136 | thinking with type
hierarchy
hierarchy and accessibility The web was
invented in order to provide universal access
to information, regardless of a person’s physical
abilities or access to specialized hardware or
software. Many users lack the browsers or
software plug-ins required for displaying certain
kinds of files, while visually impaired users have
difficulty with small type and non-verbal content.
Creating structural hierarchies allows designers to
plan alternate layouts suited to the software,
hardware, and physical needs of diverse
audiences.
claphaminstitute.org Website, 2003.
Designer: Colin Day/Exclamation Communications. Publisher:
The Clapham Institute. This site was designed to be accessible to
sighted and non-sighted users. Below is a linearized version of the
home page. A visually impaired reader would hear this text,
including the alt tags for each image. The “skip to content” anchor
allows users to avoid listening to a list of navigation elements.Sometimes good typography is heard, not
seeen. Visually impaired users employ automated
screen readers that linearize websites into a
continuous text that can be read aloud by a
machine. Techniques for achieving successful
linearization include avoiding layout tables;
consistently using alt tags, image captions, and
image descriptions; and placing page anchors in
front of repeated navigation elements that enable
users to go directly to the main content. Various
software programs allow designers to test the
linearization of their pages.