When Good Intentions Meet Poor Design at the movie theatre: Why Nothing About Us Without Us Still Matters – Jeffrey's Soapbox

DRANK

My family loves going to the movies. For years, we relied on audio description systems that worked beautifully. They were intuitive, reliable, and most importantly, designed with actual input from people like me who are blind.Last year, our family encountered for the 1st time, the Dolby Accessibility Solution during what should have been an enjoyable evening at the movies. What we experienced was a frustrating ordeal that left us feeling like second-class patrons.According to Dolby’s own documentation, their Accessibility Solution is described as “a complete and versatile cinema accessibility solution that is easy for exhibitors to install and maintain, and simple for customers to use” . The reality for users who are blind tells a very different story.The problems started immediately. Unlike the previous equipment, the Dolby tablet device had no tactile buttons to distinguish controls from the frame itself, making it impossible to operate without sight . The system instead relies o…