rjn.design
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Time: 2 weeks (January 2020)
Program: PSYC 161: Engineering Psychology @ UC San Diego
Deliverables: high fidelity screens and summary of features
My role: UI designer
My professor for engineering psychology challenged our class to design a 5” x 5” touchscreen thermostat that adhere to applicable accessibility principles. We were required to deliver screens that show the current temperature, time and day, temperature adjustments at different times, and settings.
As more household technologies become modernized, it is important that products are designed to be accessible. Having a focus on accessibility creates an inclusive experience for all users. This thermostat aims to give an easy-to-use experience to those with visual impairments and limited to operating with one arm.
I started this project by researching what disability is and how it affects the user experience. I learned that new products are created with assumptions of the users' perception, comprehension, and abilities. Modern technologies need to have accommodations for visual, auditory, motor and cognitive disabilities.
Visual disabilities include blindness, low vision, and color blindness. Blindness means that a person cannot see a subject well enough to visually perceive it. Low vision is when a person's vision can't be corrected by glasses. Color blindness is when differences between colors are indistinguishable.
There is a spectrum of hearing loss. People can be limited to hearing a certain range of frequencies and volume.
Certain conditions prohibit people from controlling their muscles in the way they want. People can also be in situations in which they can only use one arm (e.g. a parent holding a child).
Cognitive disabilities include deficiencies in problem solving, memory, attention, speech, and visual comprehension. This is the most common type of disability amongst users.
I examined 2 existing smart thermostats to see how they function and get design inspirations. Both emphasized the current temperature and allow customizability in mobile apps. They also portrayed round features to make the device feel more approachable.
The contrast between the font and background is low, making it difficult to read with poor vision or from a distance. I do appreciate the simplicity and how users have full access through a mobile app and voice controls.
There are options to adjust settings, but the thin properties in the icons reduce the details, making the icons harder to recognize the further the user is. My visuals were inspired by this interface. I replicated the minimal use of color to account for color blindness.
I prioritized visual accessibility by using fonts and colors with high accessibility ratings and recognizable icons for my user interface. Features I wanted to include but were not part of the final deliverable were sounds and voice controls.
I used arial font because it has a high accessibility rating due to interior space and that sans serif fonts are better for screens. I made the more important information closer to the center to improve visual acuity. Different sizes are used sparingly to emphasize the current room temperature.
I only used color when dealing with temperature. This engages with users’ past associations of what is hot and cold and highlights itself. The contrast between the white and the background grey receives a aaa accessibility rating. This decision prevents uncomfortable viewing by avoiding extreme colors like pure black and white.
All the icons used are created and freely distributed from google’s material.io. They design their icons for easy recognizability, perfect for helping people understand if there is a language barrier. I chose round shapes because circles are more friendly than squares. This encourages users to interact with the icons rather than treating them as only display. I ensured users of their selections by putting non-selected buttons at half opacity.
The thermostat would include auditory cues to help people know when they are interacting with the interface. This feature would utilize clicks when touching buttons and sliders. Spoken words would also tell users which item is being adjusted.
Letting users adjust their thermostat with their voice addresses visual and motor disabilities. People wouldn't need to visually perceive the settings or move to interact with the thermostat. Ideally, this feature would be paired with sounds to give auditory confirmations for user commands.
I learned that accessibility should be a priority because design should solve problems instead of create problems. I believe that usability is more important than aesthetics. I want to include accessible materials in all my products.