Design Accessible Maps

Visually impaired people have a hard time using existing navigation apps. Through user interviews, market research, and user testing, we came up with a list of do’s and don’ts for navigation apps that want to improve their vision accessibility. In this article, I’ll be using Google Maps as an example —this is because 82% of interviewees reported primarily using Google Maps. Keep in mind that these are general guidelines and there may be exceptions to every rule.

The most important features according to our user testing are: search, how to get home, call help, offline mode, and mute/unmute map. Other features on Google Maps are not useful and can clutter the screen for the visually impaired. Navigation apps should include an option to switch modes to minimize screen content.

Jack (58) knows how to get to his closest train station, so navigation apps should take advantage of that by first telling him to go there and only starting further navigation after he has arrived. Other rules include: avoiding street names, time or distance when navigating, allowing users to see next or all steps, and allowing users to mute the map at any point to conserve phone battery.

Before the user research experiment, many of us, myself included, assumed that there should be audio feedback while navigating. However, 100% of interviewees reported that current navigation apps give too much feedback — voicing a new direction at every road and every turn. Through brainstorming and ideation, we found out that the most effective way to communicate directions is to read the entire navigation plan first, and then voice another notification only when users are 500–1500 feet away from their destination.

One of our interviewees mentioned that she wished there was a button that would voice her current location. She said that a button is much easier to find than an icon on the UI. When asked, our users pointed out that the volume buttons are least used (they control volume via their earphones), and so if possible, when switched to vision accessible mode, the volume buttons should act to:

When in doubt, the best resource for validation is your users. It’s the designer’s responsibility to keep users in the loop and provide the best user experience. I hope you learned something today and will keep these guidelines somewhere in the back of your mind. Feel free to leave any comments if you want to share your own insights about inclusive design.