Visual contrast, or luminance contrast, is a key feature of universal design, but how well can we measure it? It’s a mainstream issue and something designers need to consider from the outset. It’s one thing to know the importance of visual contrast, but knowing how to measure it is another.
For most people, vision is their most dominant sense. About 80% of our perception, learning, cognition and activities use visual cues. Contrast helps us detect objects from the background and to perceive distance.
Inadequate contrast leads to confusion and difficulty negotiating the environment, even if only temporarily. Australian Standards require a certain level of luminance contrast in the built environment. But most access consultants use their own eyes as the measuring tool. Is this good enough? Probably not.
Penny Galbraith took conference delegates through the two main measuring instruments and there is good reason for not using them. One is costly and the other is heavy and bulky. Then she introduced a free app for a smart phone called Get Luminance. While there is still more work to do on establishing the validity of the app, it gives a better guide than a guess by eyesight.
The title of Galbraith’s paper is, Achieving visual contrast in built, transport and information environments for everyone, everywhere, everyday. The key points are in a set of presentation slides.
There is much to consider and it is good to see there is a solution. Photographs are two dimensional and often provide an indication of poor contrast. If the place is unfamiliar it is sometimes difficult to make out certain features. For example, a stainless steel sign against a concrete wall.
Galbraith wrote another article with Richard Bowman, Luminance Contrast Standards, the Boy Who Could, and Visionary Pathfinders. The article discusses the inadequacy of standards in reflecting user experience.
Norwegian study on staircases
As our populations age we will have more people experiencing low vision. This means that contrasts between objects will become an increasingly important factor in negotiating the built environment.
Although standards stipulate a certain luminance contrast and levels of light (lux) for buildings, how are they measured, who measures them, and what are they measured with?
This issue was investigated by a team in Norway using staircases for the case studies. They found that the tools used by builders and planners vary, and this results in different contrast and light readings for the same staircase. Other variables were also found to influence the readings, such as reflection or glare from overhead lighting. Sunny or cloudy conditions, the shadow of the measurer when measuring, and different angles and positions of the meter all bring different results.
The findings and conclusion of the study raise an important question: Are the staircases as bad as they seem in terms of not meeting the legislative requirements? Or are the requirements too difficult to fulfil? The team concluded that the answer lies with a representative group of people with low vision guiding them on understanding usability. Another case of standards being useful but not entirely effective – the users have the answer once again.
The article, Planning and Measuring Luminance Contrast in Staircases contains charts, graphs and pictures that illustrate their methods and results. The article is free to download.
L.D. Houck1 , K. Gundersen, O. Strengen: Universal Design 2016: Learning from the Past, Designing for the Future. H. Petrie et al. (Eds.)
Seeing the Light
What is luminance contrast and how do you measure it? The non-technical explanation is the contrast of the light reflected on one surface compared with that of another, adjoining or adjacent surface. For example the contrast between the kitchen bench and the cupboard below and the wall behind.
Contrasts create greater safety especially in areas like the kitchen and bathroom. Lee Wilson lists the many things in and around the home and public buildings that need such contrast. He explains in more detail the everyday items that we might not think of: coat hooks, locker handles, buttons, switches, toilet seats, floors/walls, and more.
There’s a more technical look at luminance contrast and compliance with standards on the EqualAccess website. It covers some of the most common errors and where things go wrong.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has an Easy Read guide to the Disability Strategy 2021-2031. However, you need good reading and web navigation skills to get to it. The information is spaced out over 44 pages in the PDF version. 
When you are in a rush it’s easy to leave out the description of the image in the alt-text box – but should you?. Alt-text is a description of an image that’s shown to people, who for some reason, can’t see the image. Among other things, alt-texts help:
Colour vision deficiency or colour blindness affects around 10 per cent of the population. But each person varies in what colours they can see, which is why it is not “colour blindness”. So what colours are best if you want all readers to enjoy colours on your website?
It’s one thing to talk about colour blindness, but it is quite another to see what it looks like to the 6-10 per cent of the population that have colour vision deficiency. 
Across the globe, advocates for universal design in housing find themselves faced with the same myths. And these myths prevail in spite of hard evidence. AgeUK and Habinteg have put together a fact sheet, 
How can we measure the economic benefits of designing our built environments to ensure access for everyone? Good question. Tourism has a solid body of knowledge on the economics of inclusion, and housing studies cite savings for health budgets. However, we need a benchmark to show clear and direct economic benefits for stakeholders and society. But it has to be meaningful accessibility, not just minimal compliance to standards. That’s the argument in a paper from Canada.
Universal design is most commonly associated with the built environment. This is where the physical barriers to inclusion are most visible. But the concept of universal design goes beyond this to include cognitive accessibility.
The working group has published two standards since forming in 2015. The first provides guidelines for the design of products to support daily time management. The second is about the design and development of systems, products, services and built environments. A third standard is under development. This one sets out the requirements for reporting the cognitive accessibility of products and systems. 
Quantifying the value of home modifications is a tricky business. It depends on who is doing the valuing. Governments look immediately to costs and benefits while home occupants look at their quality of life. Research findings of cost benefits and improved quality of life have done little to change either policy or home design. So we have yet another research article. 
Comparing people to potatoes is a good way to explain diversity in the workplace. Although potatoes come in thousands of different varieties, shops give us the same regular sample to choose from. The same applies to our workplaces – we choose the same sample of the population. And if an employee doesn’t think or act like the majority, they are “weeded” out. Weeding out is often unintentional. That’s because employers haven’t yet worked out that humanity is neurodiverse. 
You’re missing out by not hiring staff with autism. This is one of the points made in a 
The Commons Social Change website features a new book which is a collection of stories about the neurodiversity movement. The collection gathers the voices of both activists and academics. The introduction explains the approach to commissioning the chapters. 
When it comes to diversity and inclusion, economic arguments tend to fall flat. For many, economic arguments are academic – just information. Storytelling on the other hand is personal and connects with people. It makes the situation real. Telling stories is also the way to learn from each other. An article in the Harvard Business Review tackles the topic of 
There’s an assumption that you can’t be a construction worker if you have a disability. So it’s no use recruiting them. Yet this industry has its fair share of permanently injured workers. Many access consultants also have a disability, so the assumption doesn’t hold. Can the construction industry be inclusive? Yes
The Queensland Government is wasting no time in adopting access features for all new homes. The Government is preparing industry for the changes to the National Construction Code agreed by state building ministers. The 
The catch cry “Why wouldn’t you? is the three word tag used in