Twitter Walks Back On Makeover After Triggering Health & Accessibility Issues
Image via Mano Kors / Shutterstock.com
Last week, Twitter excitably announced that it had debuted a more minimalist design with fewer dividers and grays across its mobile and web interfaces, describing the revamp as more “accessible, unique, and focused on you.”
Well, it turns out that this may not be the case for several users, who have said they’ve had reading issues and even literal headaches as a consequence of the redesign, which includes the mass rollout of its official typeface, ‘Chirp’.
old vs new twitter font comparison pic.twitter.com/fska24UFA1
— hana (@lovecherryyae) August 13, 2021
The company is now returning to the drawing board as it is “listening and iterating” to comments by a large part of the community, including people with astigmatism, users with sensory issues, and autistic members.
Users with astigmatism have lamented that the new typeface—designed as a bespoke and legible replacement for SF Pro, Helvetica Neue and Roboto—is making it difficult for them to read text, which would appear blurrier.
“Did you talk to one single person with astigmatism?” one Twitter user asked. Another shared, “The new typeface worsens my astigmatism. I cannot read without having a headache. My system’s typeface is tailored for my eyesight.”
I have terrible eyesight, so I use Twitter’s largest font size (from their Display settings) and I can tell you no one is testing the interface with that setting. pic.twitter.com/IW3xf16Akg
— Kitty Giraudel (@KittyGiraudel) August 14, 2021
Twitter also removed some divider lines and added more space to its interface to “make text easier to read,” while “high-contrast” black buttons have replaced the original blue to bring focus to more important features. These backfired too.
Today we release updates for colors & typography! See @TwitterDesign post for full details. The A11Y updates are:
— Twitter Accessibility (@TwitterA11y) August 11, 2021
- Higher color contrast of buttons, links, focus
- Easier reading with left-aligned text & more space between text
- Fewer distracting gray things
What do you think? pic.twitter.com/Umu3F1iJjb
“As an autistic person, removing lines and shifting to high-contrast makes using the site extremely uncomfortable now,” one user wrote. “Also, the font appears fine when I look closely, but for some reason it’s making my vision blurry the longer I use the site. This is a bad beta, I hope.”
“High contrast is notoriously NOT accessible for many photosensitive and chronically pained folks,” said Alex Haagaard, founding member of The Disabled List. One Twitter user with ADHD and chronic illness wrote, “Hire actual disabled people.”
This is a great example of how some access needs routinely get centered over others within "accessible" processes!
— Alex Haagaard (they/them) (@alexhaagaard) August 11, 2021
High contrast is notoriously NOT accessible for many photosensitive & chronically pained folks. https://t.co/c1AQNkMvC0
Some users have urged Twitter to make the design changes options rather than force them on the entire community. “I can’t focus on this font at all, glasses or no glasses. I could read the old one even without glasses,” one person responded. “Please can you make the font user-configurable?I understand that the new font might be easier for some people to read, and I want all of us to be able to use Twitter.”
Please can you make the font user-configurable?
— Kestrel Manoeuvres, Public Universal Fiend (@inflatabird) August 11, 2021
I understand that the new font might be easier for some people to read, and I want all of us to be able to use Twitter.
Twitter says it is actively reworking its design based on the feedback. “We’re making contrast changes on all buttons to make them easier on the eyes because you told us the new look is uncomfortable for people with sensory sensitivities,” tweeted Twitter’s Accessibility account. It also notes that it is working on display issues regarding the ‘Chirp’ typeface on Windows devices. “Thanks for your patience and please let us know if you have additional feedback,” Twitter adds.
While the platform told TechCrunch that people with disabilities were consulted during its design process, “people have different preferences and needs and we will continue to track feedback and refine the experience.”
Moving forward, it says it would “get more feedback in the future and we’ll work to do that.”
Our visual principles provided us the inspiration and constraints to craft a set of recommended design techniques. These techniques served as a way to align on a visual direction and to scale it to the entire development team (Eng, Product, Design, Research). pic.twitter.com/JOGwhSpIPx
— ashlie ford (@ashlie) August 11, 2021
For those noticing the new font looks blurry, it’s not a design problem. It’s a technical issue with the hinting, causing problems especially at small sizes and on Windows devices. The font is clearly designed by a professional but needs hinting work to be readable for everyone. pic.twitter.com/mlEEhFh2fi
— ninevolt (@9ninevolt) August 11, 2021
We've identified issues with the Chirp font for Windows users and are actively working on a fix. Thanks for your patience and please let us know if you have additional feedback.
— Twitter Accessibility (@TwitterA11y) August 14, 2021
[via Gizmodo and TechCrunch, cover image via Mano Kors / Shutterstock.com]
