Inclusive Mobile Interface Innovations

🎭 Accessibility isn’t just a checkbox. It’s a catalyst for innovation. Last year, I created the first accessible HTML Playbill. This year, I coordinated the Playbill for Oliver! The Musical. And the curb cut effect showed up in full force. On opening night, the printer broke. The next day, the network went down. No printed programs. No network. But because I had already built an accessible HTML version for this show, we had a fast-loading, mobile-friendly program ready to go. I added a QR code, step-by-step instructions, and URLs for folks unfamiliar with QR tech. It loaded quickly on a finicky network and people could view it in low light during the show when it's too dark to see the printed program. The organization later added a QR code to a PDF version. If I could do it again, I’d direct people to the accessible version. At the top of that version, I'd link to the PDF version. This lets people choose between the faster loading page on mobile devices in a building with a poor connection or the full image program. This is the curb cut effect: a solution designed for accessibility that benefits everyone. And it’s also a reminder ... Hire us. Involve us. Disabled people bring lived experience that leads to creative, practical, and inclusive solutions. We don’t just advocate for accessibility. We design and build it. Accessibility isn’t charity. It’s a strategy. Want resilient systems? Involve disabled problem-solvers. If you're a person with a disability or have worked with disabled collaborators, what unexpected value do disabled people bring to the table? Accessibility isn’t just about compliance. It’s about creativity, resilience, and insight. If you’re ready to build smarter, more inclusive systems, drop a comment or DM. 🔔 Tap profile bell (You may need to do it again. LinkedIn reset it.) 👉 Follow #MerylMots for past posts #UserExperience #Accessibility The image shows what the signs looked like: "Oliver! Playbill" with four steps. A box where the QR code appeared and the URL beneath it.

Did you know that while India leads in tech talent, over 135 million citizens face significant digital barriers every day? 🧠💻 The Accessibility gap by numbers 📊 disability demographics in India - 26.8 million people with disabilities (2.2% of population - Census 2011) - Experts estimate the actual number is closer to 70-100 million (WHO standards) - Only 28% report using any digital accessibility features regularly 📱 Accessibility feature usage Screen readers Used by only 19% of visually impaired Indians who own smartphones Voice commands Adopted by just 23% of people with motor disabilities Caption/transcription tools Utilized by merely 17% of hearing-impaired users 👵🏽 Elderly Population - 138 million Indians over age 60 (10.1% of population - 2021 estimates) - Growing at 3.6% annually (twice the rate of overall population) - Only 31% report comfort with digital technologies The Underutilized Accessibility Landscape - Regional Language Support: Despite 22 official languages, accessibility tools primarily support Hindi and English - Low-Literacy Tools: 25.6% of adults with disabilities are non-literate, yet pictorial/audio interfaces remain scarce - Offline Accessibility: Intermittent connectivity affects 70% of rural users, but offline accessibility modes are rarely implemented - Cultural Context: Western-designed accessibility patterns often miss cultural nuances in Indian interface expectations The AI-Powered UX revolution: As both a UX designer and accessibility advocate, I've seen how AI is transforming this space ✅ Personalized Accessibility Profiles: AI can automatically detect and adjust interfaces based on user behavior patterns. ✅ Multimodal Interactions: Voice + visual + haptic feedback systems creating truly inclusive experiences ✅ Cultural Context Models: AI trained on Indian usage patterns to deliver regionally appropriate accessibility solutions ✅ Predictive Accessibility: Anticipating user needs before they encounter barriers My Question to you Have you considered how accessibility might be affecting your product's reach in the Indian market? What accessibility features have you implemented this year? Ready to make your digital products truly inclusive? Let's connect and explore how AI-powered accessibility can expand your reach while creating meaningful impact for millions. Repost to others . Follow Sivaraman loganathan

Lyft knew they had a problem. Only 5.6% of its users are over 65, and those users are 57% more likely to miss the ride they ordered. So, Lyft created Silver – a special app version for seniors. But why create a separate app when these improvements would benefit all users? The curb-cut effect is real. Features designed for wheelchair users ended up helping parents with strollers, travelers with luggage, and delivery workers with carts. The features in Lyft's senior-friendly app wouldn't only benefit older riders: 💡The 1.4x larger font option? Great for bright sunlight, rough rides. 💡Simplified interface? Less cognitive load for all of us. 💡Live help operators? Great for anyone when there's a problem. 💡Select preference for easy entry/exit vehicles? Not everyone likes pickup trucks. What started as an accommodation should became a universal improvement. The most powerful insight? Designing for seniors forced Lyft to prioritize what truly matters: simplicity and ease of use. Will they leverage this for all their users? The next time someone suggests adding another button to your interface or feature to your product, consider this approach instead: sometimes the most innovative design is the one that works for everyone. Rather than creating separate "accessible" versions, what if we just built our core products to be usable by all? This is the paradox of inclusive design - what works better for some almost always works better for all. What "accessibility" feature have you encountered that actually made life better for all users? #UniversalDesign #ProductThinking #CustomerExperience

Despite increasing awareness of #disability #inclusion, only 4% of companies actively design inclusive products and services. In their Journal of Public Policy & Marketing study, Lama Lteif, Helen van der Sluis, Lauren Block, Luca Cian, Vanessa Patrick, and Maura L. Scott present a conceptual framework for #marketplace inclusion, identifying sensory, cognitive, behavioral, and social mismatches that prevent #consumers (especially those with disabilities) from fully participating in the marketplace. The marketplace inclusion framework (see figure below) can help firms to identify and address mismatches across four key domains: 1) Sensory (Mis)Matches: Barriers arise when consumers cannot see, hear, or physically interact with products as intended. Solution: Implement multi-sensory design, such as Braille labels, screen reader-friendly websites, and adaptive packaging. 2) Cognitive (Mis)Matches: Exclusion occurs when consumers struggle to process, understand, or recall information due to information overload or neurodivergence. . Solution: Simplify interfaces, offer clear visual cues, and integrate AI-powered accessibility features like voice navigation. 3) Behavioral (Mis)Matches: When physical constraints or usability barriers prevent consumers from fully engaging in an experience, exclusion results. Solution: Ensure product usability by co-designing with individuals who have disabilities, testing products with diverse users, and making modifications that enhance accessibility for all. 4) Social (Mis)Matches: Consumers feel excluded when social interactions or service experiences are not designed to accommodate diverse communication needs. Solution: Provide frontline employees with training on alternative communication methods, such as sign language or text-based interactions. Importantly, inclusive design can be/become a #competitiveadvantage by a) expanding market reach, b) driving consumer loyalty, and c) encouraging innovation. True inclusion requires more than meeting legal mandates. Instead, it demands a fundamental shift in how firms approach #design. Inclusive products should not be afterthoughts but core business strategies that drive both #equity and #profitability. The study is part of JPPM's first Research Dialogue. So also check the other intriguing article and the editorial by Beth Vallen and Jeremy Kees. Study links in the first comment.

When we think about human-computer interaction, most of us picture fingers on a keyboard or swipes on a touchscreen. But what happens when those aren’t options? That’s the reality for millions of people living with paralysis or other mobility challenges. And it’s exactly the kind of barrier that a startup called Augmental is tackling - with a device that might shift how we all think about accessibility. Their innovation, MouthPad, is a wearable interface that sits inside the mouth and lets users control phones and computers using their tongue and head movements. It sounds futuristic, but for those who can’t rely on traditional input methods, it’s a doorway to independence. What’s powerful here isn’t just the technology - it’s the shift in mindset. Inclusive design like this doesn’t just “accommodate” people; it actively expands what’s possible. And history shows us that when we build with accessibility in mind, we often create solutions that benefit far more people than we initially imagined. Think of voice assistants, predictive text, or even video captions - many of these were originally developed for accessibility, but now serve a much wider audience. Have you seen similar efforts from startups or researchers in your part of the world? #innovation #technology #future #management #startups

Most of us use our mobile devices a lot. You might be using a smartphone right now to read this post. We surveyed Fable community members and found many are on their mobile devices for more than 4 hours a day (41%). Another 23% spend 2 to 4 hours per day on mobile devices. With that much mobile usage, accessibility of native mobile apps is just as important as web accessibility. However, many app developers find mobile accessibility more challenging. There’s less guidance on how to build inclusive iOS and Android apps. Rather than look to standards for guidance, we can focus on avoiding the most common barriers assistive technology users encounter on smartphones and other mobile devices. Based on our community survey, those top barriers are: * Unlabelled buttons or links  * Small buttons or links  * Gestures required to interact  * Parts of the screen blocked * No error messages * Not able to resize text * Not able to pinch and zoom These aren’t hard things to fix. Label things. Design bigger touch targets. Use buttons or custom actions in addition to gestures. Be careful using sticky content. Include error messages in forms. Choose scalable or dynamic type so users can adjust text size. Don’t disable pinch to zoom. You can read the full mobile insights article here: https://lnkd.in/g3mGErmf My favorite resources for mobile accessibility are appt.org and magentaa11y.com. Apple and Android have solid documentation too: https://lnkd.in/gbfwBVFD https://lnkd.in/g9XH3yXf