Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• ACE: A Colour Palette Design Tool for Balancing Aesthetics and Accessibility

  Garreth W. Tigwell, David R. Flatla, Neil D. Archibald (2017) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents ACE (Accessible Colour Evaluator), an online tool designed to help web developers and designers balance aesthetic preferences with accessibility requirements when choosing website color palettes. The research addresses a significa…

  • color accessibility
  • colour vision deficiency
  • color blindness
  • web design
  • design tools
  • WCAG
  • contrast ratio
  • user-centered design
  • accessibility testing

• Spotlights and Soundscapes: On the Design of Mixed Reality Auditory Environments for Persons with Visual Impairment

  Keenan R. May, Brianna J. Tomlinson, Xiaomeng Ma, Phillip Roberts, Bruce N. Walker (2020) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper explores the design of information-rich mixed reality (MR) auditory environments to help people with visual impairments form cognitive maps of unfamiliar indoor spaces. The research contrasts two approaches: soundscapes, where virtual obje…

  • mixed reality
  • spatial audio
  • auditory display
  • cognitive maps
  • indoor navigation
  • blind and low vision
  • soundscape
  • virtual reality
  • user-centered design

• A System for Controlling Assisted Living Environments Using Mobile Devices

  Paulo A. Condado, Fernando G. Lobo (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents EasyHouse, a smartphone-based home automation system designed to be accessible for people with motor disabilities while remaining usable by all family members. The system addresses a gap in the smart home market: most domotic (hom…

  • home automation
  • smart home
  • motor disabilities
  • cerebral palsy
  • mobile accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • independent living
  • user-centered design
  • Android
  • X10 protocol

• How Designing for People With and Without Disabilities Shapes Student Design Thinking

  Kristen Shinohara, Cynthia L. Bennett, Jacob O. Wobbrock (2016) — ASSETS '16: Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This study investigates how requiring student designers to create technologies for both disabled and non-disabled users influences their understanding of accessibility and design thinking. Unlike typical disability-specific design approaches that pro…

  • accessibility education
  • design thinking
  • inclusive design
  • user-centered design
  • ableism
  • design education
  • Universal Design
  • participatory design

• Introducing People with ASD to Crowd Work

  Kotaro Hara, Jeffrey P. Bigham (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper explores whether crowdsourcing platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT) can provide viable employment opportunities for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). With an estimated 50-75% unemployment rate among adults with ASD in the …

  • autism spectrum disorder
  • crowdsourcing
  • employment
  • micro-tasks
  • assistive technology
  • user-centered design
  • cognitive accessibility
  • workplace accessibility

• Sign'Maths: An Interactive Dictionary in French Sign Language

  Camille Nadal, Christophe Collet (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  Sign'Maths is an online interactive dictionary designed to give deaf students access to mathematical definitions in French Sign Language (LSF). The project emerges from a significant gap in deaf education: while France legally recognized Sign Languag…

  • deaf education
  • sign language
  • e-learning
  • mathematical accessibility
  • bilingual education
  • user-centered design
  • French Sign Language

• MANA: Designing and Validating a User-Centered Mobility Analysis System

  Boyd Anderson, Shenggao Zhu, Ke Yang, Jian Wang, Hugh Anderson, Chao Xu Tay, Vincent Y. F. Tan, Ye Wang (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018)

  This paper presents MANA (Mobility ANAlytics), a wearable sensor system designed to measure gait parameters in people with Parkinson's Disease (PD) in clinical and home settings. The system addresses a significant gap in accessible health monitoring:…

  • Parkinson's disease
  • wearable sensors
  • gait analysis
  • inertial measurement units
  • mobility assessment
  • user-centered design
  • machine learning
  • assistive technology

• Designing a Context Aware AAC Solution

  Conor McKillop (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This student research competition paper explores the design of a context-aware AAC keyboard prototype that uses mobile device sensors — particularly GPS and Wi-Fi positioning — to suggest location-relevant phrases and categories for people with speec…

  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • context awareness
  • word prediction
  • cerebral palsy
  • mobile accessibility
  • speech generating devices
  • communication
  • participatory design
  • user-centered design

• Incorporating Social Factors in Accessible Design

  Kristen Shinohara, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Wanda Pratt (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This paper investigates how professional designers can incorporate social factors into accessible design using Design for Social Accessibility (DSA), a framework developed in prior work by Shinohara and Wobbrock. The core premise is that accessible d…

  • design methodology
  • social accessibility
  • inclusive design
  • user-centered design
  • visual impairment
  • design workshops
  • participatory design
  • stigma
  • ability-based design

• Designing for Auditory Web Access: Accessibility and Cellphone Users

  Shari Trewin, Rachel Bellamy, John Thomas, Jonathan Brezin, John Richards, Cal Swart, Bonnie E. John (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper draws a parallel between two groups of web users who experience the web primarily through auditory rather than visual interaction: people with visual impairments using screen readers, and people in developing regions accessing the web thro…

  • auditory interaction
  • screen readers
  • mobile accessibility
  • developing regions
  • digital divide
  • simulation tools
  • design methodology
  • user-centered design
  • cognitive modeling