Making Motion Inclusive, by Val Head

It’s a common misconception that things like inclusive design and accessibility only come at the cost of design details like motion, but that’s just not the case. Whether it’s micro-interactions, animated illustrations, or larger animated experiences, a little care and consideration can give your users the best of both worlds.

In a dynamic session at last month’s An Event Apart Boston conference, Adobe Design Advocate Val Head showed us how to build animated interactions with inclusivity in mind. Val shared how to apply web accessibility guidelines to modern web animation, when and how to implement reduced motion, and approaches to building up animated interactions for a solid standards base.

If you missed it…

Nothing takes the place of being there, but these resources related to Val’s presentation will help you get up to speed on how to have your inclusive design cake and eat your motion effects, too:

Exclusive Design – A well-researched read that will get you re-thinking your assumptions about accessibility and inclusive design.
Your Interactive Makes Me Sick – A first-person account of the effects of vestibular disorders and similar conditions, and what you can do about it.
Responsive Design for Motion – Potential triggers, and how to use prefers-reduced-motion, from the WebKit blog.
The prefers-reduced-motion query at a glance, by Val.
An Introduction to the Reduced Motion Query. Or, how to include motion in the product while respecting the sensitivities of your most vulnerable customers.

Learn more!

For more about Val, check her An Event Apart biography, subscribe to her UI Animation Newsletter, or read her book, Designing Interface Animations from Rosenfeld Media.

And if you wish you hadn’t missed Making Motion Inclusive, the good news is you have four more chances to see it this year, at An Event Apart shows in Washington DC: July 29–31, Chicago: August 26–28, Denver: October 28–30, and San Francisco: December 9–11.

In addition to Val, all four shows feature 16 other industry-leading speakers. Give us three days, and we’ll fill you in on everything you need to know to up your web game and stay current or ahead of the curve on the rapid-fire changes in this industry. Each show is three days packed with design, code, and content for UX designers and front-end specialists. You’ll come away inspired, and ready to work!