Accessibility

We are devoted to following and complying with accessibility best practices. These designs aren’t only about supporting users with disabilities, they build a better experience for all.

At USANA, we adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) developed by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C). These guidelines are the basis of most web accessibility laws around the world and follow four basic principles.

Principles

Visual

The term "visual impairment" is used to describe any type of vision loss, regardless of whether someone cannot see at all or has partial vision.

Types

• Color-blindness
  Or color vision deficiency is the inability to distinguish certain shades of color. There are three types of color blindness: monochromatism, dichromatism, and anomalous trichromatism.
  
• Low Vision
  Low vision refers to having sight that cannot be improved by glasses, surgery, or medication. Even though it is more common among the elderly, it can take place at any age.
  
• Blindness
  Blindness is defined as the absence of sight in both eyes. Total blindness refers to those without any light perception, documented as no light perception.
  

Auditory

Hearing impairment refers to partial or total incapacity to hear. There are four basic categories of hearing loss: Sensorineural, Conductive, Mixed and Auditory Processing.

Categories

• Sensorineural
  A loss of hearing that occurs when there is an issue with the inner ear or hearing nerve.
  
• Conductive
  The result of something blocking the passage of sound through the outer or middle ear.
  
• Mixed
  ‍This type of hearing loss combines conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.
  
• Auditory Processing
  Occurs when the inner ear or the hearing nerves are damaged so that sound can't be organized in a way that the brain can understand.
  

Motor

Impaired movement caused by trauma, sickness, or any ailment affecting the muscular-skeletal system, spinal cord, or sensory or motor nerves

Types

• Trauma
  
• Diseases and Conditions
  

Cognitive

Also known as an intellectual disability, is a term that describes when a person's mental functioning and skills, such as communication, self-help, and social skills, are impaired.

Types

• Brain Injury
  Stroke, sickness, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), brain tumors, and Meningitis are just a few of the many causes of brain injury.
  
• Genetic Disability
  Down syndrome, Autism, and Dementia are examples of genetic disabilities that impact people differently.
  
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
  It is a mental health disorder that includes persistent problems such as difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior.
  
• Dyslexia
  A developmental disorder that can result in learning difficulties in one or more of the areas of reading, writing, and numeracy.
  

Other

All users may face barriers due to their abilities.

• Incidental (sleep-deprivation)
  
• Environmental (Mobile devices underground)
  

When thinking about accessibility remember:

• Accessibility does not limit innovation.
• It is about understanding our user's journeys and proactively anticipating their needs.
• Take an all-access approach.
• Accessible design is everyone's responsibility, from information and user experience design, through development, and on into help and support.

Visual Impairments

Low vision users may be using a screen reader to preview your website or experience, so be sure to follow keyboard guidelines to ensure the page is read to the user in a logical order

Color Blind Users

• Will not be able to differentiate between some colors on an interface.
  
• Rely on non-color information to use an interface.
  

Limited-Vision Users

• Support screen readers and other assistive technology like braille displays
  
• Outline semantic landmarks and regions.
  
• Assure all content has clear context and labeling.
  
• Design for readability.
  
• Design generous, forgiving interaction targets.
  
• Allow layouts to respond to user scaling settings and screen magnifiers.
  
• Prefer linear layouts.
  
• Don’t rely on hover for critical information.
  
• Use legible visual contrast.
  
• Avoid color-exclusive meaningful functionality.

Hearing Impairments

The following tips can help improve accessibility to deaf and hard-of-hearing people:

Deaf Users

• Keep content short and to the point.
  
• Don't make complex menus and layouts.
  
• Avoid complicated words and figure of speech.
  
• Provide accurate subtitles and transcripts for video and audio resources.
  
• Avoid audio-exclusive meaningful functionality.
  
• Provide multiple contact options.
  

Motor Impairments

Making everything accessible with a keyboard is often the best way to design for people with motor disabilities.

Limited-Mobility Users

• Support keyboard-only (linear) functionality and conventions.
  
• Support touchscreen (direct input) functionality and conventions.
  
• Design generous readability and interaction targets.
  
• Prefer linear layouts.
  
• Don’t rely on hover for critical information.
  

Cognitive Impairments

The goal of your site is to give people the ability to use their minds effectively.

Limited-Mobility Users

• Support keyboard-only (linear) functionality and conventions.
  
• Support touchscreen (direct input) functionality and conventions.
  
• Design generous readability and interaction targets.
  
• Prefer linear layouts.
  
• Don’t rely on hover for critical information.