Introduction: text beside a Venn diagram where accessibility and usability overlap as UX
Visual hierarchy spread: You will read this first, then this line, then the small body copy
Chapter opener: Typography, innovation through legibility, over scattered metal type
Typography: body text on how type affects reading, over close-up letterforms
Typography: scattered pink letters on charcoal, with a note that this page uses Open Dyslexic
Typography: the If life gives you melons, you might be dyslexic poster beside text on WCAG 2.2 and Dynamic Type
Chapter opener: Colour, between empathy and expression, over overlapping coloured silhouettes
Colour: a rainbow eye beside a black and white photo of two hands
Colour: an apple split four ways to show normal vision, deuteranopia, protanopia and tritanopia
Colour: contrast ratio guides showing which text sizes pass at 7:1, 4.5:1, 3:1 and 2:1
Chapter opener: User interface, standardisation versus contextual design, with interface icons
User interface: accessibility settings drawn as cards, from bigger text to invert colours
Chapter opener: Artificial intelligence, inclusion through automation or algorithmic bias
Artificial intelligence: the Lookout and Seeing AI apps beside text on bias and oversight
Chapter opener: Corporate case studies, leadership or rhetoric, over an illustrated crowd
Corporate case studies: Microsoft and Apple compared, with the Inclusive Design persona spectrum
Chapter opener: Ethics and representation, substance over symbolism, over a group photo
Ethics and representation: Dove Real Beauty campaign images beside the text
Ethics and representation: labour statistics table and the line Many brands champion inclusion
Conclusion: a conclusive checklist beside a row of figure icons in pink
Image references
References
Bibliography
Bibliography, continued
Bibliography, continued
Back cover: a QR code on hot pink with Charlie Jemmett, BA (Hons) Design, Level 6 Research Journal

Scroll inside the reader to turn the pages. Zoom in to read the small print.

Editorial Design Research Accessibility Typography

Design for Accessibility and Inclusion is my Level 6 research journal for my BA (Hons) Design degree. The essay asks whether frameworks such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2) and the UK Equality Act 2010 give designers room for creative problem solving, or reduce accessibility to a box ticked for compliance.

It works through typography, colour, user interface design and artificial intelligence, then tests the ideas against real practice: Microsoft's participatory Inclusive Design Toolkit set against Apple's system level features such as VoiceOver and Dynamic Type, and Dove's Real Beauty campaign set against US labour statistics on disability and employment. The conclusion is that accessibility works best as an ongoing process led by empathy rather than a checklist, and that it is a creative strategy and an ethical obligation at the same time.

The journal is designed to practise what it argues. The cover title is translated into Braille, so the message can be felt as well as read. Colour blindness test dots open the book, an apple split four ways shows the same colours through normal vision, deuteranopia, protanopia and tritanopia, and contrast ratio guides show the WCAG thresholds rather than just quoting them. A spread built around You will read this first shows visual hierarchy doing its job as you read it, and the body text is set in Open Dyslexic, even though the essay notes the evidence for dyslexia fonts is limited.

  • Square journal with 56 numbered pages, plus covers
  • Six themed chapters, from typography to ethics and representation
  • Title set in Braille on the cover
  • Colour vision and contrast spreads that show the guidelines in use
  • Body text set in Open Dyslexic
  • Hot pink and charcoal system, carried through to a QR code on the back cover
Project
Dissertation research journal
Course
BA (Hons) Design, Level 6
Subject
Accessible and inclusive design
Scope
Research, writing, editorial design and layout
Format
Square, 210 x 210 mm
Sections
Abstract, introduction, six chapters, conclusion, references

Accessibility should be understood as an iterative process rather than a checklist.

The argument

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