Issue #10 • 23 December 2024

Ho, ho, ho, Reader!

Welcome to the holiday edition of The Pedal Pointer newsletter. This will be the last issue for 2024, and I want to thank you so much for helping to make this a remarkable year for Pedal Point.

Making spirits bright

I recently came across this promotional banner image on a popular e-commerce website.

Color palettes for holidays like Christmas are typically very high-contrast. This can be great for readability. As a person with low vision, I appreciate how the reds, greens, and whites cause the text and pictures to pop in the image above, making them easy for me to recognize and understand.

One consideration with holiday colors is how individuals with colorblindness perceive them. About 8% of men and 0.5% of women experience red/green colorblindness. The following variations of the image (generated with this tool) simulate how it might appear to them.

The muted colors in these simulations make some of the image elements challenging for me to distinguish. What if the "Up to 95% off text" and the green area behind it is a link or button? A person with red/green colorblindness might not realize that this element is interactive.

This demonstrates the need to use more than color alone to communicate meaning. This meaning is lost to people who cannot perceive color. To address this in the image above, we might add a thin white border to the button. We might also modify the text to be a verb-phrase like "See deals up to 95% off!" to explicitly invite the user to take the desired action.

Speaking at CSUN 2025

I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be presenting at the 40th annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. This highly-anticipated event will take place in Anaheim, CA from March 10-14. I'll be speaking on building empathy with stakeholders to drive accessibility.

More details to come.

Let Nothing You Dismay

A personal note to wrap things up. I want to wish you the warmest of holiday seasons. Even so, I know that this time of year can be challenging for many people, myself included. Strained relationships and unmet expectations can often leave us feeling discouraged and lonely.

Earlier this year, I wrote a song to remind myself of the hope, comfort, and even joy that we can find as we experience sorrow and uncertainty. We don't need to be afraid or dismayed. My church performed and professionally recorded this piece at our recent Christmas concert. I offer this to you as a small token of gratitude and encouragement.

See you in 2025.

Simon Miner Pedal Point Solutions

Need help with web accessibility testing, treatment, or training? Pedal Point Solutions offers a free assessment of your website.

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