Design for Users with Limited Literacy Skills (UXPA 2015)

Revolutionize Your Business With Generative AI

From product design and software development to virtual agents, content creation, and reporting, GenAI is transforming business. Our AI experts help you unlock GenAI’s full potential and drive growth.

Let’s Get Started

I was surprised to know that designing for people with various forms of literacy issues would benefit literate users. In one study presented in a session I am now attending, I learned it does! Another surprise, about 50% of U.S. citizens report some type of literacy problem. As a result, when we think about digital transformation and designing for multi-channel usage (especially mobile), there are some things we need to know to help our clients understand the wide range of users who are using their digital products, for example…
– Literacy issues are often merely a result of “situational literacy.” For example, health data is very domain specific and people are often more overwhelmed trying to understand a diagnosis, to sort through health plan coverage or to follow directions for how to take and submit a lab sample.
 
Further, the “illiterate” in this country share these same characteristics in that they…
– Rarely own a desktop or laptop
– Are typically a minority
– Are in a lower income bracket
– Easily overwhelmed, especially with new domains
– Have limited working memory (i.e., cannot retain information)
 
Also, the “illiterate” share these same desires about using a website or accessing the Web. They…
– Aspire to use the Web to access information, just like the literate
– Struggle with poorly designed sites
– Are more likely to access the Web with a mobile phone!
– Focus on the center of screen and skip over chunks of information (large batches of text)
– Will try to read every word on a Web page
– Have little or no success finding what they want
 
So what can we do to design for those people with situational or low literacy? The presenters shared these tips for testing designs…
– Recruit low literacy users for usability testing, and provide cash gifts (helps them pay bills)
– Limit the number of tasks in the study
– Be cautious using online testing; it’s better to go to them
– Pick a testing location that is easy to get to and familiar to them
– Mobile is their primary device so use the participant’s own device
– Ensure you have Wi-Fi so the test isn’t on their device
 
To design for this special audience…
– Define special words, such as “neurologist” to support accuracy of information
– Design clear, stand alone, chunks of content (ex: bullet list, a header)
– No more than 3 lines of text (not 3 sentences)
– A more white space above a header
– Never below 16 pixels
– Avoid overly wide or condensed fonts (easier to read)
– Use meaningful headings such as “Prevent accidents at home”
Topic presenters: Sandy Hilfiker, Stacy Robison