Designing for Cognitive Accessibility
Cognitive accessibility means designing products that are understandable and usable by people with a wide range of cognitive abilities — including those with dyslexia, ADHD, memory difficulties, anxiety, or autism spectrum conditions. It also produces designs that are better for all users.
Core Principles
- Plain language: Write clearly and concisely. Use short sentences and common words. Avoid jargon, acronyms, and passive voice.
- Consistent navigation: Navigation should not change or move between pages. Inconsistency is disorienting for users who have built a mental model of the product.
- Clear error messages: Errors should explain what went wrong and what to do. "Error" is not helpful.
- Predictable interactions: UI elements should behave as users expect. Don't create surprising or novel interaction patterns unless there is a compelling reason.
- Avoid time limits: Where possible, remove arbitrary time limits. If time limits are necessary, warn users in advance and allow extension.
- Support undo: Allow users to recover from mistakes without catastrophic consequences.
Dyslexia-Friendly Design
- Use fonts with clear letterform distinction (avoid fonts where b/d, p/q are easily confused)
- Left-align text — justified text creates inconsistent word spacing that is harder to read
- Generous line height and letter spacing
- Avoid italics and all-caps for body text