Blog Post

Microsoft 365 Insider Blog
6 MIN READ

Behind the Scenes: Meet Ben Truelove, Principal Designer and Accessibility Champion at Microsoft

Linda_C's avatar
Linda_C
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Aug 25, 2024

(Originally published on May 10, 2024 by Microsoft 365 Insider Engagement Team)

 

Meet Ben Truelove, Principal Designer and Accessibility Champion at Microsoft

 

As a young child, Ben Truelove dreamed of being an inventor. He was the first in his family to finish high school and graduate college, and later became a part of the community that helped develop the field of software design in the late 90s and early 2000s.

 

As we approach Global Accessibility Awareness Day, join us to find out how Ben became passionate about accessibility, the difficulties and possibilities he encountered while working on accessible products, and his outlook on the future of design and technology for people with disabilities.

 

How did you get interested in accessibility design?

“I was working at an agency, doing graphic design. It was a lot of stress and a lot of pressure. I found myself soul-searching, because I was producing lots of marketing content that ultimately just turns to waste. After a while, I decided I want to make something that helps people.”

 

Part of what spurred that moment was a time when I looked at my computer, and thought “Wow, if I lost my sight, I wouldn’t be able to do my work. How do people use computers without sight?” I asked around, and nobody seemed to know.

 

Some of my friends were at Microsoft, and they encouraged me to come work here. I thought, ‘Oh, I can make things that get used and help others? I’m in!’"

 

How do you approach designing for accessibility and the products you work on?

“The way a lot of people approach this question is they ask themselves, “How do I design for this disability, or that disability?” For me, that’s the wrong question.

 

We should be asking what the gaps and pain points in our products are and addressing them. By doing so, we make it easier for everyone to use our apps and services. As a design discipline, we jumped head-first into supporting mobile phones, right? Why not jump on supporting screen readers, Contrast themes, magnification and voice access? People with disabilities want and need to accomplish the same goals and tasks as everyone else.

 

As I see it, there are two big gaps that are common to most of our products today. One of them is visual: needing to see things on the screen. The second one is forcing interaction with traditional mouse or trackpad.”

Ben and his wife Brenda at the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift

What are some of the things in the accessibility ecosystem that you’ve worked on that you’re most proud of?

“When I moved to the Windows team, I met an engineer who worked on his laptop with it partially closed. That fascinated me and I began to understand how computers could be accessible.

 

I noticed that there was no design language to describe how products work without a mouse or screen, so I decided to create one, using the experience I had from blueprint creation in a previous job and later creating a design spec tool for Photoshop. I figured out a way to denote the tab order and the screen reader labels for each element on the screen, using simple symbols and annotations. Over the years I worked with other designers and engineers to improve the language and tool, simplifying it from one page to two for example.

 

I also collaborated with a designer who created a plugin for Figma that automated the process of generating accessibility specifications . I later worked with other designers like Hugo Palomares to improve the plugin by making it work with design library components, so that designers only needed to know their design system and the flow of the experience to create them.  A number of us also introduced a process to integrate inclusive design thinking earlier into the actual conception phase. We evolved the existing UI Tenets & Traps tenets of “Understandable,” “Efficient,” and “Habituating” to create the Accessible design toolkit, a checklist of considerations a designer can use during the design phase, and before accessibility spec'ing."

When was a time when you received feedback that made you think “Wow, this is really making me rethink how we design this?”

“The community has a motto, ‘nothing about us without us,’ which means that the people who will benefit from accessibility features should have a say in their creation.

 

There have been a few people within Microsoft that have been really invaluable on that front.

 

Ryan Shugart, an employee and native screen reader power user really helped us a lot. For example, we designed the file list in OneDrive as a grid, but he helped us understand that really, we should think of it as a table: columns and rows. If we just let the file list be read as a table, people can understand where they are in two-dimensional coordinates—which is very difficult for someone who can’t see a table.

We had been thinking “grid” because that way you can navigate up, down, left, and right with a keyboard alone. We were thinking in a keyboard-centric and mouse-centric way. His input helped us figure that out.”

 

Ben, could you outline your process for testing new products for accessibility?

“Of course! In product development, we embed accessibility into every stage, starting with design reviews. Our internal tests are thorough, but the real value comes from user feedback, especially from those with disabilities. This helps us refine our products to be truly inclusive. We also work with external groups to ensure we meet and exceed accessibility standards, making our products better for everyone.”

Ben and Clint Covington, two champions of accessibility at Microsoft

What role do you think AI and machine learning will play in accessibility design in the future?

“The advancements in AI and machine learning have the potential to be a great equalizer. But they can also be exclusionary if not done thoughtfully and correctly.

 

I see Copilot like a starship with warp drive. You know, the whole concept of folding space so ships can get across these vast distances. GUI is a huge barrier for a lot of people, to have to get through all the menus and layers of “chrome.” Copilot has the ability to fold GUIs like space—it’s a warp drive for traditional UI, to empower you to accomplish the things you need to do, much faster."

 

We still have a ways to go in order to make it more inclusive to all ways of “talking to AI”, but the future is bright. What advice would you give to someone interested in working in accessibility?

"Embarking on a career in accessibility requires a blend of empathy, understanding, and a commitment to continuous learning. It’s essential to recognize the diverse needs and experiences of people with disabilities. Accessibility isn’t checking a box. It's about designing with the considerations of diverse user groups to enhance the experience for everyone.

 

Ultimately, working in accessibility is about fostering an inclusive world where technology empowers everyone. It’s a journey of constant evolution, where the goal is to not only meet accessibility standards but exceed them, ensuring that every individual can achieve their goals without barriers." If you meet standards, you may help someone get work, but if you exceed it, they may just get a career.

 

Ben cycling with his friend, Ian Mackay, on his world record breaking journey around Sauvie Island

Tell us more about these amazing bicycling photos.

"Cycling is one of my passions. When I was young, it was just me and my older single mother on a fixed income, and I would ride all over my town learning about and dreaming about the nicer homes north of us, and going to the library for air conditioning, cold water and books. I spent the first years of my life in the hot Central Valley of California, so the library was a great place.

 

Later we moved away from all my friends to Washington, and I would dream of riding my bike back there to visit them. This gave me a passion for traveling under my own power long distances.

 

Ian Mackay, a good friend in the photo above, is an advocate for outdoor access, so he embodies my two passions of trails and accessibility. He is one of my heroes of today, as much as designers like Paul Rand or Raymond Loewy. He also works for Apple reviewing their accessibility advances.

 

I love to dress up like a unicorn when I ride. About that; It originally started out as a fundraiser...I would dress like this on a big ride event if people donated. It was so much fun and spread so much goodwill and cheer that I just decided to keep doing it."

 

This is the second interview in our 3-part series celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Make sure and catch our previous conversation with Peter Wu!

 


Learn about the Microsoft 365 Insider program and sign up for the Microsoft 365 Insider newsletter to get the latest information about Insider features in your inbox once a month!

Updated Aug 25, 2024
Version 1.0
No CommentsBe the first to comment