Making emails safer for all users — Stripo.email

Beforehand, we touched upon the significance of accessibility of on-line sources and the consideration of web-inclusive classes of customers. Nevertheless, we didn’t elevate this matter offhandedly. At Stripo, we try to make our product as user-friendly as doable, retaining our members’ well-being in thoughts. That is why we started exploring the subject of internet inclusivity for varied teams to enhance and adapt our product and even perhaps assist our colleagues within the business.

Exploring the affect of photosensitive epilepsy

Right this moment, I discover the subject of photosensitive epilepsy — what causes it, who’s affected, the way it impacts those that work or spend lengthy hours at a pc, and what needs to be thought of when designing electronic mail templates to make sure they’re comfy for each electronic mail entrepreneurs with photosensitive epilepsy and recipients who’re merely electronic mail customers.

Understanding the size of the problem

Let’s dive into the problem. Worldwide, 50 million folks reside with epilepsy. Epilepsy isn’t solely hereditary however may also be acquired in lots of circumstances. In easy phrases, it’s attributable to organic or structural processes within the mind that set off the situation, similar to head accidents, strokes, infections, and even alcohol abuse.

Roughly 3% of the worldwide inhabitants with epilepsy has photosensitive epilepsy. What does this imply? It implies that an individual can expertise a seizure when uncovered to a flashing picture, GIF, or a mix of colours. This manifests as convulsions and non permanent confusion, which is analogous to different types of epileptic seizures, with slight variations in reactions.

Signs and results of photosensitive seizures

What does an individual really feel throughout a seizure?

• sudden overwhelming panic;
• dizziness and numbness;
• often, hallucinations.

What occurs throughout a seizure? The individual experiencing a seizure is unconscious, however their muscle mass tense up, and that is adopted by a sudden jerking of the limbs. After the seizure, the individual could expertise complications, disorientation, muscle ache, and emotions of melancholy.

The attain of photosensitive epilepsy in electronic mail advertising and marketing

I’ve described all this so that each one that reads this understands how tough life may be for folks with this situation. It’s essential to make sure that nothing we create in our work even hints at triggering a seizure, not to mention really inflicting one.

Let’s think about the size of the issue.

On daily basis, 347 billion emails are despatched and obtained by 40 billion folks around the globe. If we estimate (albeit not directly) that fifty million folks have epilepsy, we will compute that these folks obtain roughly 433.75 million emails every day. This suggests that a person with epilepsy might obtain virtually 9 emails per day. Whereas that is an approximate determine, the size continues to be placing.

If 3% of individuals with epilepsy are photosensitive, that accounts for 13.5 million emails a day being despatched to people with this situation. Even when folks with this situation obtain solely two emails every week, even when one in every of them triggers a seizure, it’s extremely harmful.

Key accessibility necessities for photosensitive epileptic customers

I hope you might have been in a position to grasp the magnitude of this difficulty with simply this one group of web-inclusive customers. Let’s comply with all mandatory tips when designing emails to scale back the chance of triggering seizures to zero.

So, what accessibility necessities ought to we comply with for this group?

Photographs, GIFs, and movies: Probably the most harmful triggers

1. Flashing photos lasting greater than 5 seconds are prohibited, as they’ll set off a seizure. Keep away from content material with flashing frequencies between 5 Hz and 30 Hz. This frequency vary is more than likely to impress seizures in folks with photosensitive epilepsy. If flashing is critical, its frequency needs to be lower than 3 Hz or greater than 60 Hz to attenuate the chance of seizures.
2. Greater than three flashes per second (similar to in a GIF) that cowl 25% or extra of the display screen are prohibited.
3. Transferring or repetitive patterns (for instance, in a recreation) masking 25% or extra of the display screen are prohibited — notably these with repetition frequencies between 5 Hz and 30 Hz.
4. Static patterns masking 40% or extra of the display screen are prohibited.
5. Greater than eight static or 5 transferring stripes with excessive distinction — whether or not parallel, radial, curved, or straight — are prohibited. These stripes could also be oriented in any route. Transferring stripes can create extra visible stimulation that will increase the chance of photosensitive seizures.

Finest practices for textual content and fonts

Textual content and fonts are usually much less more likely to set off seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy in comparison with environmental components similar to daylight flickering by way of bushes. Nevertheless, do not forget that giant textual content ought to have a distinction ratio of no less than 4.5:1 for regular textual content and three:1 for bigger textual content.

However, it’s essential to make sure the next points in emails:

1. Keep away from fonts with skinny traces or ornamental options. Sans-serif fonts (similar to Arial or Helvetica) or fonts with clear, daring traces (similar to Verdana) are thought of extra readable.
2. Keep away from cursive or italic fonts in the primary textual content, as they’ll cut back readability.
3. The road peak needs to be no less than 1.5 instances the font dimension for the primary textual content. This improves readability and reduces eye pressure.
4. Paragraph spacing also needs to be sufficiently extensive to make sure that the textual content is well readable. Spacing that’s no less than 1.5 instances the road peak is really helpful.

Necessary to notice: All the principles for web-inclusive customers with epilepsy may be discovered within the Internet Accessibility Initiative Requirements.

Guaranteeing applicable distinction in electronic mail design

Necessary to notice: The usage of vibrant crimson and blue colours can set off a seizure!

Let’s discuss a bit about distinction.

1. Display screen distinction is the ratio between the brightest white and the darkest black on the display screen. The really helpful distinction ratio is normally 1000:1 for many duties. It’s vital to keep away from overly sharp transitions between vibrant and darkish areas.
2. Colour temperature: The display screen colour temperature is measured in Kelvins (Okay).

   • day mode: Often 6500K, which corresponds to pure daylight;
   • night or evening mode: 3000K–4500K, which reduces eye pressure and the chance of seizures.

3. Blue gentle discount: Some packages and gadgets permit for the discount of blue gentle depth, which might contribute to eye pressure and set off seizures in delicate people.
4. Pulse width modulation (PWM) and display screen flicker: It is vital to contemplate know-how that reduces display screen flicker. Flicker at low brightness ranges may be invisible to the attention however nonetheless trigger discomfort and provoke seizures. Screens with flicker-free know-how, for instance, reduce or remove flicker.

Designing safer emails: Sensible ideas

Design and visible accessibility

1. When creating electronic mail templates, think about the distinction between textual content and background. Use excessive distinction (similar to black textual content on a white background) to enhance readability and guarantee accessibility for visually impaired customers.
2. Colour temperature and blue gentle adjustment: These components may be vital for folks studying emails at totally different instances of the day. Lowering brightness and utilizing hotter tones within the night can assist cut back eye pressure.

Optimization for various gadgets

1. Display screen brightness and flicker have an effect on how content material is perceived, so check your templates on varied gadgets and screens to make sure the content material is displayed appropriately and safely for all customers.

The advantages of darkish mode for photosensitive epileptic customers

Darkish mode advantages photosensitive people because it reduces display screen brightness, which might cut back visible pressure and reduce the probability of triggering seizures — much less gentle equals fewer potential seizure triggers. Darkish mode also can make display screen viewing much less aggressive on the eyes, notably in low-light circumstances, thereby selling general consolation.

Nevertheless, be conscious of textual content distinction on a darkish background, as sharp white-on-black contrasts may cause visible discomfort, doubtlessly resulting in a seizure. Moreover, think about the background when growing templates, designing content material, and writing electronic mail copy, notably in case your emails embrace animations or interactive components.

Wrapping up

Individuals with photosensitive epilepsy are most affected by flashing, blinking, and overly contrasting visible components (even static ones). To keep away from triggering painful and uncomfortable seizures, comply with the WAI requirements and supply warnings about animations, interactive content material, or any epilepsy-triggering components at first of your electronic mail.

Keep in mind, the effectiveness of your emails isn’t merely measured by uncooked numbers however by the consolation and security they supply to all customers.