A group of six people in a well-lit meeting room, gathered around a large rectangular table. Laptops, microphones, and other devices are scattered on the table, suggesting a collaborative work session. A guide dog is resting on the floor next to one participant.

A group of six people in a well-lit meeting room, gathered around a large rectangular table. Laptops, microphones, and other devices are scattered on the table, suggesting a collaborative work session. A guide dog is resting on the floor next to one participant.

Phase 1 Co-creation

The team prepared for their initial co-creation meeting by assembling "the first prototype of a spatialized audio translation of a website." Alyssa Gersony coordinated outreach to artists and disability organizations. Through partnerships including Constant vzw in Brussels, Staging Access, the European Disability Forum, and Eqla, "an incredible network of arts workers began taking shape around the project's mission."

Three screen reader users—Bruno, Chris, and Raphael—participated in the first session held August 9th in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.

A close-up shot of a participant seated at the table, holding a smartphone and interacting with the device. Other attendees can be seen in the background, focused on their work.

Session Activities

Designers Dan and Colette facilitated experiences including "a choreography of listening, demo-ing, critiquing and learning more about the nuances of screen reader usability." Activities included a deep listening practice called "making wind" and demonstrations of different device setups and screen reader configurations.

Key Insights

The co-creators revealed that "spatial or visual information online" presents challenges for screen readers. Chris highlighted the need for "understanding the layouts of maps, and the textures of images." Bruno and Raphael noted feeling lost without boundary announcements or page-end notifications, advocating for "more description, more auditory cues that were explained to the user."

A participant in a Blue shirt types on a laptop, while two others stand beside him, observing the screen and discussing the content.

Second Session (September 20th)

Facilitators opened with the prompt: "Can you share a story of a time in your life when you experienced disorientation, or when you were lost?" This encouraged discussion connecting virtual and physical navigation experiences.

Testing the updated prototype with "more audio landmarks and keyboard commands," the team discovered that "hearing multiple texts read at once...created too much auditory complexity and made it difficult to focus on the primary text being read."

Co-creation session participants collaborating at a table with laptops and devices
Participants engaged in discussion during co-creation workshop
Second co-creation session with participants working together
Collaborative working session with note-taking and discussions
Final moments of co-creation session with team members engaged in dialogue

Reflective Questions

The team engaged with questions about "the extent to which we are prioritizing aesthetics over function" and how spatial information approaches could better serve people who are blind or visually impaired without simply reinventing existing screen reader navigation.