June 24, 2021 in Learn
What is UX Design?
Picture this: you’re about to enter a building in your neighborhood. This could be an office building, a market, a library. Your cell phone buzzes in your pocket, and you’re a bit distracted as you approach the front door. You…
May 17, 2021 in Learn
It’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day!
On May 20, 2021, Treehouse joins in the celebration of the tenth Global Accessibility Awareness Day, or GAAD. Source: ucsd.edu According to the Global Accessibility Awareness Day website, The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning…
May 14, 2021 in Learn
Course of the Week: Intro to Design Thinking
Get started learning the user-centered methods and mindsets that entire businesses are using to improve their product experiences. “Design Thinking” is a core methodology and practice in User Experience Design. Intro to Design Thinking is a 75 minute course from Treehouse…
May 6, 2021 in Learn
The Problem With Zoom’s New “Captions”
On February 24, 2021, Zoom announced it was making live transcription available on free accounts. Prior to this announcement, Zoom’s captions were available only to paid users. If users dependent on captions couldn’t afford a paid account, they were excluded…
February 12, 2021 in Learn
WCAG 1.3: Adaptable
The third WCAG Guideline, Adaptable, is part of the Perceivable principle and covers adapting to the different needs of users by allowing content to be received in multiple ways. WCAG 1.3: Use Semantic HTML One of the most important ways…
February 5, 2021 in Learn
Inclusive Design Series (4 of 4): Design Ethics
Designers, developers, and other folks building products have the power and responsibility to influence how products are made—this is Design Ethics. As you create products, consider: How is it impacting others? Who could be hurt by this product? Who does…
November 20, 2020 in Learn
WCAG 1.2: Time-based Media
The second WCAG Guideline, Time-based Media, is part of the Perceivable principle and covers providing alternatives for audio and video content. Accessible Podcasts A text transcript can make audio-only content like a podcast accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing users, as…
October 14, 2020 in Learn
Inclusive Design Series (3 of 4): The Importance of User Research
I’ve spent most of my career working with startups, as the sole designer or alongside a handful of designers. I’ve never worked with a user researcher whose sole focus is on user interviews and usability tests. It can feel intimidating…
October 6, 2020 in Learn
WCAG 1.1: Text Alternatives
The first WCAG Guideline, Text Alternatives, is part of the Perceivable principle. The guideline states Provide text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be changed into other forms people need, such as large print, braille, speech, symbols,…
September 10, 2020 in Learn
Introducing the WCAG Principles
In my introductory blog post on Accessibility , I mentioned that the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is broken up into four accessibility principles: Perceivable Operable Understandable Robust These four principles are then divided into thirteen accessibility guidelines. Each WCAG…
September 3, 2020 in Learn
Inclusive Design Series (2 of 4): The Limitations (and Possibilities) of Empathy
Throughout user research and UX design in general, empathy is a guiding force. “Put yourself in the user’s shoes to understand their perspective,” they say. While you can empathize with a user, you have not shared the same lived experiences….
July 30, 2020 in Learn
Web Accessibility: An Introduction
Throughout my career as a web design and development educator, I’ve noticed a consistent lack of attention paid to Accessibility principles in both college and bootcamp curriculum. The results of a 2018 WebAIM global survey of web accessibility practitioners was…