Ensuring accessibility through user-centred design
Bristol, 29 April 2003 - Nomensa, the digital design company specialising in human centred design, made the opening keynote presentation at a conference at the University of Central Lancashire today.
Nomensa’s presentation, "Ensuring accessibility through user-centred design", was well received by over 50 educational technology specialists at the "Creating Accessible Multimedia" conference, held in Preston.
Nomensa were the only company invited to make a presentation to the delegation of university research teams, accessible education specialists and other representatives from adult learning centres, further education colleges and universities from across the UK.
Simon Norris, managing director, introduced the educational, legal and commercial imperatives of designing for accessibility and the ways in which the different standards can be applied to achieve it.
Léonie Watson, accessibility consultant, went on to describe and demonstrate Nomensa’s design of an interactive game for the Royal National Institute for the Blind. She also explained the empowerment she felt as a blind Internet user at being able to participate in playing the game.
"The sense of freedom I experienced at being able to use a technology like Flash, on a level footing with my contemporaries is incredible," she said. "Nomensa have taken a dramatic step toward universal accessibility. This advance illustrates how Flash can be used in an e-learning context to build accessible content."
David Ellender, usability analyst, rounded off the presentation by discussing the user-centred design methodology employed during the life span of the project: considering user groups and their abilities, specifying requirements and designing to support those requirements.
The Special Educational Needs and Education Act 2001 has made the accessibility of web technologies provided by all educational institutions a major priority.
Nomensa understand the vital importance of accessibility in developing e-learning technologies and actively encourage its pursuit.
Nomensa are currently working with a number of leading universities, including the University of Wales, Swansea University and the University of Nottingham to achieve the highest level of accessibility set out by the World Wide Web Consortium, the internet standards body.
About Nomensa
Nomensa (www.nomensa.com) is dedicated to improving online effectiveness through humanising technology. It is recognised as a leading authority on fusing accessibility, usability, design and technology to provide effective and easy-to-use solutions that are universally accessible.
A digital design company, Nomensa evaluates, develops and improves interactive digital solutions. By putting people first, it designs solutions for the internet, iDTV and mobile technology that conform to the world’s highest standards in accessibility.
A member of the Digital Content Forum’s Information Action Group advising government departments on Accessibility, Nomensa has completed usability and accessibility projects for leading public and private sector bodies including Royal National Institute for the Blind, British Gas, BAE Systems, BT and a number of leading universities and charity organisations.
