I previously reported about the new controversial design change on Twitter, which included a strange new font and several colour changes. Personally, I’ve welcomed the changes with open arms but some people have reported eye strain, headaches, and migraines due to the platform’s colour changes—and Twitter is fixing it.
Twitter Accessibility announced that they are “listening” to the complaints about its colour contrast changes on their buttons. For people with sensory sensitivities, the new look might be uncomfortable.
Currently, the “Following” button on a profile of a user your follow now looks like how a button used to look like when you did not follow them. Some even complained that they have “accidentally unfollowed multiple friends” because of it.
The rise in confusion, as well as headaches and eye strains, have shown that what was intended as an “accessible” change was in fact—pretty inaccessible to some people. In most cases, a design change will likely mean that users will get used to it over time. However, it can be very different if a change causes them physical discomfort.
“… If you truly want to be accessible, you could design the app to give users the option to change the contrast, font, size, etc. to whatever works best for them. Also maybe you could actually have a wide range of disabled people test these features before implementing them,” suggested a user on Twitter.
Twitter currently has options in its accessibility menu for settings like increased color contrast and reduced motion, as well as display settings that let people choose between light and dark themes or scale text sizes. You can look for the option in the Settings section of Twitter.
Additionally, Twitter also “identified issues with the Chirp font for Windows users”. They announce that are “actively working on a fix”.
