Accessibility icon
All your suggestions are very good. The advantage of the wheelchair however (and I agree that it is restrictive) is that it is a universally recognised icon that people understand immediately. Using conventions on the web has its benefit after all!
I'd be interested to get the views of blind users who (for most of them) don't use a wheelchair.
| Autocrat wrote: |
| *firstly - hi
*Secondly - Nat - trust me, those comments were nothing, and try not to take offence; if you use the net for postings, you'll not only need to grow tougher skin, but become quite flame retardant as well! 
Okay... here I am, trying to figure a way to signify a site is "accessible"... and found all of this. Wonderful - fantastic links as well as good humour. The wheelchiar is accepted in many cultures - but often intones a physical limitation, disability or handicap of some sort. It has no real tone of receptive in-ability though (blind/deaf). looking through some of the links though gave me an idea.... why not an open padlock ? Or a graphic representing the globe as a padlock ? AN "eye" with an "I" in it ? Maybe an icon of the "A key" on a keyboard ? Or a Magnifying Glass over the letter A ? Or a Magnifying Glass over a globe ? (hell, a magnifying glass over an "a" superimposed over the world) lol There has to be some sort of "universal" icon for this. It's important... and begining to be seen - if there is a standard represention for it, then the process will be faster! |
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Nat, did you just manage to top-post in an online forum?
You had to go out of your way to do that, right?
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Hi Joe,
What does "top-post" mean?
| joeclark wrote: |
| Nat, did you just manage to top-post in an online forum?
You had to go out of your way to do that, right? |
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<-- de-lurks and giggles 
Normal service will now be restored...
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| asaxton wrote: |
| Without wanting to sound rude I would rather spend my time helping with web accessibility and solving problems that real people have in relation to accessing information / goods & services on the web than arguing about a logo which is slightly inconsequential. |
Without sounding rude why do you even bother to read this thread then? Skull and bones indicates death and in the end yes your skin will decompose and fall off leaving you with bones. The symbol implies wheelchair users need special accessibility treatment and obviously they don't. I am sure most wheelchair users will not mind however the Mac symbol of accessibility for all would be IMO the preferred symbol in the future.
Johan De Silva / Portfolio
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I missed that one. Which is the Mac symbol?
Do we have any ideas on this so far?
What Icon[s] would actually be recognisable? The wheelchair works, cos everyone knows it. So to improve on that, we need something thats instantly recognisable. The one joe clarke was pointing to was not instantly recognisable. It looked more like a secure payments online thing to me....
So! What (other than a wheelchair) is iconic, of accessibility?
I like the crossed out eye and ear icons. They are imediately obvious. But these are specific. If you want an umbrella icon.... then what?
How about an offered hand?
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thanks for the resonse.
I looked at the suggested images from the links above.
I personally don't see the correlation between the encircled figure and accessibility (not saying it's wrong - just a differing perspective).
That said - if there is a stated usage of it and it is becoming the "accepted" icon for such, then that is what I shall use.
This is an important aspect of webdesign for me as I am currently contracting wit ha media company to provide sites to a large client base - and have insisted on all the sites being stringent in their accessibility conformity.
All the sites are to provide general jump-links and an accessibility page with additional help notes... but I need something to instantly signify to accessibility requiring users that the site is more than able to be accessed as normal.
suggestions welcome
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well drawn.
I like the imagery.
Note sure if it gives the right impression though... several friends have varying disabilities (dyslexia / blind / crippled hands)... yet all have one thing in common - they get really P* off at the suggestion of being helped!
(don't see why personally - but I'm not them....)
Also... not sure how that would scale down to 32px
All that said... I still think it's a groovey image.... and ought to be inclued alongside accessibility documents... not to indicate that accessibility requiring visitors need a hand... instead to suggest what we ought to be doing... openly reaching out to all!
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| Autocrat wrote: |
| That said - if there is a stated usage of it and it is becoming the "accepted" icon for such, then that is what I shall use. |
| Phil Teare wrote: |
| What do you think of mine, re the hand (see link in my previous post)? |
| Phil Teare wrote: |
| I missed that one. Which is the Mac symbol? |
Johan De Silva / Portfolio
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Well its a rainy weekend, and I'm determined not to code all weekend. So I had to do something...
Hows this?
Better at smaller resolutions I think. But still far from perfect. If I get enough good feedback, wioth this, or later tweeked versions, I'll slap it up on the Creative Commons for all to use, in a wide variety of vector and raster formats.
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Much, Much better!
Still not a 100% certain on this (I've resorted to a simple white "a" within a dark circle).
still, as stated - if there ever is a standardised icon - I will rapidly shift to it.
The problem is that it needs tosignify something across language, culture etc.
Therefore my icon fails due to the language barrier
Still - yours is defintely going to work past the language barrier - maybe we need a big press over this?
reach out to other cultures and countries etc.... see if we can find some common factors in the designs and go from there ?
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From what I understand the 'thumbs up' sign has some very different connotations accross cultures - two that I am fairly sure of, although I only have anecdotal evidence:
Iran: 'go screw yourself'
Russia: 'up yours' / 'ar**hole'
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hmm... Wasn't ment to be a 'Thumbs Ups'..
I'll do a re-draw.
brb
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Ta Da!
Hows this. Tweeked the thumb so its less offencive. I hope
Intorducing the Helping Hand Logo
Made by me, but copyright FREE. Use at will. Comercially or otherwise. Just don't pretend you made it
Hope its useful...
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