Beyond Captions: Universal Access, Universal Appeal

Most designers will tell you that accessible design is simply good design because it provides universal access to people with disabilities. Universal access is really just the first of many benefits that accessible design provides.

In this talk, we are going to delve into methods, tools, and techniques available to deaf and hard of hearing people. We will also discuss why CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation or real-time captioning) provides additional benefit beyond universal access to more people, including foreign speakers, remedial readers, people with perfect hearing in noisy/quiet environments, event organizers, multimedia owners.

What You Will Learn:

• Review different communication access services available today
• Watch videos of people using real-time captioning services in various settings
• Learn how captioning can boost the SEO of a website
• Review how CART and transcription services work and why they need to be of good quality
• Make a business case for captions and transcripts that goes beyond universal access

The presentation will be signed by a deaf speaker and voiced by a sign language interpreter for non-signers as well as captioned in real time to show the example of universal accessibility.