GNOME High Contrast Icon Theme

[meg ford <meg387 gmail com>]

Hello,

I am writing to ask for feedback on the GNOME High Contrast (A11y) Icon Theme. I am a Women's Outreach Intern this summer, and I am working to complete the theme for users with low vision. The main question I have is this:

Many of the icons in the standard theme use a large picture (such as a clock for "appointment") in conjunction with a smaller detail to indicate status or action (such as an emblem which indicates "new"). When these are combined in High Contrast, the icon is sometimes unclear. 

I am wondering if users would prefer to have the main icon change (see Figures 1 through 3, HERE). I have given two drafts of a new icon (Figures 2 and 3) for "emblem-urgent" (figure 1), which was originally a red clock. 

The other approach might be to use an accessibility color wheel to identify which colors provide good contrast for viewers, and to use color to increase the clarity of the icon details (see Figures 4 through 7, HERE   ). Icons 4 and 5 are examples of icons which follow the current rules which are used in High Contrast, whereas I have added color to icons 6 and 7, with the hope that the color will increase the visibility of the details. 

Joseph Scheuhammer has agreed to show these drafts to the Occupational Therapist who works on site with him. I am also hoping that other low vision users and/ or developers  in the GNOME community will be willing to give feedback about what type of solution would be best. 

If anyone has difficulty viewing the PDF that I have given links to, please let me know, and I will send the file.

Thank you very much for your time and attention.

Sincerely,
Meg Ford
OPW Intern, Summer 2011