Accessibility
We want every visitor to be able to use the interactives our customers build, whether they are seated or standing, read slowly, can’t hear the audio, or see the screen differently. This page explains what Tellcase does today, what it doesn’t do yet, and how to reach us.
Our goal
We aim for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AA as our standard for the Tellcase player, the part visitors use on kiosks and in website embeds. For kiosk mounting, we point customers to the reach ranges in the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, with suggested heights in our kiosk setup guide.
We have not yet had an independent audit, so we don’t claim full conformance. An accessible exhibit also depends on things only the customer controls, such as their writing, photos, video, colors, and where the screen is mounted.
What visitors get on every interactive
- An Accessibility button in the lower-left corner of every screen, with three options:
- Larger text makes reading text bigger across the whole interactive.
- High contrast switches to black and white with a yellow accent.
- Lower the screen shrinks the whole interactive toward the bottom of the screen, so nothing is out of reach at the top of a tall screen.
- All three reset for the next visitor when the screen returns to its welcome page.
- Captions on any video that has a caption file. They are on by default.
- “Still there?” Before a kiosk returns to its welcome page, it asks with a countdown, so a slow reader doesn’t lose their place.
- Descriptions for screen readers on photos and videos, and labels on buttons, for the website version of an interactive.
- Less motion for visitors whose device is set to reduce motion, and a reduced-motion setting customers can turn on for any interactive.
What customers get in the editor
- A description is required for every photo and video they upload.
- A caption file can be added to any video.
- A warning appears when brand text and background colors are too close to read easily.
- An Accessibility check on every interactive flags videos without captions, placeholder photo descriptions like “IMG_2041”, hard-to-read colors, and very short reset times. It never stops anyone from publishing.
- A Larger text style, and a setting for how long a screen waits before it resets.
Known limitations
We’d rather tell you now than have you find out on opening day.
- Touch only on kiosks. Kiosks don’t yet support physical buttons, keypads, or screen readers, so a visitor who is blind can’t use a kiosk on their own. A spoken read-aloud option is on our plan.
- Keyboard use in website embeds is partial. Buttons can be reached with a keyboard, but some parts, like swiping through a timeline, work best with a mouse or touch.
- One language per interactive. There’s no built-in switch for a second language yet.
- Captions come from the customer. Tellcase shows the captions you provide but doesn’t create them.
- The editor is built on an open-source admin tool that we haven’t fully reviewed for accessibility.
Tell us about a problem
If something in Tellcase is hard to use, or you need information in a different format, contact us and mention accessibility. We read every message, and what you tell us shapes what we fix next.
We review this page whenever we change how Tellcase works for visitors.