The origins of the Curb Cut Effect

Named after the physical curb cuts initially designed for wheelchair users, the Curb Cut Effect highlights how features created for one group can end up being advantageous for many others, such as parents with strollers or travelers with luggage. 

Similarly, digital accessibility features, while crucial for those with disabilities, often improve the overall user experience for everyone. In this article, we’ll explore several real-life examples that demonstrate how an accessible internet benefits all users.

Everyday examples

Captions for quiet moments

Watching TV with a newborn can be challenging, especially when you’re trying to keep the household quiet during nap time. When the baby is finally asleep, the last thing you want to do is risk waking them by turning up the volume on the TV. This is where captions become invaluable. By enabling captions, you can keep the volume low, or even mute the sound entirely, and still follow the dialogue and action of your favorite show without missing a beat. And not just on tv, also when scrolling through videos on YouTube or TikTok, they add value when you’re in an environment where you cannot turn up the volume. 

 They’re also incredibly beneficial for people learning a new language or watching a show that isn’t in their native tongue. Captions help bridge language gaps by allowing viewers to see and read the dialogue simultaneously, which reinforces language comprehension and helps with vocabulary acquisition.

What was initially designed as an accessibility feature for people with hearing loss becomes a tool that anyone can appreciate. Whether you’re in a noisy environment, trying to multitask, or simply want to watch a show discreetly without disturbing others, captions offer a flexible solution.

Text-based content for better user experience and SEO

Most of us have experienced the frustration of trying to view a restaurant’s menu online, especially when we’re on holiday and have carefully sifted through TripAdvisor or Google Maps reviews to find the perfect spot. The annoyance often begins when the website only provides an image or a PDF of the menu. We then have to download the file, open it, and most likely pinch and zoom with our fingers to read the small text. It’s a hassle that can quickly dampen our enthusiasm.

In these moments, what we really care about is the content—the information about what’s on offer—not the intricate design or layout of the menu. A simple, text-based version of the menu on the website would be so much more effective. It’s faster to load, easier to navigate, and can be searched effortlessly to find specific dishes or ingredients. Moreover, a text-based menu is accessible to everyone, including those using screen readers, and it can be easily translated for international visitors. Even for search engines, your content will perform better on an SEO level. 

By opting for a straightforward text format, you’re not only ensuring that people with disabilities can access the information, you’re also improving the user experience for all your potential users.

Lean code for better performance on slow connections

As developers with the latest MacBook Pros and ultra-fast internet connections, it’s easy to forget that the average user might not have access to the same high-end technology. While it’s tempting to embrace the newest trends and cutting-edge technologies, the reality is that many users are accessing your website on older, less powerful devices or with slower internet connections. These users might experience your website in a very different, often frustrating, way. The same way you might experience when you’re on the train with a slow(er) internet connection.

By writing lean code—code that is efficient, streamlined, and free from unnecessary bloat—you can ensure that your website or app loads quickly and functions smoothly, even under less-than-ideal conditions. Lean code not only reduces load times and improves performance but also broadens the accessibility of your digital content, making it more inclusive to a diverse audience.

This is a key consideration in inclusive design: creating experiences that are not just optimized for the best-case scenario, but accessible and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of their technology or environment.

Clear language for broader understanding

Clear language is a critical aspect of accessibility, ensuring that information is understandable to the widest possible audience. Not everyone has the same language proficiency, and using simple, straightforward language benefits everyone.

The concept of Leichte Sprache (easy language versions) in Germany is a prime example of this approach. It focuses on plain language, short sentences, and clear structure to make communication accessible to people with cognitive disabilities, non-native speakers, and those with lower literacy levels.¹

Research supports the effectiveness of this approach, emphasizing that a simple language level is often preferable for broad communication. Higher educated readers prefer simple text as well and it generates a more positive attitude towards the author.²

Try to write content at a maximum reading level of B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) skills. That’s not as easy as it sounds, chatGTP rates this article as C1, too high.

Color independence for better recognition

Color independence is a crucial aspect of accessible design, particularly when it comes to diagrams and visual content. Diagrams that rely solely on color to convey information can be meaningless for people with color vision deficiencies.

For instance, someone with red-green color blindness might not be able to distinguish between key elements if those colors are used without alternative indicators. This issue isn’t limited to those with color blindness—consider situations where you print a document in black and white because your color ink has run out, or using a low-brightness or low quality display. In these cases, color-coded diagrams can become impossible to interpret.

By designing diagrams that use patterns, labels, or varying shades in addition to color, you ensure that the information remains clear and accessible to everyone, regardless of how it’s viewed.

Source: Highcharts

The principle of color independence is also important in board game design. While it’s an essential for people with color blindness, it’s also a win for anyone playing a game in dim light conditions, where some colors are hard to distinguish from one another.³

High contrast for enhanced visibility

A colleague tried to ring the bell at one of our clients' offices using a touch screen in full sunlight. The low contrast and fierce lightning conditions made it impossible to read, so he just tried different areas on the screen until somebody let him in. I’ve had similar issues with digital displays at gas stations: they can be hard to read on sunny days.

Sounds familiar? When you experience a situational disability, you’ll appreciate accessible design.

Conclusion

Accessibility is often viewed as a way to accommodate people with disabilities, but as we’ve seen, its benefits extend far beyond that. The Curb Cut Effect demonstrates that features designed to help one group often end up improving the experience for everyone.

Whether it’s using captions to enjoy TV in a quiet household, offering a text-based menu that’s easier to navigate, optimizing website performance for slow connections, writing in clear language to reach a wider audience, designing color-independent diagrams or providing high contrast text — accessibility features enhance usability across the board.

By prioritizing accessibility in your designs, you’re not only fostering inclusivity but also creating products and services that are more effective, user-friendly, and enjoyable for all. In the end, accessibility isn’t just a necessity for some—it’s a benefit for everyone.

By Gijs Veyfeyken

I'm a certified accessibility specialist helping organizations improve their services for all people, including those with disabilities. Making it work. For everybody.

By Sander Tirez

I am a web developer with ten years of experience, who loves building websites and apps with a focus on web standards, accessibility and lean code.