Garreth W. Tigwell

Rochester Institute of Technology | RIT · School of Information

Postcolonial and decolonial computing examines how technology design and adoption can perpetuate subtle dimensions of coloniality, under-represent certain regions (e.g., the Global South, non-Western regions, Indigenous societies), and marginalize them. There has been a growing interest in interdisciplinary research focusing on marginalized communi...

Web accessibility is essential for ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities, can access and effectively use the internet. This principle is fundamental as digital platforms increasingly become primary channels for education, communication, commerce, and entertainment. Our study critically evaluates the effe...

Financial technology (fintech) has a growing impact on economic and social participation due to the increasing adoption of online banking and digital payments in everyday life. As fintech interests emerge in academic and industry work across the globe, critical needs and opportunities arise for ASSETS communities to lead and shape the discourse on...

People learning American Sign Language (ASL) and practicing their comprehension skills will often encounter complex ASL videos that may contain unfamiliar signs. Existing dictionary tools require users to isolate a single unknown sign before initiating a search by selecting linguistic properties or performing the sign in front of a webcam. This pro...

Sensory-intensive and attention-demanding tasks like visual scanning, interacting with 3D objects, comprehending and following instructions, etc. are becoming more common in Augmented Reality (AR) environments as the technology expands through diverse fields. It is important to understand how these types of tasks are experienced by Deaf and Hard of...

Two-factor Authentication (also known as 2FA or two-step verification) is an authentication method that provides an extra layer of protection to ensure online account security. 2FA methods are used along with other primary authentication methods like PINs and Passwords to verify that the person trying to access any digital account is the person the...

Analyzing dance moves and routines is a foundational step in learning dance. Videos are often utilized at this step, and advancements in machine learning, particularly in human-movement recognition, could further assist dance learners. We developed and evaluated a Wizard-of-Oz prototype of a video comprehension tool that offers automatic in-situ da...

Spatial Computing integrates technologies like Mixed Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and the Global Positioning System, enabling immersive, natural, and intelligent multi-modal interactions in physical and virtual spaces. With the huge potential to benefit users in multiple scenarios (e.g., gaming, education, design, and healthcare), Spatial Comp...

Virtual reality (VR) enables many exciting, immersive experiences; however, those experiences are sometimes inaccessible. Researchers have explored methods to improve VR accessibility, but it is also important to ensure that we have a clear understanding of the prevalence of current accessibility feature implementation to identify what support is l...

Recent research has investigated how to make digital tools accessible to blind creators, focusing on visual manipulation using gestures and other input modalities. But while prior work centers on the inaccessibility of content creation tools, less is known about how blind and low vision creators engage in analog creative activities. We explored how...

The continued evolution of voice recognition technology has led to its integration into many smart devices as the primary mode of user interaction. Smart speakers are among the most popular smart devices that utilize voice recognition to ofer interactive functions and features to serve as a personal assistant and a control hub for smart homes. Howe...

Emoji are a popular, expressive form of non-verbal communication. However, people often use emoji in ways that result in confusing or cumbersome screen reader output. We created two accessibility support designs: (1) PREVIEW, which displays a basic text transcript of a message with emoji that a screen reader would narrate, and (2) ALERT, which summ...

Olfactory disorders can significantly affect a human’s quality of life. We sought to investigate whether there are opportunities for assistive technologies to support people with olfactory disorders in day-to-day life. To achieve this goal, we surveyed 70 people with olfactory disorders to understand their behaviors, experiences, technologies used,...

Mobile app light and dark modes offer improved usability within different contexts (e.g., dark mode for easier night reading). Yet, little research has investigated the prevalence of light and dark modes across platforms, the intricacies of UI color changes, and challenges in the design and development process. Our investigation focused on comparin...

Co-located collaborative shared augmented reality (CS-AR) environments have gained considerable research attention, mainly focusing on design, implementation, accuracy, and usability. Yet, a gap persists in our understanding regarding the accessibility and inclusivity of such environments for diverse user groups, such as deaf and Hard of Hearing (D...

One of the most recent developments in augmented reality (AR) technology is co-located collaborative multiplayer AR environments, yet little research has been done to determine how communication and collaboration function in these settings. There is a gap in our understanding of whether these environments are currently accessible for Deaf and Hard...

While data visualizations have the potential to convey vast quantities of information, they are not always accessible to audiences with vision impairments. We prepared and distributed an online survey to blind and low vision adults to investigate the accessibility of data visualizations across the following five mediums—computers, phones, tablets,...

Teaching accessibility is essential in training technologists and designers. However, the topics of accessibility and disability are vast and intersect with culture (social constructions). Since cultural background is an influential factor in design decisions, which could have implications for accessible design, we wanted to understand whether and...

Blockchain and crypto-based technologies are a rapidly-growing domain on the cutting edge of web technologies; however, little research has examined their accessibility for users with disabilities. We focused on a specific area of this domain by completing accessibility audits of four major cryptocurrency exchanges and administered a questionnaire...

Customer services are important for answering questions, providing information, and handling issues. Often people want to connect with a customer service representative, yet, this can be an accessibility barrier for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People (DHH) when voice calls are the only method. However, little is known about the challenges experienced...

Digital designers often do not make their work accessible (e.g., websites failing criteria set by the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), and accessible design research discusses many solutions to address this problem (e.g., teaching accessibility within university design and technical courses). However, prior research in this area typical...

Many digital systems are found to be inaccessible and a large part of the issue is that accessibility is not considered early enough in the design process. Digital prototyping tools are a powerful resource for designers to quickly explore both low and high fidelity design mockups during initial stages of product design and development. We evaluated...

Digital accessibility has become an important topic in the field of HCI, but when looking at accessibility on a global scale, we find that the representation of accessibility research is mostly centered in the Global North with countries that are WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic). Our paper explores digital accessibili...

Website builders enable individuals without design or technical skills to create websites. However, it is unclear if modern websites created by website builders meet accessibility standards. We reviewed six popular website building platforms and found a lack of accessibility support. Wix provided the most comprehensive accessibility documentation a...

A Personal Identification Number (PIN) is a widely adopted authentication method used by smartphones, ATMs, etc. PINs offer strong security and can be reset when compromised (unlike biometric authentication). However, PINs can be inaccessible for blind or low vision (BLV) users due to screen readers voicing PINs to bystanders or potential shoulder...

Academic papers demonstrate inaccessibility despite accessible writing resources made available by SIGACCESS and others. The move from accessibility guidance to accessibility implementation is challenging for authors. Our work focuses on understanding what challenges authors of academic papers face in creating content elements (e.g., tables, charts...

Designers play a key role in the design of inclusive and socially conscious interfaces. Thus, it is imperative for designers to be thoughtful of the ethical and social implications of design. However, gaps in the foundational training that designers receive (e.g., as university students) can negatively impact their ability to consider the social im...

Many daily tasks rely on accurately identifying and distinguishing between different colours. However, these tasks can be frustrating and potentially dangerous for people with Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD). Despite prior work exploring how pattern overlays on top of colours can support people with CVD, the solutions were often unintuitive or requi...

Virtual workspaces rapidly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for many new collaborators, working remotely was their first introduction to their colleagues. Building rapport is essential for a healthy work environment, and while this can be achieved through non-textual responses within chat-based systems (e.g., emoji, GIF, stickers, memes)...

In interaction or user-centered design practices, it is common to employ interviews and think-aloud techniques to gather data about user behavior. These techniques enable researchers to learn about how users think and use technologies during the design and user testing process. However, such techniques involve accessing audio feedback, which may re...

Listening to podcasts is a popular way for people to spend their time. However, little focus has been given to how accessible pod-cast platforms are for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) people. We present a DHH-centered accessible podcast platform prototype developed with user-centered design. Our proposed design was constructed through semi-structur...

Accessibility is a core component of good interaction design. However, we have not yet reached a point in the field of HCI where we can say that this is standard practice. In this provocation, we challenge the HCI community to reconcile accessibility as an additional, ad-hoc specialization and instead to reflect on how our practices and tools may p...

Designers of digital content have access to various resources that they use to help them meet disabled people's accessibility needs. Disability simulations are one resource, but often criticized for failing to guide digital designers appropriately, and it is unclear if digital designers are aware of the issues surrounding disability simulations. I...

The ubiquity of mobile devices gives rise to mobile applications designed for self-regulating anxiety, yet empirical evidence of the efficacy and safety that these apps provide is lacking. An in-depth understanding of mobile app-based support for anxiety can provide guidelines to improve future designs, including their accessibility and user experi...

Since prior work has identified that cultural differences influence user design preferences and interaction methods, as well as emphasizing the need to reflect on the appropriateness of popular HCI principles, we believe that it is equally important to apply this inquiry to digital accessibility and how accessibility fits within the design process...

High-fidelity prototyping tools are used by software designers and developers to iron out interface details without full implementation. However, the lack of visual accessibility in these tools creates a barrier for designers who may use screen readers, such as those who are vision impaired. We assessed conformance of four prototyping tools (Sketch...

American Sign Language (ASL) classes are typically held face-to-face to increase interactivity and enhance the learning experience. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic brought about many changes to course delivery methods, primarily resulting in a move to an online format, which had to occur in a short timeframe. The online format has presented s...

Reliable and accessible authentication techniques are required to maintain privacy and security. This is paramount as technology plays an increasing role in our lives. In this paper, we examine the previous work on accessible authentication techniques for blind/low vision people, deaf/hard-of-hearing people, people with cognitive impairments, and p...

Within accessibility research, it is important for researchers to understand the lived experience of participants. Researchers often use in-person interviews to collect this data. However, in-person interviews can result in communication barriers and introduce logistical challenges surrounding scheduling and geographical location. For a recent stud...

Social media platforms are deeply ingrained in society, and they offer many different spaces for people to engage with others. Unfortunately, accessibility barriers prevent people with disabilities from fully participating in these spaces. Social media users commonly post inaccessible media, including videos without captions (which are important fo...

Emoji are graphical symbols that appear in many aspects of our lives. Worldwide, around 36 million people are blind and 217 million have a moderate to severe visual impairment. This portion of the population may use and encounter emoji, yet it is unclear what accessibility challenges emoji introduce. We first conducted an online survey with 58 visu...

Households contain a variety of surfaces that are used in a number of activity contexts. As ambient technology becomes commonplace in our homes, it is only a matter of time before these surfaces become linked to computer systems for Household Surface Interaction (HSI). However, little is known about the user experience attached to HSI, and the pote...

Globally, increasing numbers of people experience accessibility issues related to technology use. At the University of Dundee, we have developed a degree programme that aims to graduate socially-aware computing scientists who can develop for a range of access needs. To achieve this, we engage our students on a supported pathway of exploration, empa...

Social media platforms are deeply ingrained in society, and they ofer many diferent spaces for people to engage with others. Unfortunately, accessibility barriers prevent people with disabilities from fully participating in these spaces. Social media users commonly post inaccessible media, including videos without captions (which are important for...

Situationally-induced impairments and disabilities (SIIDs) make it difficult for users of interactive computing systems to perform tasks due to context (e.g., listening to a phone call when in a noisy crowd) rather than a result of a congenital or acquired impairment (e.g., hearing damage). SIIDs are a great concern when considering the ubiquitousn...

Billions of mobile devices are used worldwide for a significant number of important tasks in our personal and professional lives. Unfortunately, mobile devices are prone to interaction challenges as a result of the changing contexts of use, resulting in the user experiencing a situational impairment. For example, when typing in a vehicle being driv...

Design is not constrained to physical objects and increasingly the digital can be a source of inspiration for new modalities and techniques that can be used to enhance our perceptions of the world. We interact with technology (e.g. smartphones) on a daily basis whilst traversing the physical environment, but little work has been carried out to exam...

Situationally-induced impairments and disabilities (SIIDs) make it difficult for users of interactive computing systems to perform tasks due to context (e.g., listening to a phone call when in a noisy crowd) rather than a result of a congenital or acquired impairment (e.g., hearing damage). SIIDs are a great concern when considering the ubiquitousn...

With the growing popularity of mobile devices, Situational Visual Impairments (SVIs) can cause accessibility challenges. When addressing SVIs, interface and content designers are lacking guidelines based on empirically-determined SVI con­ trast sensitivities. To address this, we developed BrightLights-a game that collects screen-content-contrast da...

Mobile technologies are used in increasingly diverse and challenging environments. With the predominantly visual nature of mobile devices, Situational Visual Impairments (SVIs) are a growing concern. However, fundamental knowledge is lacking about the causes of SVIs, how people deal with SVIs, and whether their solutions are effective. To address t...

Mobile devices are a substantial part of our lives, supporting communication, work, and play. However, situational visual impairments (SVIs) can make completing tasks a challenge (e.g., browsing online in bright sunlight) and poorly designed content can cause or exacerbate SVIs. We surveyed 43 mobile content designers and ran four follow-on intervi...

The United Kingdom has an ageing population whose members experience significant life transitions as they grow older, for example, losing mobility due to deteriorating health. For these adults, digital technology has the potential to sustain their independence and improve their quality of life. However older adults can be reluctant to use digital s...

We propose that accessibility research can lay the foundation for technology that can be used to augment the perception of everyone. To show how this can be achieved, we present three case studies of our research in which we demonstrate our approaches for impaired colour vision, situational visual impairments and situational hearing impairment.

Colour can convey a mood or elicit a particular emotion and, in terms of web design, colour can influence attitudes, perceptions, and behaviours. However, many websites demonstrate inaccessible colour choices. Numerous online colour palette design tools only focus on assisting designers with either the aesthetics or accessibility of colours.With a...

The United Kingdom has an ageing population whose members experience significant life transitions as they grow older, for example, losing mobility due to deteriorating health. For these adults, digital technology has the potential to sustain their independence and improve their quality of life. However older adults can be reluctant to use digital s...

Emoji provide a way to express nonverbal conversational cues in computer-mediated communication. However, people need to share the same understanding of what each emoji symbolises, otherwise communication can breakdown. We surveyed 436 people about their use of emoji and ran an interactive study using a two-dimensional emotion space to investigate...