[Draft] Designer Modules in Curricula on Web Accessibility: A Framework to Build Your Own Courses

Introduction

The designer modules guide the creation of courses that:

• explain how design principles and practices relate to accessibility
• demonstrate and explain how accessible design enables people with disabilities to use websites and applications
• teach accessible design techniques for:
  • visual design
  • information design
  • user experience
  • interaction design

These modules have been organized so that they can be easily taught together with the developer modules. If you are teaching other type of designers, feel free to change the structure so that it fits your audience needs.

These modules focus on visual, information, user experience, and interaction aspects to design accessible web pages and applications.

The modules primarily address the following roles:

• Visual Designer
• Information Architect
• User Experience (UX) Designer
• Interaction Designer

Foundation Prerequisites

The designer modules are designed for students who have achieved the learning outcomes from the following subset of Foundation modules:

• Module 1: What is Web accessibility
  • Topic: Stories of People with Disabilities
  • Topic: Scope of Web Accessibility
• Module 2: People and Digital Technology
  • Topic: Diverse Abilities, Tools, and Strategies
  • Topic: Components of Web Accessibility
• Module 4: Principles, Standards, and Checks
  • Topic: Principles of Web Accessibility
  • Topic: W3C Accessibility Standards
  • Topic: Hands-on Experience of Standards
• Module 5: Getting Started with Accessibility
  • Topic: Roles and Responsibilities

Designer Modules

• Module 1: Visual Design
  • Topic: Color
  • Topic: Styles
  • Topic: Landmarks and Cues
  • Topic: Flexible Layouts
• Module 2: Information Design
  • Topic: Landmarks and Text
  • Topic: Labels and Instructions
  • Topic: Tables
• Module 3: Navigation Design
  • Topic: Menu Behaviors and Patterns
  • Topic: Site Navigation
  • Topic: Page Navigation
  • Topic: Page Identification
• Module 4: Interaction Design
  • Topic: Keyboard Interaction
  • Topic: Gestures and Motion
• Module 5: Images and Graphics
  • Topic: Functional Images
  • Topic: Informative Images
  • Topic: Complex Images
  • Topic: Decorative Images
• Module 6: Multimedia and Animations
  • Topic: Alternatives to Multimedia Content
  • Topic: Movement and Animations
• Module 7: Forms Design
  • Topic: Labels and Instructions [TBD]
  • Topic: Error Prevention [TBD]
  • Topic: Notifications [TBD]