{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
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    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "6 Digital Media Trends for 2015: You Can Make Them Accessible! |Digital.gov",
    "description": "6 Digital Media Trends for 2015: You Can Make Them Accessible!",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/01/28/6-digital-media-trends-for-2015-you-can-make-them-accessible/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"6 Digital Media Trends for 2015: You Can Make Them Accessible!","summary" : "Resolutions and predictions abound this time of year. If you’ve already lost the fight to finally give up sardine ice cream, you can always resolve to maintain or improve your digital media accessibility. Some people say that accessibility and Section 508 compliance squashes","date" : "2015-01-28T02:30:19-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"angela-hooker" : "Angela Hooker"},"topics" : {
        
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "mobile" : "Mobile",
            "plain-language" : "Plain language",
            "social-media" : "Social media",
            "user-experience" : "User experience"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2015-01-28-6-digital-media-trends-for-2015-you-can-make-them-accessible.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/01/2015-01-28-6-digital-media-trends-for-2015-you-can-make-them-accessible.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/01/2015-01-28-6-digital-media-trends-for-2015-you-can-make-them-accessible.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/01/2015-01-28-6-digital-media-trends-for-2015-you-can-make-them-accessible.md","slug" : "6-digital-media-trends-for-2015-you-can-make-them-accessible","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/01/28/6-digital-media-trends-for-2015-you-can-make-them-accessible/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/06/600-x-455-Accessibility-road-highway-sign-on-tablet.jpg\"\n    alt=\"An accessibility road sign displayed on an iPad.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eResolutions and predictions abound this time of year. If you’ve already lost the fight to \u003cem\u003efinally\u003c/em\u003e give up \u003ca href=\"http://www.debic.com/en/bakery/blog/sardine-ice-cream\"\u003esardine ice cream\u003c/a\u003e, you can always resolve to maintain or improve your digital media accessibility. Some people say that accessibility and Section 508 compliance squashes innovation and new trends, but with the right approach, you can make them accessible. When you consider accessibility at every project’s onset, you’ll make the most of these trends and engage your audience and, perhaps, gain new users.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet’s look at six digital media predictions to see how you can use them and still create an accessible user experience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAccording to Future Insights Media, \u003ca href=\"http://www.futureinsights.com/home/web-design-trends-in-2015.html\"\u003ericher Web graphics will increase in popularity\u003c/a\u003e and provide “richer, more immersive experiences.” This aspect of new media is exciting, and it can broaden creativity and innovation.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBefore you start your SVG plans, check out Leonie Watson’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.sitepoint.com/tips-accessible-svg/\"\u003etips on accessible SVG\u003c/a\u003e and her guidance on \u003ca href=\"http://www.paciellogroup.com/blog/2013/12/using-aria-enhance-svg-accessibility/\"\u003eusing ARIA to increase SVG accessibility\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"http://www.futureinsights.com/home/web-design-trends-in-2015.html\"\u003eFuture Insights Media article\u003c/a\u003e also mentions that we can expect to see more subtle and clever animations. We’ve already seen large background graphics that move.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhenever you use animations, it’s important to check that they don’t annoy users, but more importantly, that they don’t cause the screen to flash. \u003ca href=\"http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/seizure-does-not-violate.html\"\u003eScreen flashing or flickering\u003c/a\u003e can cause some people to have seizures or to become nauseous or dizzy. You can use the \u003ca href=\"http://trace.wisc.edu/peat/\"\u003ePEAT tool\u003c/a\u003e from the Trace Center to be sure.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlso consider that animations can distract people who have cognitive impairments. See WebAIM’s \u003ca href=\"http://webaim.org/simulations/distractability\"\u003edistractability simulation\u003c/a\u003e to experience it for yourself.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn its article on \u003ca href=\"http://designmodo.com/web-design-trends-2015/\"\u003edesign trends that will rule 2015\u003c/a\u003e, Designmodo says that we’ll see more unique navigation menus. It’s always good to see trends that can improve the user experience; however, there’s a good reason that Vincent Flanders coined the term “\u003ca href=\"http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/mysterymeatnavigation.html\"\u003emystery meat navigation\u003c/a\u003e,” back in the earlier Web days.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA \u003ca href=\"http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/consistent-behavior-consistent-locations.html\"\u003eclear and well-defined navigation scheme\u003c/a\u003e will benefit all users, including people who have cognitive impairments. If you decide to create a unique menu, be sure that your audience can easily perceive it as navigation and use the navigation scheme consistently throughout your project.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eForbes Magazine says that \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/12/01/the-top-7-content-marketing-trends-that-will-dominate-2015/\"\u003econtent marketing will become inseparable from social media marketing\u003c/a\u003e. This means that \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/04/16/how-to-tell-your-agencys-story-plainly/\"\u003ewriting in plain language\u003c/a\u003e is more important than ever. Because we write shorter messages on some social media platforms, conveying your message in a clear manner—using limited characters—can be a real challenge.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLearn about the audiences you’ll need to consider when you’re \u003ca href=\"http://www.slideshare.net/AccessForAll/make-it-plain-accessbility-and-usability-through-plain-language\"\u003ewriting accessible content\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreative Bloq discusses the \u003ca href=\"http://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/trends-2015-101413303\"\u003edecline of the website\u003c/a\u003e and AdAge’s Digital Next blog goes even further by recommending a \u003ca href=\"http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/time-a-mobile-digital-strategy/296727/\"\u003emobile-only strategy\u003c/a\u003e. We’ve been approaching this trend since the “mobile first” movement began. A mobile presence is important since some people only use mobile devices for Web access.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen it comes to people with disabilities, having a desktop website is still critical. According to \u003ca href=\"http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey5/#mobiledesktopusage\"\u003eWebAIM’s fifth screen reader survey\u003c/a\u003e and their \u003ca href=\"http://webaim.org/projects/motordisabilitysurvey/#mobile\"\u003esurvey of people with motor disabilities\u003c/a\u003e, the respondents either prefer to use laptop or desktop computers for their Web experiences, or they still use desktop instead of mobile. This is probably because it’s easier to use their assistive technologies on those devices. By all means, have a mobile presence, but also serve the needs of people who aren’t able or willing to rely on a mobile device for their Web use.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreative Bloq also mentions the \u003ca href=\"http://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/trends-2015-101413303\"\u003eautomation of coding\u003c/a\u003e. When FrontPage (and other programs) hit the scene, people enjoyed the ease of creating a digital media project without knowing how to code. The article says that newer, better tools will automate the coding process. While I wonder what this will do to all of the great libraries on GitHub, this trend does seem inevitable.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne of the mainstays of accessibility is code that translates into accessible functionality. Whatever option you choose—hand-coding, code libraries from Github, or automated tools—make sure you develop or use \u003ca href=\"http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/H75.html\"\u003evalid, semantic code\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrends come and go, but producing accessible digital media is necessity—no matter what’s \u003cem\u003ein\u003c/em\u003e. You can learn more about how make these trends conform with accessibility mandates with \u003ca href=\"http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/intro.html\"\u003etechniques from the World Wide Web Consortium\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHave you decided to use a new or exciting functionality? Share your plans below.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}