The JK Rowling website has been awarded its second Macromedia Site of the Day Award for Tuesday 19 July 2005 for the accessible version of the website. www.jkrowling.co.uk is set to pioneer new accessibility features for disabled and blind and partially sighted internet users.
The official site of Harry Potter author J K Rowling, www.jkrowling.com , today (Wednesday 20th July 2005) becomes accessible to disabled, deaf and visually impaired internet users. Designers of the site, Lightmaker, have worked closely with RNIB and Macromedia® to develop this pioneering new version.
The site pioneers Macromedia Flash® technology and demonstrates best practice design, with partially sighted people involved in testing its usability whilst it was in development.
The site is navigable by the keyboard without the need for a mouse and contains an Accessibility Menu, so that users can quickly gain access to accessibility features.
These include the ability to enlarge text in certain areas of the screen, pause movement and turn off background sounds. All the content can be enlarged for visually impaired users. A sound glossary has been built in so that users can look-up the meaning of important sound clues on the site; whilst a caption element allows all users to read contextual content of sounds.
Lightmaker have managed to create an accessible version of the site including visual elements, links, images and text while still maintaining a rich visual experience.
JK Rowling said: "www.jkrowling.com allows me the opportunity to be able to communicate directly with as many Harry Potter fans as possible. I am therefore delighted that disabled and visually impaired fans can now be a part of this."
Henny Swan, RNIB's Senior Web Accessibility Consultant, said: "We are delighted to see the Flash based site www.jkrowling.com displaying such a high standard of accessibility and opening doors to blind and partially sighted users that have, until now, been shut. Lightmaker have created a site that, although visually rich, provides the blind and partially sighted user with creative alternatives via the use of sounds to interact and enjoy content without losing any of the atmosphere of the site. I have been impressed throughout with Macromedia's and Lightmaker's professionalism and dedication in pushing the boundaries of Flash accessibility, for this visually rich and exciting site."
Neil Thomas, Head of Product Development, RNID, said: "It is great to see a leading web design company such as Lightmaker working towards making the World Wide Web a more accessible place. We hope that other web designers will take inspiration from this and in the future even more sites become accessible. The www.jkrowling.com site shows that accessibility and good design can go hand in hand."
Rob Noble, CEO, Lightmaker Group Ltd, said: "www.jkrowling.com is one of the most fun and interactive website builds Lightmaker have had the pleasure of being involved with. This latest development stage demonstrates how Lightmaker managed to understand, take on and rise to JK Rowling's challenge of delivering the same fun and interactive experience to disabled and visually impaired internet users. Lightmaker hopes this website demonstrates that with determination and collaboration with expert institutions like RNIB and leaders in their field like Macromedia, and a collective passion for the internet our industry can deliver accessible websites whatever the content or interface, it really can be an experience for all."
Bob Regan, senior product manager Macromedia commented: "The www. jkrowling.com website is the best example of accessibility and design in rich media on the web today. The site shows that great designs and accessibility in multimedia content are not mutually exclusive and creates a unique and playful experience for all fans of JK Rowling's work, regardless of disability. This work illustrates the power of collaborations between groups like RNIB with their deep knowledge of accessibility and Lightmaker with their cutting edge vision in rich media design. Macromedia applauds JK Rowling, Lightmaker and RNIB."
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