Kaye Moors and Lizzie Hamblin / How many senses do you think you have? #id24 2024

When designing sensory-friendly content, there are actually more than 5 senses to consider. With a third of the population experiencing sensory sensitivity or overload at some point in their lives, we explore how designers can balance creativity while being mindful of a users' health.

Drawing on insights from user testing, surveys, and personal experiences with vestibular disorders and sensory overload, we look at ways of designing to leave users feeling more relaxed and less drained.

About the speakers

Kaye is MD of DRUM, an agency with a mission to craft accessible user experience, by overcoming barriers and inequality, for brands leading the way. Kaye set up the agency in 2006 and then suffered a few brain injuries resulting in both physical disabilities, but also sensory processing disorder and overload. This moment in time fuelled her passion for digital accessibility even further. Since then DRUM has been providing support, toolkits, talks and accessible design to help reshape the industry into an inclusive space.

Lizzie is Lead Designer at DRUM and has worked in UX/UI for 8 years. It is important to her to shift digital to be better for people and the planet. With several close family and friends having sensory digital accessibility needs, she has naturally become a disability inclusion ally. Having not been taught accessibility as part of her digital design training she is passionate in changing the mindset of design education.

[ChristopheStrobbe]

40:15: "In Germany, user testing is now mandatory in the BFIT Bund version of the European Accessibility Act."
If that were true, the German law would be far beyond the European Accessibility Act. The EAA relies on the concept of "presumption of conformity", so a website or product complies to the law when it meets certain standards identified by the European Commission as "harmonised standards". How you prove compliance is not defined in the EAA. (The Web Accessibility Directive works in the same way.) Hence, there is no stated requirement for user testing. The European directive focuses on the result, not in checking the process how you get there.
The German (BFSG), which transposes the EAA into German law, does not mention user testing either.
So what is the source of the claim that "user testing is now mandatory in the BFIT Bund version of the European Accessibility Act"?