Focus, Martin, Focus

I’m a great test person when it comes to accessibility. I love dark mode — best with high contrast settings.

Text too small, contrast too low, too much movement in an interactive product — in short: when the focus isn’t well set, I struggle to grasp the content properly.

Three examples: – When I was a kid, I visited Paris with my parents — by the way, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I’ve been there so often I could almost call it home. Anyway, focus, Martin. We wanted to visit Notre Dame, but I honestly don’t remember the cathedral from that trip. What I do remember is the green blinking pharmacy cross nearby. The Pharmacy of Notre Dame. – Banner ads: I can’t process the content of an article if things are flashing all around — a magenta “T” here, a bright grocery ad there. Thank goodness the Jamba Sparabo era is over. Remember the ding dididi ding ding? That’s why I’m genuinely thankful for ad blockers. – And then there are animations around the mouse pointer — especially on designer portfolios. I can’t see what’s under the cursor anymore and never click the right thing. I actually use the pointer as a visual cue to track where I am in the text.

What I love about Microsoft Edge, though: the Read Aloud mode that highlights the exact word being read.

Focus, Martin. Focus.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.