Over the past 11 years, we’ve seen Easy Read grow and change to make sure it continues to meet the needs of its target audience, especially people with disability. In recent years, more organisations are also wanting to offer their online content in an accessible format. This has resulted in a growing demand for Easy Read web content. We’ve listed some recent projects we’ve worked on below.
The Disability Gateway
We worked with Australian Government of Social Services (DSS) to create accessible, Easy Read content for their new website – Disability Gateway.
The Disability Gateway website was designed to help all people with disability, and their families and carers, to find services throughout Australia. This collaborative project was conducted in two stages. We initially created an Easy Read survey for DSS to gather feedback on the user experience. This feedback from the community was then integrated into the accessibility and Easy Read content creation stages.
We converted all the website content into Easy Read. We were mindful of the new branding elements and our design process was guided by this new Disability Gateway branding. We supplied DSS the Easy Read text and images so they can upload the content into a HTML format. The website also includes an Easy Read toggle button, which can be switched on and off at the users convenience. This new Disability Gateway branding has since been incorporated into a range of Easy Read documents, which are also available on the website.
National Disability Insurance Agency
We worked closely with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to create Easy Read content for a section of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) website. The community expressed a desire for the use of more Easy Read content on the NDIS website and the NDIA piloted this groundbreaking approach.
The topic of the content is employment, with a focus on helping people with disability find and keep jobs. We were commissioned to:
- convert the content into Easy Read
- develop a suite of bespoke illustrations to support the Easy Read content and to build on the existing illustration style that was established when the NDIA’s website was recently redesigned
- test the content with a range of users
- work with the Icon Agency (the existing web developer) to develop the information architecture and the wireframes for the pages – this was new territory for the NDIA and for the Icon Agency
- contribute to the development of the Easy Read pages
- write a report for the NDIA on the use of Easy Read going forward.
The Easy Read content means that the information is available to a wider audience from a range of background and with a range of abilities.
Women With Disabilities Australia
We worked closely with Women With Disabilities Australia to create an Easy Read version of their Our Site website.
Our Site was created to help address the lack of targeted resources available in formats that are inclusive and accessible to women and girls with disability.
We took more than 50 pages of web content and converted them into Easy Read to make sure that the information was accessible to the widest possible audience.
The site includes invaluable information for women with disability on a broad range of topics, such as:
- your rights and how to stand up for yourself
- taking part in politics
- managing money
- how a woman's body changes
- sex and sexuality
- raising a child
- how to be safe from violence
- where to go for help if you are experiencing violence.
We developed more than 250 bespoke illustrations to tailor this Easy Read content to WWDA and make the content more engaging. For some topics in particular, this required sensitivity and an understanding of trauma-sensitive imagery. We also carried out extensive accessibility testing to ensure this website was WCAG 2.0 AA compliant on launch.
Check out the Easy Read Our Site website.
genU
genU is a disability support provider based in Victoria. genU offers people with disability a variety of supports, including employment support, accommodation support and support to take part in the community. genU wanted to make the Disability Support Services section of the website accessible to all users and decided to offer an Easy Read alternative. We worked with genU to convert this section into Easy Read, which included developing bespoke illustrations that match the genU brand and style. Once you land on the page, there is a toggle button to turn the Easy Read content on or off. You’ll also see an easy-to-use Easy Read navigation to help guide you through the section.
Monash University
My Allied Health Space is a new website with a range of sources and information about allied health. It aims to support the Allied health capability framework: disability and complex support needs and provides accessible information about allied health to the wider community, specifically people with disability and complex support needs.
We worked with Monash University to convert much of the web content into Easy Read. We suggested having an Easy Read toggle button on the website, which allows users to seamlessly transition between the standard and Easy Read content.
We also helped Monash University create three Easy Read checklists to help those who are thinking about engaging allied health workers. These checklists will help people understand:
- what funding they have in their NDIS plan
- what questions to ask when they make an appointment with an allied health worker
- if the allied health worker can meet their needs.
Check out the new My Allied Health Space website today.
