Interaction Design and Accessibility: UX Without Barriers
- Alicia Jarvis
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
A few years ago, I wrote a blog post on Inclusive Interactions. Since then, I've learned a lot more about how Interaction design (IxD) shapes the way people engage with digital products and services. It’s not just about aesthetics or efficiency—it’s about creating meaningful, intuitive, and usable experiences. For me, accessibility in interaction design isn’t abstract. It’s the difference between being able to pay a bill independently, join a video call, or get lost in frustration. My arms are shorter than most people’s, and I interact with technology differently—sometimes with my hands, and sometimes with voice. But too often, accessibility is treated as an afterthought in interaction design. When designers neglect accessibility, we exclude millions of people from fully engaging with technology.
The good news? Designing with accessibility in mind improves interaction for everyone.
Why Accessibility Matters in Interaction Design
Accessible interaction design ensures that users of all abilities can perceive, understand, and act within an interface. Consider these examples:
Touch targets: Larger buttons help people with motor impairments but also make tapping easier for anyone using a device one-handed.
Focus states: Visible focus indicators are essential for people using a keyboard, but they also help sighted users understand where they are in a flow.
Error prevention: Clear error messaging supports users with cognitive differences and reduces frustration for everyone.
When accessibility is baked into interaction design, the experience becomes more intuitive and forgiving.
Principles of Accessible Interaction Design
Consistency is clarity - Predictable patterns help users build confidence. For example, if navigation menus always appear in the same place, screen reader users and people with memory challenges can more easily learn and return to tasks.
Feedback matters - Every action should have a clear response. A button click, a successful form submission, or an error message should be communicated visually, textually, and—when possible—through sound or haptic feedback.
Flexibility in interaction - Don’t lock users into one way of doing things. Support keyboard, voice, screen readers, switches, and touch input. Multiple paths mean more people can succeed.
Forgiveness in flows - People make mistakes. Accessible design anticipates that and makes recovery easy—think undo buttons, confirmation dialogs, and autosave.
Perceivable and readable content - Interaction fails if users can’t perceive what’s happening. Ensure text has sufficient contrast, buttons have clear labels, and animations don’t cause motion sickness or cognitive overload.
When Interaction Design Works Against Me
Too often, I run into designs that assume long arms, two hands, and fine motor control:
Reach is impossible: On many smartphones, the “Back” or “Save” button is tucked into the top corners—completely out of reach.
No alternatives: Some apps still rely solely on swipes or pinches (looking at you, certain photo galleries), leaving me locked out of functionality.
Precision overload: Websites with tiny form fields or apps with cramped icons are almost unusable when I’m navigating on the go
These barriers don’t come from my body—they come from design decisions.
When Interaction Design Works With Me
Then there are products that make me feel included:
Apple’s Reachability Mode: On iPhones, I can swipe down to pull the top of the screen closer to the middle—an elegant solution for people with limited reach.
Large Touch Targets: big, clear buttons (Play, Pause, Skip) that don’t demand pixel-perfect accuracy.
Autosave: I don’t have to worry about losing work if I accidentally close a document—my progress is always saved.
Xbox Adaptive Controller: Microsoft built an entire input system that welcomes people with different body types and interaction styles, proving inclusive design can drive innovation.
Voice Search: Instead of reaching or typing, I can simply say what I want to watch—a feature that helps me, but also drivers, kids, and multitaskers.
These aren’t just “accessibility features.” They’re examples of good interaction design, period.
Practical Guidance for Interaction Designers
Here’s what my lived experience has taught me about making interaction design more accessible:
1. Design for Limited Reach
Place key actions at the bottom or middle of screens.
2. Provide Multiple Interaction Methods
Always provide alternatives to gestures—support keyboard, voice, and switch input.
3. Create Forgiving Experiences
Use undo, drafts, and confirmation prompts to lower the cost of mistakes.
4. Reduce Strain Through Clarity
Use large touch targets, clear labels, and visible focus indicators.
5. Co-Design With People With Limb Differences
Don’t just test after launch— Bring diverse users into the design process from the start and co-create with developers on clear specs for focus order, ARIA labels, and keyboard interactions to help avoid costly fixes later.
The Payoff: Better Products for All
Accessible interaction design isn’t just about compliance—it’s about inclusion, usability, and empathy. When we design for the edges of human experience, the center benefits too.
Good interaction design considers the “happy path.” Great interaction design ensures that every path is possible, regardless of ability.
I don’t necessarily want or need “special”or separate assistive and adaptive technology. I want and need inclusive interaction design that reflects the way real people use products—whether they have limb differences, are holding a child, or simply can’t stretch their thumb to the top of a screen. Designing for accessibility isn’t just for people like me. It’s for everyone who’s ever had their hands full, felt fatigued, or needed a simpler way to get things done.
Accessibility and interaction design are not separate disciplines—they’re two sides of the same coin. By integrating accessibility into IxD, you create products that truly work for everyone. Accessibility in interaction design isn’t extra—it’s essential. By studying examples like Reachability, voice search, adaptive controllers, and autosave, you can see that inclusive design doesn’t just work for people with disabilities—it makes products smarter, friendlier, and more universal.