Re: Animation conveying information

Hi Sarah,

If the screen reader experience isn’t communicating the information about the designed intentional interaction pathway through the Tab order and other means - i.e. no indication of the best path for interaction, then what I am saying is that conveying that desired pathway through the a sensory mode that makes sense to blind and low vision screen reader users is essential and may have nothing to do with the animation.

I would agree with Patrick Lauke's latest comments, 
“
It may however still fail 1.1.1 Non-text Content, 1.4.1 Use of Color, and possibly 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. Those are the ones where the "thing" itself needs is covered, while 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics is more about instructions *referring* to the "thing".

Going back to the simple pulsing animation, this *may* fall under 1.1.1 (despite being "animation", I'd say it falls more towards this than any of the time-based media SCs).
“
I agree with Patrick that time-based media is not so relevant.

In my work on interactive simulations, we might use a combination of things, Tab order and sonifications, in addition to texted-based description that would include accessible names, engaging help text, possibly custom hints and stateful object responses that fire on focus, and then changing object and context responses that fire once interaction starts happening.

Of course, as you are aware, it’s about a pleasant and efficient user experience, and that experience does not need to be exactly identical for every user.

Best,
Taliesin

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Taliesin L. Smith
talilief@gmail.com 
taliesin.smith@colorado.edu 

Inclusive Design Research Specialist
PhET Interactive Simulations
http://phet.colorado.edu/
Department of Physics
University of Colorado, Boulder






> On Aug 4, 2024, at 20:11, Ms J <ms.jflz.woop@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Taliesin
> 
> If the pulsing was just decorative, I would agree. However, the animation is clearly conveying information in this case. That much is non-ambiguous, so my question is based on taking this fact as a given. The whole visual experience is designed to lead the users through the example in order. 
> 
> The rest of the points you have noted are absolutely other things that need to be checked wrt a button. But here, I'm specifically talking about the case where animation is used very deliberately to convey the way to proceed through the service, and this is something a screen reader user isn't getting. 
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Sarah
> 
> Sent from Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
> From: Taliesin Smith <talilief@gmail.com>
> Sent: Sunday, August 4, 2024 2:50:14 PM
> To: Ms J <ms.jflz.woop@gmail.com>
> Cc: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
> Subject: Re: Animation conveying information
>  
> Hi Sarah.,
> I am a designer of description for interactive simulations, not a tester.
> 
> My concern as a designer would be, does a screen reader user have access to the information needed to perceive, operate, and understand the button, in an efficient and enjoyable way. That is:
> 
> - Does the button have an accessible name?
> - Does the button receive a high contrast outline or highlight on keyboard focus? 
> - Is the button a native html button and if not is the role of button implemented properly?
> - Is there help text near by in a modality accessible to someone with BLV, e.g. text or sound or even haptic feedback that indicates that it is likely urgent to press the button if one wants to proceed with the web experience?
> - And finally, is the change in context when the button is pressed appropriately communicated, again in a modality accessible to someone with BLV?
> 
> The fact that the button is pulsing is not super important unless it is essential to know that it is pulsing to be able to enjoy the experience.
> 
> I come up against issues around equitable access to information all the time in the work I do - i.e. making highly interactive simulations (i.e. very dynamic) about STEM concepts accessible and inclusive to all learners. 
> 
> At PhET we have developed Description Design Framework (Smith and Moore, 2020) that modularizes descriptions into State Descriptions and Responsive Descriptions which are further broken down into Static and Dynamic State Descriptions and Object and Context Responses. The sims for which we have designed descriptions provide an interactive described experience that provides constant access to an accurate description of the current state (on demand) and the object and context responses capture relevant changes happing to objects and context in the moment and in response to interaction as a learner interacts and makes changes.
> 
> While using the framework I can convey a lot of detail that becomes part of the experience, it never includes every visual detail -  only the information relevant for successful interaction, only the information needed for sense making, and often a little extra detail when needed to make things fun and enjoyable.
> 
> I am not convinced that the animation itself needs to be made accessible to screen reader users as long as the interaction itself is accessible with a screen reader. I would be more concerned about people who can see but who could be confused or distracted by the animation.
> 
> I hope that is helpful information,
> Taliesin
> 
> 
> ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
> Taliesin L. Smith
> talilief@gmail.com 
> taliesin.smith@colorado.edu 
> 
> Inclusive Design Research Specialist
> PhET Interactive Simulations
> http://phet.colorado.edu/
> Department of Physics
> University of Colorado, Boulder
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> On Aug 2, 2024, at 13:40, Ms J <ms.jflz.woop@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello
>> 
>> This is maybe niche and something I haven't seen before. I have a website which uses animation to convey information. For example, to show that you must click a button next, the button pulses. This is information conveyed by movement. It isn't really time based media and it isn't really non-text content... it is animation/movement used to convey instruction. 
>> 
>> What SC would you align this with please? It is almost sensory characteristics but the instruction is implicit in the animation...
>> 
>> It needs an alternative for people who can't perceive the animation, would this be 1.1.1? Or 1.2.1?
>> 
>> Thanks
>> 
>> Sarah
>> 
>> Sent from Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef>