Designing Accessible Web Experiences
Introduction
Blizzard Entertainment is a global company that produces some of the most popular video games in the world. As a Senior Designer at Blizzard Europe, I led a team of 7 designers and oversaw multiple web projects that allowed customers to purchase, learn, subscribe, and interact with our products. Given the diverse nature of our user base, with different languages, currencies, and behaviors, ensuring accessibility was a key priority for our team.
Research and Analysis
To inform our design decisions, we conducted research on accessibility guidelines and best practices, focusing on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. We also conducted user research to better understand the needs and behaviors of our users, with a focus on accessibility issues related to video game content.
One of the key challenges we faced was designing for accessibility without sacrificing the heavy design elements that are an integral part of the video game industry. We needed to find ways to keep our style guide intact, while still serving the needs of our business and customers.
Design Solutions
To address these challenges, I developed several design solutions, including:
- Optimizing heavy images and videos for faster load times, without sacrificing image quality
- Using descriptive text for images, so that users who are visually impaired can still understand the content
- Providing alternative audio and text-based content for video content, such as gameplay trailers or instructional videos
- Ensuring that all colors used in our designs met accessibility standards for color contrast
I also worked closely with our development team to ensure that these design solutions were implemented correctly and tested thoroughly.
Testing and Results
To test the accessibility of our designs, I conducted both automated and manual testing and we gathered feedback from our customer support team and other stakeholders.
Our designs performed well on accessibility metrics, such as color contrast and keyboard accessibility, and we received positive feedback from users with disabilities. We also saw an increase in customer engagement, as our accessible designs made it easier for users to interact with our products.
Impact and Future Plans
The impact of our accessible design solutions was clear. Our web products were more inclusive and accessible to users from diverse backgrounds, which helped us reach a wider audience and improve customer satisfaction. Moving forward, we plan to continue prioritizing accessibility in our design and development processes, incorporating feedback from users and industry experts to ensure that we are always improving our accessibility practices.
