The UX newsletter for people on a mission

December 2022 🎄

Bonjour everybody!

For the last newsletter of 2022, I want to take a minute to thank you for your continued support and interest. A special mention goes out to Webflow who talked about some brand design I did for Linkorep's inclusive Twitch channel and to Ralph de Groot who added my portfolio to the best Webflow websites for 2022.

Speaking of my website, I've made some changes to include a "UX for good" manifesto. It's my own version of a designer's code of conduct and what I could bring to your projects. I'm now also offering UX design Boosts, a new service to help you fix your strategy when life gets in the way. It works perfectly for solo founders and small teams with little time and/or budget but who need quick results.

Finally, I've got a funny story to share. I randomly found my face on Netflix earlier this month. My sister says I giggle a lot, but I'm quite proud of it. It's a documentary that debunks the myths surrounding French women. I hope you'll like it!

Netflix new documentaries including "She's French" featuring Tamara Sredojevic

Things to know

Why the Twitter chaos is bad for disabled people

A billionaire has bought Twitter. It seems cartoonish that he would buy the platform that connected disabled people, only to scuttle it with bad decisions in mere hours. Among others, he fired Human Rights, Accessibility and Al Ethics teams which will make Twitter a very different platform. With them, he's taking away the visibility that disabled people had built for themselves. People with disabilities consider Twitter a ‘lifeline’ but worry recent cutbacks will make it unusable.

How to avoid Inspiration Porn

Inspiration Porn produces a number of corrosive effects, including sentimentality and misplaced pressures. It often masks more socially significant evidence of underlying injustice and systemic failures that could be fixed – if properly faced and addressed. A few basic practices can go a long way towards avoiding this problem, while still allowing ample room to discuss disability issues, and highlight disabled people in popular media.

This nonprofit proves games' power to create social change

Games for Change is working to support and promote video games that encourage players to be the best versions of themselves. The site serves as a portal to find games that can teach, encourage, and inspire. The site is searchable and has age ratings and tags for content, like grief or mental health. For example1000 Cut Journey shifts the player’s perspective to better understand racism and discrimination, from naked hatred all the way to microaggressions.

Things to do (or not do)

Stop adding Mastodon usernames to Twitter names

A lot of people are fleeing to Mastodon amid the Twitter general chaos. But if that's you, please don't add your Mastodon username to your Twitter name. It’s really frustrating for screen reader users who hear them being read out loud when scrolling down their timeline. Simply add it to your bio or make a pinned tweet instead. (Thanks @lifeofablindgrl for the information!)

Use the alt decision tree

You can't spend your time worrying whether you need to use alt-text. And I get it, unless you're an accessibility expert, the rules can be confusing. Is it decorative, is it not, do we really need to know what this image is about? Isn't the person's name enough right there next to the profile picture? I found this alt decision tree for whenever you need confirmation.

Explain an abbreviation the first time you use it

Acronyms can be difficult to understand for a lot of people, including those whose first language isn't English. One way around that is to explain the abbreviation the first time you use it on each page. And it's a quick win to achieve 3.1.4 Abbreviations.

Is there anything you like/dislike in this newsletter? Or something you didn't quite understand? Don't hesitate to reply to this email or let me know what you think anonymously. If you'd like to share something you're working on, I'd also love to read it and learn from you too.

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Copyright © 2022 Tamara Sredojevic, All rights reserved.