Designing for Cognitive Disabilities: Clear & Simple Navigation

Understanding Cognitive Disabilities

Cognitive disabilities affect approximately 15-20% of the global population and include intellectual disabilities, dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, autism, dementia, and acquired brain injuries. Designing for cognitive accessibility means creating clear, simple, consistent interfaces that reduce cognitive load and support understanding for all users.

Cognitive disabilities encompass diverse conditions affecting mental processing, memory, attention, language comprehension, and information processing speed. Unlike physical disabilities with obvious accommodations, cognitive disabilities require design approaches addressing how people think and process information.

Many cognitive disabilities are invisible. Users might not disclose them, making it easy for organizations to overlook cognitive accessibility needs. Additionally, cognitive accessibility benefits far beyond people with diagnosed disabilities. Stressed users, non-native language speakers, aging adults, and anyone in cognitively demanding situations benefit from clear, simple design.

Core Cognitive Accessibility Principles

1. Simplicity and Clarity

Complex designs overwhelm users with cognitive disabilities. Simplicity is essential. This doesn't mean boring or feature-poor; it means removing unnecessary complexity and presenting information clearly.

Simple approach: Clear headings, short paragraphs, straightforward navigation, minimal visual clutter

Complex approach: Dense content, vague headings, multiple navigation options, overwhelming visual elements

2. Clear Language

Use simple vocabulary, short sentences, and plain language. Avoid jargon, abbreviations (without explanation), and complex sentence structures.

Simple language: "Save your changes" (4 words)

Complex language: "Persist your modifications to persistent storage" (5 words but much harder to understand)

3. Consistent Navigation and Layout

Consistency helps users develop mental models of site structure. Navigation, layout, and interaction patterns should be predictable. Users shouldn't have to re-learn how to use each page.

Consistent patterns: Main menu in same location on every page, buttons behave the same way everywhere, content sections follow same pattern

4. Clear Headings and Labels

Headings should be descriptive and specific. Generic headings like "Information" or "Details" don't help users understand content. Labels on forms and buttons should be explicit about their purpose.

Good headings: "Shipping Address", "Payment Methods", "Order Summary"

Vague headings: "Important", "Details", "Options"

5. Reduced Cognitive Load

Cognitive load refers to mental effort required to process information. Designs should minimize cognitive load through:

• Progressive disclosure: Show essential information first; advanced options hide by default
• Visual chunking: Group related items; use white space to separate sections
• Consistent patterns: Predictable interactions reduce mental effort
• Plain language: Simple text is easier to process than complex text

6. Clear Error Messages

Error messages should be obvious, understandable, and helpful. Users should know what went wrong and how to fix it.

Good error: "Email address is required. Please enter your email."

Poor error: "Validation error on field 4"

7. Avoiding Distractions

Auto-playing videos, flashing content, moving advertisements, and unexpected changes distract users and create barriers. Content should remain stable unless user-initiated changes occur.

8. Sufficient Time for Tasks

Some users process information more slowly. Time limits for tasks create barriers. Allow users adequate time without rushing.

9. Visual Consistency

Use consistent styling for similar elements. When identical elements appear in different contexts with different styling, users get confused.

10. Logical Reading Order

Content should follow logical reading order. Unusual content ordering confuses users and breaks comprehension.

Designing Specific Components for Cognitive Accessibility

Forms

Forms should:

• Request only necessary information (minimize cognitive load)
• Have clear labels explaining what each field requires
• Provide helpful placeholder text or examples
• Group related fields with clear headings
• Allow users to review and correct information before submitting
• Provide clear, specific error messages

Navigation

Navigation should:

• Be consistent across all pages
• Use clear category labels
• Avoid excessive nesting (limit depth to 2-3 levels)
• Show breadcrumbs or current location
• Provide search as alternative to hierarchical navigation

Search Results

Search results should:

• Clearly indicate number of results
• Use meaningful result titles and descriptions
• Group results logically
• Show relevance or why results match search
• Allow filtering or refining searches

Instructions and Guidance

When instructions are necessary:

• Use simple, step-by-step format
• Number steps clearly
• Use visual illustrations with text descriptions
• Keep steps short and actionable
• Avoid optional information; move to footnotes

Language and Readability

Plain Language Principles

• Short sentences: Average 15-20 words per sentence
• Simple words: Use common words instead of jargon or complex synonyms
• Active voice: "You can update your profile" instead of "Your profile can be updated"
• Clear structure: Headings, lists, bullet points break up text
• Short paragraphs: 2-3 sentences maximum per paragraph

Readability Index

Several readability indexes measure text complexity (Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level). For cognitive accessibility, aim for 8th-grade reading level or below (15-17 on Flesch Reading Ease scale).

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Spell out abbreviations on first use: "Application Programming Interface (API)". If abbreviations appear frequently, avoid them entirely or provide a glossary.

Defining Terms

Explain specialized terms. If you must use jargon, define it immediately: "The viewport (the area where your page appears) has a width of..."

Visual Design for Cognitive Accessibility

Visual Hierarchy

Clear visual hierarchy helps users understand content importance and relationships. Use size, color, weight, and spacing to establish hierarchy.

Color and Patterns

Use color meaningfully. Don't use color alone to convey information. Supplement with text labels and patterns.

Typography

Choose readable fonts. Sans-serif fonts (Arial, Verdana) are generally more readable than serif fonts. Avoid decorative fonts. Use adequate size (16px minimum).

Icons and Graphics

Supplement icons with text labels. Icons alone confuse users. "Trash icon" alone doesn't clearly mean "delete"; "Delete" with trash icon is clear.

Testing Cognitive Accessibility

Readability Assessment

Check readability index of text content. Use online tools to assess reading level. Aim for 8th-grade reading level or below.

Clarity Testing

Have non-experts (who are unfamiliar with your domain) attempt tasks. Can they understand instructions? Do they get confused? What clarifications help?

User Testing with Cognitive Disabilities

Involve users with cognitive disabilities. They identify unclear elements and confusing patterns that non-disabled testers miss.

Task Completion

Can users complete core tasks? Do they understand error messages? Do they know what to do next?

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Complex language: Jargon and complex sentence structures confuse users
• Vague instructions: Users don't know what's expected
• Inconsistent navigation: Users get disoriented
• Dense content: Visual overwhelm reduces comprehension
• No error messages: Users don't know what went wrong
• Auto-playing content: Distracts and confuses
• Excessive steps: Multi-step processes create cognitive load

Real-World Example: Banking Website

Accessible approach:

• Clear task descriptions ("Transfer money to savings account")
• Simple step-by-step process with numbered steps
• Plain language explanations of banking terms
• Confirmation page showing what user entered before finalizing
• Clear error messages with fixes
• Consistent navigation between accounts and transactions

Inaccessible approach:

• Technical jargon in descriptions
• Complex multi-step workflows
• Dense information displays
• No confirmation step (difficult to correct errors)
• Cryptic error codes

Key Takeaways

• Cognitive disabilities affect 15-20% of the population; cognitive accessibility benefits everyone.
• Use simple language, short sentences, and plain vocabulary.
• Minimize cognitive load through clear structure and progressive disclosure.
• Maintain consistent navigation and layout across pages.
• Provide clear error messages that help users fix problems.
• Avoid auto-playing content and unnecessary distractions.
• Use descriptive headings and labels throughout.
• Target 8th-grade reading level or below.

Resources

• WCAG 2.1 Guidelines
• Plain Language Guidelines (U.S. Government)
• Readability Formulas and Tools
• The A11y Project