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Nieuwsbegrip is a website where children go to hone their reading comprehension skills. They presented a case where the goal was to make their website accessible for kids with disabilities, mainly language deficiencies and visual impairments. Besides ensuring accessibility, the platform also had to be engaging for children.
After 16 weeks of hard work, the solution was finally ready! Try it out for yourself using the designated button. Please note that the prototype is in Dutch.
Project made in 2023 with a team of 5
For this project, IDEO design thinking method was used to explore every nook and cranny. While the main goal was to address accessibility issues, another challenge quickly became apparent: homework is boring. This was expected, given that the target audience consisted of children aged 8-12. Since this was a significant issue, the focus shifted to rewards alongside accessibility improvements.
To motivate children, several new reward systems were introduced to the website:
Stickers kids could earn
Coins as a form of currency
A shop where they could buy items to customize a newly created character
These rewards encouraged children to perform better on their homework and, at the very least, enjoy it a little more.
While Nieuwsbegrip already put significant effort into creating an accessible site, certain areas needed improvement. Some key issues identified were:
Vocabulary tests did not display results in an accessible way.
Homepage symbols were unclear to many children.
Navigation and feedback/feedforward mechanisms could be enhanced for better usability.
These elements were thoroughly analyzed and gradually improved.
The original homepage was minimalistic, which was a plus, but text was often too small, overlooked, or difficult to understand.
The improved homepage introduced more buttons, which could seem overwhelming at first. However, each button was designed to be clear and intuitive. Once clicked, they provided simple explanations of their functions and what children could find on the selected page.
Beyond design improvements, it was crucial to review the site against heuristics and WCAG guidelines to ensure the new version was truly more accessible. A detailed document was created to explain, in-depth, how each accessibility point was met (or why it wasn’t).
If you’d like to take a closer look at the document, you can access it via the designated button. In short, the final version of the website passed all necessary accessibility tests, making it both more inclusive and engaging. Hereby successfully achieving the project’s goal!
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