Speaking Today: The Experiencing UX Panel

Speaking today at noon CT on the Experiencing UX panel. We'll be talking about what it actually takes to build digital services people can use — not in theory, but in production, at scale, for everyone. Accessibility isn't a final check on that work. It's a design decision made early, tested often, and owned by the whole team. Grateful for every team doing this work in the open and sharing what they learn. #Accessibility #UX #DigitalServices #GovTech #WCAG

Ruth and Naomi — Stretchy Elephant Bible Stories

Ruth and Naomi — Version 1

Stretchy Elephant is Ruth, and she stays with Naomi.

Here is Naomi's family: her husband Elimelech, their sons Mahlon and Chilion, and their daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah. A famine had brought them from Bethlehem to Moab.

In Moab, Naomi's husband Elimelech died, and later both of her sons died too. Naomi was left with only Ruth and Orpah, her sons' wives.

Naomi heard that God had given food in Bethlehem again, so she started home. Orpah turned back, but Ruth loved Naomi and clung to her: 'Your God will be my God.'

They walked and walked, all the way home together.

They reached Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. Naomi said, 'My life has turned bitter. I left full, with my husband and sons, but I came home empty, without them.'

God's law told farmers to leave grain for people in need. Ruth gathered what was left behind, so she and Naomi would have food.

Boaz was a kind relative of Naomi's husband, Elimelech. He protected Ruth in his field and shared his food.

Boaz first asked the nearer kinsman, who declined. Then Boaz redeemed Naomi's family land, and Ruth became his wife.

Ruth and Boaz had a son named Obed. Naomi cared for him with joy. Obed became Jesse's father and King David's grandfather, in Jesus' family line.

"And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." — Ruth 1:16 (KJV)

#stretchyelephant #Bible #Christian

About the Author — Desarae Harmon is the creator of Stretchy Elephant and the author of the Stretchy Elephant children's books. She writes gentle Bible stories and picture books for young children, published by Agency Couture, LLC, and lives in Iowa with her family.

 

Don't Use Color Alone to Say 'Error'

Erin filled in the whole form and hit send.
The reply: please fix the errors.

Which errors?
The page never actually said. It only showed them — one box had quietly turned red.

That was the whole message. Just a color.

Plenty of people can't tell that red box from the others:
color blindness, low vision, a dim screen in bright sun.
Color alone leaves them guessing.

The fix costs nothing: say it in words too.
A message at the top. An icon. Text right at the field: this date needs the year.

Erin fixed one date, and her form went through on the first try.
Red is a fine alarm bell — as long as it is never the only one ringing.

💡 The scenario I shared is a fictionalized composite informed by patterns I've seen firsthand. The people are fictional; the accessibility barriers are real.

Don't forget to check out stretchyelephant.com for cute educational children's books, and the aCo app for business needs — it's an all-in-one business solution for project management, passwords, tasks and more.

#Accessibility #WebAccessibility #FormDesign #WCAG #InclusiveDesign

Why Autoplay Videos Hurt

He opened the page to read one paragraph. The page had other plans.

A video in the corner erupted — sound on, music blaring, impossible to find the pause button. His screen reader's voice vanished under the noise. So did his place in the paragraph. And his train of thought.

Autoplay takes three things at once. It takes sound — masking the voices actual users are listening to. It takes attention — motion the eye cannot ignore. And it takes control — the page decides, the person copes.

If a video matters, let it wait politely behind a play button with a real name. The person gets to choose when sound enters their day. That choice is the whole point of accessibility.

💡 The scenario I shared is a fictionalized composite informed by patterns I've seen firsthand. The people are fictional; the accessibility barriers are real.

#Accessibility #WebAccessibility #WCAG #UX #InclusiveDesign

Button Too Small to Tap

The "confirm" button was nine pixels of good intentions.

Angela's hands shake — a tremor she has had for years, managed fine, part of her life. She tapped. Hit the cancel link beside it. Tapped again. Missed again. On the third try she put the phone down and called her daughter to finish a two-minute task.

Her hands were not the problem. The target was.

Touch targets need room: at least 24 by 24 pixels by the standard, 44 or more if you want it to feel easy. Big targets are not training wheels. They are how everybody taps accurately — on a bus, with gloves, with a tremor, with one hand busy.

Build the button for the hand that shakes, and it works for every hand.

💡 The scenario I shared is a fictionalized composite informed by patterns I've seen firsthand. The people are fictional; the accessibility barriers are real.

#Accessibility #MobileAccessibility #WCAG #UX #InclusiveDesign