Beyond Audio Description: Exploring 360° Video Accessibility with Blind and Low Vision Users Through Collaborative Creation
Lucy Jiang, Mahika Phutane, Shiri Azenkot · 2023 · Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2023) · doi:10.1145/3597638.3608381
Summary
This paper investigates how to make 360-degree videos accessible to blind and low vision (BLV) users while preserving their immersive nature — a challenge that goes well beyond simply adding traditional audio description (AD). The researchers conducted a two-part study with 14 participants: semi-structured interviews followed by two collaborative design workshops where mixed-ability groups of BLV AD users, BLV AD creators, and sighted AD creators worked together to prototype accessible 360-degree video experiences. Crucially, the study centered BLV AD creators — professionals whose perspectives are underrepresented in prior research despite their dual expertise as both users and makers of accessible content. Workshop groups used a Super Mario Bros 360-degree VR video as their design probe, collaboratively writing AD scripts with accompanying sound effects and sensory cues. The researchers analyzed data at three levels — individual quotes, group consensus, and group interaction dynamics — using an adapted focus group analysis framework. This methodological approach captured not just what participants preferred, but how mixed-ability groups negotiated and built upon each other's ideas to arrive at design decisions. The study explored linguistic preferences for descriptions, aural presentation options, sound design for exploration and agency, multisensory augmentations, and the role of BLV creators in the AD process.
Key findings
Participants overwhelmingly preferred first- and second-person perspective AD over traditional third-person narration for 360-degree content, as pronouns like "I," "we," and "you" conveyed embodiment and immersion. One workshop group also experimented with a "character-as-narrator" approach where AD was delivered as in-character dialogue. For spatial AD placement, participants identified three options — omniscient (center, like traditional AD), friend on sofa (one ear, for co-watching), and tracked (spatialized to follow action) — with tracked being perceived as most immersive but potentially cognitively demanding. Sound design emerged as a powerful complement to verbal description: participants wanted enhanced soundscapes that matched visual quality, augmentative earcons for orientation, and a "north star" reference point for navigating 360-degree space. Haptic and tactile feedback was enthusiastically received by all interview participants as a way to increase engagement and benefit deafblind users. BLV AD creators contributed unique insights during workshops — asking clarifying questions sighted creators hadn't considered, identifying gaps in descriptions, and bringing cultural context that improved the final prototypes. Participants also raised concerns about AD quality declining as quantity increases due to legislative mandates, with companies treating accessibility as a compliance checkbox rather than pursuing genuine quality.
Relevance
This research has significant implications for the growing field of immersive media accessibility as 360-degree video, VR, and XR technologies become mainstream. The finding that traditional AD techniques are insufficient for immersive content challenges accessibility practitioners to think beyond established approaches. The emphasis on customizable AD — letting users choose perspective, spatial placement, and level of detail — aligns with broader trends toward personalized accessibility. Perhaps most importantly, the paper advocates for including BLV people as creators rather than just consumers of accessible content, demonstrating that their involvement produces measurably better outcomes. The insights about sound design, haptic feedback, and multisensory augmentation offer practical guidance for developers working on any immersive accessible experience. For organizations creating video content, the tension between AD quantity and quality highlighted by participants serves as a warning against treating accessibility as mere compliance.
Tags: audio description · 360 video · video accessibility · blind and low vision · co-design · immersive media · spatial audio · multisensory