This year’s dConstruct was another valuable day out. The weather was lovely, we had fish & chips on the beach, and we were inspired / entertained by a number of interesting speakers.

I think different speakers and different talks need to be enjoyed differently to get value from them. Some talks you need to listen to every word and remember as much as you can, analysing and re-interpreting along the way. Other talks, you just need to sit back and be inspired by the environment their talk has created. That’s right, these are the talks that went way over my head. Whatever value you garner from a talk, and even if the talk goes over a lot of stuff you’re familiar with, you normally just appreciate the fact that someone’s gone to such lengths to put down their thoughts and the message they’re trying to convey. Often it’s the speaker’s message that is the most interesting thing – whether you agree with it or not.

I thought Don Norman’s talk was interesting. Especially what he said about Google, and their business model. I’ve occasionally thought about how Google makes enough money to cover their free products. Norman insightfully says that the users of Google aren’t us. They’re actually the advertisers. And me and you, we’re the ‘product’. That’s why Google want to know (and successfully know) everything about us. All their ‘free products’ are just systems that collect our data and connect us up to build a mega profile. That’s why they kick you off Google+ for not using your real name. Very interesting stuff.

Another strong theme was the design of memories over experiences. Experiences are in the present and quickly forgotten but the memories are what lasts. For instance your experience of theme parks may be of massive queues but the lasting memory will probably be a fun one which means you’ll end up going back. And it’s the design of the details, and as Kelly Goto says – the design of the ‘in between spaces’, that build out this memory.

And another thing I learnt is that Don Norman and I are on the same page when it comes to the details of design and interaction design. Which is good, … phew!

Sent to me by someone I used to work with, and it’s actually quite funny …

Last Thursday I attended another UPA event where a few assistive technologies were demonstrated. For me it was fascinating to see these technologies in action. We talk alot about designing with screen readers and other such technologies in mind but seeing them being used was quite another thing.

Here are some notes I dropped down:

• Don’t auto-start multimedia especially those with audio as they can drown out screen readers.
• Don’t re-load CAPTCHAs when they’ve been correctly filled out but other parts of the submitted form were missing / incorrect.
• AJAX functionality like drag-and-drop can be made accessible via WAI-ARIA.
• Often websites have to revert to a totally different mobile versions (i.e. m.domainname.com) if the main site is totally inaccesible – like Facebook.
• Services like webvism can read CAPTCHAs.
• Horizontal scrolling is very bad as it includes alot more scrolling and clicking around to locate the right chunk of the page.
• Accessibility section of a site can link to various accessibility tools and resources.
• Users who use assistive technologies often prefer navigating sites using link lists as opposed to headings as they’re more reliable.
• Users also prefer using the same screen reading technology. Switching to a different one is a pain.
• Access keys are not too useful. Arrowing down a nav is not too useful and may be more useful to mainstream users who prefer using keyboards.
• You can tag PDFs to make them more accessible but often unsighted users don’t even bother opening them as they’re rarely made accessible.
• British Sign Language users need plain English to be used as BSL is much more limited in terms of vocabulary.
• Use BSL or, as an alternative, computer generated sign language. CGSL is easier to amend (i.e. adding the odd word) but the facial expressions of the signer are not as natural.