Tag: communication

iPhone in Braille

Kristy Viers is sitting in a T shirt and shorts with an iPhone in her hands.How does Braille work with an iPhone? Easy when you know how. A short video by Kristy Viers shows sighted people how a blind person uses the Braille facility on an iPhone. Fascinating. If only more product and building designers were so inventive. 

In the FastCompany article there is a second video showing how Viers uses an iPad to do more complex things. Note that the text to speech is relayed at a speed similar to a sighted person reading. Viers has launched a YouTube channel with more information. 

Instead of trying to use the tiny keyboard, she can flip the phone and type with the six dots of Braille. So much faster for her.

Developers responded with thanks to her Twitter posts which offer informal education. The videos are filmed by her boyfriend and uploaded as a single, unedited take. The title of the FastCompany article is, Meet the YouTuber who’s schooling developers on how blind people really use tech. 

 

Customer Engagement by Universal Design

Front cover of the toolkit with three overlapping circles, bright pink, purple and turquoise.Communicating effectively with customers is essential for any business or government service. And right now, online communication is taking centre stage. 

The new guide for Online Meeting Accessibility is a supplement to the Customer Communications Toolkit for Public Service. It takes you through the steps of planning and conducting an online meeting, and following up afterwards. The focus is on accessibility and inclusion with many helpful tips.

The Customer Communications Toolkit for Public Service covers planning, training and informing staff and contractors. It takes a universal design approach and is useful for any organisation.

The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design has two more toolkits  for private and public entities. They are guides to effective and inclusive communication using a universal design approach. 

Customer Engagement in Tourism Services Toolkit covers best practice guidance for customer engagement using case studies. The four sections cover business objectives, written communication, face to face, and web communication.

Customer Engagement in Energy Services provides best practice guidance for customer communication. In four parts it covers: written form, face to face, telephone and video.

The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design has many more resources on the built environment, products and services and technology/ICT.

The process for developing the guidelines and what was learned covers research, policies, standards and guidelines. Lessons from Good Practices to Guide Universal Design Toolkits includes advice for other toolkit authors. 

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