Visual

Low Vision

Persona: Mei

Mei, 72, Chinese American, lives in a senior apartment community. Uses screen magnification and high contrast settings to manage her own finances with minimal assistance.

About This Condition

For low vision users, text that is too small, too low in contrast, or that breaks apart when zoomed creates an immediate barrier. Magnification tools and display adjustments help, but only when layouts are designed to scale without losing content or alignment.

Digital Challenges

Layouts that reflow incorrectly at high zoom levels force horizontal scrolling and hide content. Fixed font sizes, low contrast text, and icons without labels make it difficult to read, orient, and interact without switching between tools constantly.

Assistive Technologies

  • Screen magnifiers
  • high contrast mode
  • screen readers

Design Considerations

Use relative font size units so typography scales with browser settings. Ensure all layouts reflow at 400% zoom without horizontal scrolling. Label all icons with visible text and support high contrast mode without content loss.

Clinical Examples

Macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, albinism, optic atrophy