1.
#AccessMeans
Celebrating
Global Accessibility Awareness Day
2021

2.
Alt-text as poetry
Acreative look at the importance of alt text from
Nexer’s content team
Justin Darley
@Just_UX

3.
• What is alt text and why is it important?
• Writing alt text can be hard
• How poetry can help
• Your turn
• Some resources

4.
people have a long-term disability, worldwide
1 in 7

5.
people in the UK
have some form of disability
21%
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attach
ment_data/file/791271/family-resources-survey-2017-18.pdf

6.
• Disability is more common than you
may think
• We will all experience some kind of
disability at some point
• By the age of 45, most of us will need
glasses
• Yet many websites do not support
dynamic text
• Many people on iPhone use “Large
Text”; a lot of apps aren’t compatible

7.
Even if you never edit a website, you have the option to improve
accessibility every time you:
Tweet
Post on Facebook
Build a PowerPoint slide show
Write a blog post…
And even if you never do those things, you can influence those who
do.
https://alt-text-as-poetry.net/

8.
Alternative text provides a textual alternative to non-text content (for example images)
in web pages
This text can be provided on the page in descriptions around non-text content
Alt text is alternative text provided in HTML code as an “alt” attribute
Alt text is read out by screen readers so that screen reader users can access the image
“Adding alternative text for images is the first principle of web accessibility”
https://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/

9.
alt="Two hexagon shaped photographs
with a smaller picture slightly overlaid by
a larger picture. In the small picture,
people are grouped around a table
chatting and drinking tea. In the larger
picture, a ginger haired white man is sat
down, concentrating, and looking at a
laptop."

10.
alt="A woman looks unhappy at the one
cherry tomato on her plate"

11.
• How would you describe the
image?
• Type your answers in the chat

12.
• Here it is again with some context
• Does this change your approach?
• Answer in the chat

13.
I was reminded of the idea of alt text as poetry by my colleague Lisa (poet and Content
Designer at Nexer)
She sent me this site: https://alt-text-as-poetry.net/ created by disabled activists and
artists Bojana Coklyat and Shannon Finnegan (I wrote to them to ask if I could use their
materials*)
I can’t hope to cover all of it today, please check it out
*They said yes, the materials are also available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0
International License.

14.
• Attention to language
• Word economy
• Experimental spirit

15.
• What words are we using?
• What are their connotations?
• What is the tone of our writing (the way in which we’re doing the writing)?
• What is the voice (who the reader hears)?
• How do these align with, or contrast, the tone and perspective of the image?

16.
• Alt-text usually aims for brevity
• For most images, one to two sentences will do
• Poetry has a lot to teach us about paring down language to create something
that is expressive, yet concise

17.
• There are lots of complex and interesting questions that come up when
translating visual information into text
• We need to try out different ways of doing this, learning from each other's
strategies and techniques

18.
Part 1
• Choose one of the images on the right
• In the chat, list things (objects, people,
stuff, nouns) that are present in the image
or related to the image.
• Aim to write 5 words, but if you are on a
roll, write as many as come to mind.
Part 2
• List descriptive words or adjectives that
describe the image, a part of the image, or
your response to it. How does it make you
feel? What’s the mood of the image? What
associations do you have?
• Again, aim to write 5 words, but if you are
on a roll, write as many as come to mind.

19.
With the same image
• In the chat, write a single sentence to
describe the image. The sentence should
capture whatever you think is most important
about the image.
• Now write a second sentence about the
second most important thing in, or about, the
image.
• Write a third sentence about the third most
important thing.
We’ll discuss together

20.
https://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/
https://accessibility.oit.ncsu.edu/it-accessibility-at-nc-state/developers/accessibility-
handbook/
https://adamsilver.io/articles/
https://design-system.service.gov.uk/
https://www.a11yproject.com/
https://www.digitala11y.com/
https://www.24a11y.com/
https://hiddedevries.nl/en/blog/
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Accessibility

21.
Alt text is important
Alt text is like life: it can be tricky, but poetry helps
You can make a difference
Check out alt-text-as-poetry.net
Get in touch (@Just_UX)

22.
@castoncook

23.
• how we are taught to write
• plain English
• how to write to be understood

24.
We are taught to write in order to show how smart we are.

25.
We are taught to write in order to show how smart we are.
We learn to impress our teachers and peers with complexity.

26.
We are taught to write in order to show how smart we are.
We learn to impress our teachers and peers with complexity.
We begin to write for ourselves.

27.
They may forget what you said – but they will never forget
how you made them feel.
- Carl W. Buehner

28.
Plain English is…
Communication that allows your audience
to understand the first time.

29.
Plain English is…
Communication that allows your audience
to understand the first time.
A message, written with the reader in mind and with the right tone of voice, that is
clear and concise.

30.
Plain English helps people who are:
• multi-tasking
• stressed
• in a hurry

31.
Plain English helps people who have cognitive, visual or motor impairments.
It is an accessibility issue and a sign of respect.

32.
Use short, simple sentences.

33.
Use short, simple sentences.
Split long sentences up, or use bullet points.

34.
Use short, simple sentences.
Split long sentences up, or use bullet points.
Avoid complex sentence structures.

35.
Use short, simple sentences.
Split long sentences up, or use bullet points.
Avoid complex sentence structures.
Choose easy and short words not formal, long ones.

36.
Use short, simple sentences.
Split long sentences up, or use bullet points.
Avoid complex sentence structures.
Choose easy and short words not formal, long ones.
Explain specialist terms.

37.
Use short, simple sentences.
Split long sentences up, or use bullet points.
Avoid complex sentence structures.
Choose easy and short words not formal, long ones.
Explain specialist terms.
Never use vague words and jargon.

38.
Use specific, meaningful headings.

39.
Use specific, meaningful headings.
Front-load your headings so they are easier to scan.

40.
Keep paragraphs short.

41.
Keep paragraphs short.
Use sub-headings for longer content.

42.
Keep paragraphs short.
Use sub-headings for longer content.
Use bullet points to split up longer sentences.

43.
Make link text meaningful.

44.
Make link text meaningful.
Avoid mid-sentence links.

45.
Be clear what the 3 main things are you want to get across.

46.
Be clear what the 3 main things are you want to get across.
Make it practical - how will this help?

47.
Be clear what the 3 main things are you want to get across.
Make it practical - how will this help?
Write in a plain language, short sentences and paragraphs.

48.
Be clear what the 3 main things are you want to get across.
Make it practical - how will this help?
Write in a plain language, short sentences and paragraphs.
Make it easy to scan with headings and subheadings.

49.
Read your writing aloud.

50.
Read your writing aloud.
Ask someone to read it for you.

51.
Read your writing aloud.
Ask someone to read it for you.
Pair write.

52.
Who cares?

53.
Who cares?
Is it compelling?

54.
Who cares?
Is it compelling?
Is it clear?

55.
Who cares?
Is it compelling?
Is it clear?
Is it complete?

56.
Who cares?
Is it compelling?
Is it clear?
Is it complete?
Is it concise?

57.
Who cares?
Is it compelling?
Is it clear?
Is it complete?
Is it concise?
Is it correct?

58.
I love to write.
But it has never gotten any easier to do,
and you can’t expect it to,
if you keep trying for something better than you can do.
- Ernest Hemingway

59.
Lisa Matthews
@Poetech3

60.
Dyslexia:
notes from the field

61.
Dyslexia

62.
Notes

63.
from

64.
the

65.
field

66.
A note about the format for the next 20 mins
This presentation is made in Powerpoint.
It's a slide deck, however, it can also be labelled
as a durational artwork.
As a poet and creative writer, I use Powerpoint to
share content in a variety of artistic ways.
Today, I will be reading some slides aloud.
And sometimes I won’t read aloud.
For those of you using assistive tech, I will let you
know when a gap is coming.

67.
Order of field notes
1.A definition of dyslexia
2.My dyslexia, day-to-day
3.The superpower
4.Things not to say
5.Things that help
6.The good and not-so-good

68.
Field note 1.
A definition

69.
Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that can cause problems
with reading, writing and spelling.

70.
It's a specific learning difficulty, which means it causes problems
with certain abilities used for learning, such as reading and writing.

71.
It's estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree
of dyslexia.

72.
Dyslexia is a lifelong problem that can present challenges on a daily
basis, but support is available to improve reading and writing skills
and help those with the problem be successful at school and work.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia

73.
Field note 2.
My dyslexia, day-to-day
Series of single word slides to follow there will be a gap for those of
you using assistive tech.

74.
When

75.
unexpected

76.
things

77.
happen,

78.
especially

79.
at

80.
work

81.
– and

82.
especially

83.
using

84.
digital

85.
technology,

86.
my

87.
cognitive load

88.
goes

89.
through

90.
the

91.
roof

92.
and

93.
I

94.
can’t

95.
keep

96.
up

97.
with

98.
what

99.
is

100.
happening

101.
around

102.
me

103.
When unexpected things
happen, especially at work
– and especially using
digital technology, my
cognitive load goes through
the roof and I can’t keep
up with what is happening
around me.

104.
What is 'cognitive load'?
In simple words, cognitive load is the amount of working memory used
during any activity. When the cognitive load is reasonable, the working
memory is able to process information more easily.
edited from Wikipedia

105.
High cognitive load creates
lots of challenges for me.
These challenges are always
very stressful .
Here's a selection of the
most common.

106.
Words
and
pages

107.
My challenges include:

108.
Letters in words jumble
and scramble

109.
Words and letters jump
around on the screen or
page

110.
- by themselves, as in I
can't control it at all
*

111.
Words and numbers invert
and mirror –

112.
especially sequences like:

113.
• 123,or 789;
• ea/ae, or iu/ui
*

114.
I mis-type,

115.
all the time.

116.
And mis-typing is not the
same as making some typos

117.
I type 'd' instead of ‘b’
- and vice versa
- again, I can't control
this at all

118.
I miss ‘t’ and ‘r’ out of
lots of words
*

119.
Words are replaced and I
have no idea when this
happens.

120.
Screens

121.
During periods of anxiety,

122.
usually triggered by high
cognitive load –

123.
I experience what I call
'screen blindness' or
'screen blur'–

124.
Screen blindness, and
screen blur, are not
clinical terms

125.
They are descriptions I
have made up to try and
convey what happens as
part of my dyslexia

126.
My anxiety is triggered, a
lot of the time, by the
digital technology itself
– as well as my own fear
of having an attack of
screen blindness

127.
This is – sort of – what
screen blindness and
screen blur look like.
Sort of.

128.
Nexer Digital
website:
low cognitive load
no screen blur

129.
rising cognitive load
screen blur begins

130.
high cognitive load
screen totally blurred

131.
high cognitive load
I can lose colour(s)

132.
high cognitive load
words, sentences
and paragraphs
can invert

133.
Series of single word slides to follow there will be a gap for those of you
using assistive tech.

134.
I

135.
read,

136.
jump

137.
around

138.
on

139.
the

140.
screen

141.
I

142.
words

143.
jump

144.
around

145.
on

146.
the

147.
screen

148.
When I read,
words jump around
on the screen

149.
Confusion

150.
once my screen
blurs it's
hard to take
anything in

151.
people speak,
but all I hear
is...

152.
blah
blah
blah blah
blah
blah

153.
Field note 3.
The superpower

154.
Dyslexia allows me to see
the world in creative and
unexpected ways

155.
This is brilliant when
I want to see the world
in unexpected and
creative ways

156.
However, dyslexia is
the opposite of a
superpower in certain
situations – like:

157.
in an interview

158.
during a presentation
(giving them, not attending
them)

159.
driving in new places

160.
in an exam, or test

161.
real time messaging (Teams,
Slack etc.)

162.
when people use jargon,
technical terminology or
lots of long words

163.
Field note 4.
Things not to say
Series of statements to follow there will be a gap for those of you using
assistive tech.

164.
“Oooh you have a superpower”

165.
“I wish I had a superpower”

166.
“I’m a rubbish speller too”

167.
“We’re all a bit dyslexic”

168.
“Don't worry about it”

169.
“Don't worry about it, we all
struggle with this stuff”

170.
Things not to say:
"Oooh you have a superpower
"I wish I had a superpower too"
"I'm a rubbish speller too"
"We're all a bit dyslexic"
"Don't worry about it"
“Don't worry about it, we all struggle with this stuff”

171.
Field note 5.
Things that help

172.
• Having time to prepare
• Others being aware
• Clear messaging/microcopy
• Consistent content
• Congruent content
• Breadcrumbs
• Back function
• Undo function

173.
• Lilac screen filter/ page
overlay
• Dark mode option, which I
always switch on
• Chat bots as alternative
navigation

174.
Field note 6.
The good and not-so-good

175.
• Animated
modals to make
form filling
easier
• Seamless
experience =
great content
design
The best content design and user experience:
TV Licensing

176.
• Lots of data
input required
at onboarding
• I inevitably
mis-type
• Put me in a
sign-up loop
that lasted 20
mins
• Access help
took me to
general help
section
Not-so-good design and user experience:
PayByPhone - onboarding

177.
A closing thought…

178.
Design can’t cure my
dyslexia, and no design
will ever be perfect.
However, good content
design and awareness can
really help.

179.
This is why I choose to be
a content designer at
Nexer Digital.
And this is why GAAD is so
important.

180.
D

181.
y

182.
s

183.
l

184.
e

185.
x

186.
i

187.
a

188.
Notes

189.
from

190.
the

191.
field

192.
Dyslexia:
notes from the field
Lisa Matthews, senior content designer,
Nexer Digital
lisa.matthews@nexergroup.com
@poetech_poetech (Insta) / Poetech3 (Twitter)