October 16th 2016
The digital world has changed since Section 508 was enacted in 1998. And right now, the US Department of Justice is readying new regulations based on the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. Though it may be tempting to wait for the next year or two until the rules are finalized, smart brands are getting a jump start on compliance issues and creating easier access for their visitors today.
April 7th 2009
Occasionally, one finds a website that does something a little different or a little better than everybody else. Recently, a friend pointed me towards a website whose Terms of Service (ToS ) makes a good-faith effort to explain in layman’s terms what the heck they are talking about. At Aviary.com, an online image editing service, […]
March 18th 2009
The UK government wants to remove users’ rights to internet access, including applications and services, for people within the EU. This move comes in the form of amendments to the Telecoms Package being distributed at the EU seat of power in Brussels. The amendment replaces “user’s rights” with the “principle” that users can be told not […]
September 4th 2008
Target has settled a class action lawsuit from the The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) by agreeing to pay $6 million in damages, and to pay the organization to supervise efforts to make its website more accessible to the visually impaired. Previous court rulings had established that that ADA did not extend to stores’ […]
March 12th 2008
Microsoft’s next-generation web browser, Internet Explorer 8, is now available. Perhaps its most notable feature is IE8’s new standards compliance. Microsoft announced that the browser will ship with default settings configured to pass the Acid2 face test. While this may sound abstract to many, this announcement thrilled the basement of web designers I was with […]
November 1st 2007
Executives of bricks and mortar stores take note. In fact, anyone conducting online commerce should review Judge Marilyn Hall Patel’s opinion in the National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corp. This is the first ruling to suggest that a retailer may be sued if its website is inaccessible to the blind. Until this ruling, […]
The future of digital experiences will be built by strategists who grasp the full array of emerging business, social, and technical models. Specialties in user experience, branding, application design, and data science are laying the foundation for richer user experiences and business models breakthrough products and revenue based marketing.
UsefulArts is a soapbox to discuss the front line of digital experience, and the agencies and platforms that enable it. Digital business needs a cadre of leaders who can connect c-level enterprise thinking with the ways these new interaction models can help organizations to matter more to their most important stakeholders.