The Irish Times mobile app is a trusted source for news articles, opinion pieces, and exclusive features that drive our thoughts and ideas.

However, research showed that certain features of the app are not optimised for users with disabilities or impairments. Therefore, the goal of the redesign is to make the app more accessible and inclusive for all users, regardless of their abilities.

Dyslexia is a common neurological disability that negatively affects a person’s ability to read and comprehend text, affecting between 10-20% of the world’s population.

This project incorporates principles of universal design into The Irish Times mobile news app to improve its usability for dyslexic users, as research identified areas for improvement in the user experience.

Improving Accessibility
To enhance the accessibility of the app, we will be replacing the traditional layout and design with a more user-friendly and streamlined version. To make the app more inclusive, I will be implementing changes such as:

An Adjustable Font Size
The app's adjusted font size feature will be expanded to accommodate users with low vision or visual impairments. This adaptive font size feature will enable users to choose a font size that is more comfortable for them, depending on their preferences.

Improve Contrast and Colour Selection
A high contrast can make text easy to read for those who are visually impaired. It is critical to ensure that all text, buttons, and other elements on the app have sufficient contrast ratios that meet web accessibility guidelines. Additionally, a diverse color palette could help users with color blindness better differentiate between different elements in the app.

A Comprehensive Colour Scheme
The app's new colour scheme will be assessed using the W3C Accessibility Guidelines, ensuring that the contrast ratio between text and the background is optimal for readability. Additionally, users will be able to select a preference colour scheme from a range of options.

Audio Article Playback Controls
To accommodate users with visual impairments or other cognitive disabilities, we will include an audio playback control for the articles. This feature will enable users to listen to an audio version of the article in real-time, as well as providing auxiliary text descriptions for graphics and videos.